Customer Reviews

The Real-Time Contact Center: Strategies, Tactics, and Technologies for Building a Profitable Service and Sales Operation

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having been involved in the call center industry since the 1980's, I've read lots of books on call/contact centers. While most have provided nuggets of valuable information none have been able to effectively cover both the strategic and operational issues in such a comprehensive, easy-to-understand manner as Real-Time Contact Center. Every chapter of the book is well written with lots of valuable information. I thought it was so exceptional that I ordered copies for each member of our management staff around the world. Their feedback matches my assessment. Read it yourself, I'm sure you'll agree too.

Imagine if you could really get the service you would like to get:
Your request or inquiry quickly and comprehensively serviced.
And it happens time after time after time.
And it's useful, valuable and believe-it-or-not personally enjoyable to be in touch with the companies who enjoy your business.

One day it will come to pass.

Donna Fluss paints a new world in which person-to-person contact rules!

Sure there's automation but only when its faster and more convenient.

And it all starts with the up-to-this-point lowly call center.

The rules of business are changing drastically. To keep up with the pack:

1. Read this book
2. Then think about what it means if your competition reads it and acts quickly to get a real time contact center underway.


How can your business possibly respond to this double-edged sword, both a threat and an opportunity?

As a customer, I can't wait for that day to come to pass!

Read this book. Please!

When someone sent me a copy of this book a year ago, I thought it was going to be light reading for a technologist's coffee table. Then I started to read it. This book truly runs the gamut of all the issues that customer service contact centers face today. The book provides a great introduction to contact centers, their technology and both the business and people issues that contact centers face in the 21st century.
People complain with increasing frequency about poor customer service. With great dissatisfaction about call center jobs moving overseas, and service suffering, this book examines all those issues and each chapter gives a list of helpful steps to take to overcome all the obstacles to good customer service.
This is a must read if you need to know about these issues or are working in any part of this exploding industry and need to do your job better.

The Real-Time Contact Center is easy to read, clearly based on real-world experience, and cutting-edge.

My initial intention when purchasing this book was as a reference for my Call Center Management Certification classes, but I found myself turning to it on a regular basis for practical advice on the challenges I face on a day-to-day basis in my Contact Center Operations career.

Donna Fluss has written a book that should be in the Library of every Contact Center. She offers a fun, practical, and leading-edge approach to the dynamic task of capitalizing on the strength of your human resources, operational processes, and targeted technology to achieve uncompromised Customer Service, Customer Loyalty, and Operational Efficiencies.

I consistently refer to her guidance when faced with the inevitable challenge of improving efficiency and productivity, while increasing revenue generating opportunities.

I recommend that you purchase the Real-Time Contact Center if you work at any level of a Contact Center. It will shed bright-light and clarity on the purpose of the Contact Center in the organization as a whole.

Corinne Valcourt
Director, J. Jill Contact Center Operations

This is a superb book offering an overview of how to engage with customers in real-time along with all the ins and outs of the contact center. It's a one-stop resource and I keep it on my desk as a handy reference. Every person involved in the biz needs to have it in their library - makes a great gift for your staff as well.
Debora Glennon, Enterprise Multimedia Applications Marketing

I have been either an executive or consultant in the call center industry for the last 10 years. My area of expertise is increasing sales performance. After reading various books, and periodicals, I unequivocally find this the best resource on the market. Ms. Fluss covers all the bases of how to transform your call center...or dramatically increase its sales and service performance. Her writing style is entertaining, and the checklists at the end of each chapter provide a road map for the transformation. This book should be mandatory reading for all call center executives and managers. I think 10 years from now the term call center will no longer exist, and the term real-time contact center will take its place. If you want to be on that train to the future...this is a must read.

This book clearly outlines the strategy to turn your contact center into a corporate asset. The writing is concise, the illustrations are many and useful. This book is stuffed with ROI models, strategy checklists, vendor lists, cost analysis and information you just can't find anywhere else.

Read it before you competitors do!

Guy Jones
President, Island Data Corp.

"The Real-Time Contact Center: Strategies, Tactics and Technologies for Building A Profitable Service and Sales Operation" is simply an amazing book! This is a must have for any call center practitioner that has a passion for leveraging their contact center operation as a strategic weapon in their respective enterprise.

Donna Fluss has extensive experience in the call center space and lays out a clear and succinct road map for organizations to invest heavily in the call center infrastructure as a way to differentiate itself from its competitors.

This is definitely a MUST HAVE and offers practical thought leadership for call center practitioners at every level.

Art Hall
VP, Sales & Customer Care, NetBank, Inc.
President, CRM Association, Atlanta Chapter

As a novice in the speech technology industry, I read The Real-Time Contact Center and found it to be the ideal way for me to quickly gain a thorough overview of this dynamic and complex industry. The book is clear and concise, yet detailed and action-oriented. I have since referred to the book time and again as a source for best-practices and metrics for speech ROI. I highly recommend this book for novices and experts alike.

This book is ideal for two seemingly disparate audiences. One is the person heading up customer care for a company who happens to need to take their functional team up a notch or two. The other is for all those CxOs, and VPs who think they know about customer care (but would only candidly admit this in private, and then only with a gun to their head). Topics (thoroughly) covered include the definition of real-time contact centers, building a support team, in-house v. outsource, on-shore outsourcing v. off-shore outsourcing, etc.

In short: If you want to make your customers happy, read this book!