Call Center Connect (CCC) Storywriting Competition

Contest Rules and Conditions

1. The Call Center Connect (CCC) Storywriting Competition is open to all Filipinos.

2. Entries must not have been previously published or submitted in any other competition, and all entrants must warrant the originality of their submitted entries.

3. Writers may submit only one entry, which may be in English or Filipino. The entry must not exceed 1,500 words.

4. There is no particular theme, other than the use of call center life and culture, as the inspiration or basis for the entry.

5. Judging Process. A CCC review panel shall read and award points for all stories received based on the following criteria:

* Originality and Storyline (35%)
* Imagery (35%)
* Quality of Writing (20%)
* X-Factor/Judges' discretion (10%)

Based on the points received, CCC shall forward a shortlist of at least five stories with the highest scores to the Artist. The Artist shall then provide comments on any or all the stories, for consideration by the panel of judges.

The panel of judges - taking the contest criteria and Artist comments into non-binding consideration - shall collectively choose the winner from the shortlist of stories.

If the judges cannot come to a consensus on the winner, they shall take a vote and the entry that gains the most number of votes shall be declared the winner.

None of CCC's review panel, the judges or the Artist shall see the entrant's name until the winner is chosen.

6. Entries must be submitted by email, as a Microsoft Word attachment, to info@agentconnect.ph with the subject heading 2011 Call Center Connect STORYWRITING COMPETITION. In the body of the email, entrants must provide their name, the title of their entry, mailing and email address, and telephone/cellphone number. Only the story title should appear on all pages of the attached entry.

7. The deadline for submission of entries is 5:00 p.m. (Manila time), Thursday, 30 October 2011. Entries received after the deadline, even if sent earlier, will no longer be considered for the competition.

Kindly note that CCC acknowledges each and every entry that we receive. If you submitted a story, and do not receive an acknowledgment from us within 24 hours, please assume that your story was not received and kindly resend it to us.

Entries received after the deadline, even if sent earlier, will no longer be considered for the competition. CCC shall not be responsible for entries which are not received, or which are received after the deadline, due to technical failure or for any other reason whatsoever.

8. All entrants hereby agree to authorize CCC to post their entries on its website, as CCC deems fit, and free from any payments, royalties or fees whatsoever.

9. There shall be only one winner, who shall receive a cash prize of PhP 35,000.00 (less applicable withholding tax) for his/her entry.

The winning writer shall also be entitled to five (5) free copies upon publication of the book.

The winner shall grant and transfer to CCC all intellectual property and publication rights to the story, including any translations, adaptations or modifications thereto.

It is hereby understood that the cash prize to be awarded to the winner shall include consideration of such intellectual property and publication rights to the story, and the writer shall not be entitled to any other royalties or fees from earnings, if any, that may result from future publication of, licensing of, or other transactions on the same.

10. Except for the right to publish any received entry on its website, CCC shall not retain any other rights to entries that are not selected as the winner, except where separate agreements are reached with the writers.

11. CCC shall exercise full and exclusive editorial and artistic control over the publication of the winning entry and resulting book.

While, it is the full intention of CANVAS to publish the winning entry as a full-color children's book, CCC reserves the right not to publish the same for any reason whatsoever.

12. The winner of the CCC storywriting competition will be announced on or around the first half of December 2011. The winner will also be notified via email and by text message on the same announcement date.

13. CCC reserves the right not to award the top competition prize in the unlikely event that the judges decide that no entry was received that is deserving of the top prize. In such event, however, CCC shall have no right whatsoever over all entries that were received; and shall not publish any entry, in its website or in any other venue, without the prior written consent or agreement of the author.

14. The decision of the competition judges shall be final, and no correspondence or inquiries into the same - including requests for comments/feedback on received entries - shall be entertained.

15. Employees of CCC, and members of their immediate family, as well as the Artist's immediate family, are disqualified from participating in the competition.

Obstacles to Good Customer Service

Exactly what constitutes good customer service is a lengthy subject with many variables and I could spend hours lecturing on it, but for the purpose of this article we will look at what the big obstacles are to good customer service. Attain a command of these and we will be well on our way to a honeymoon with our clients.

1. Attitude That Customers Are Replaceable.

They are not, and the sooner you understand that, the better! Instead of pushing an angry or disgruntled client down the elevator shaft, do your very best to address their complaints and concerns. Your clients' complaints can be your best friend and alarm to things amiss. Be grateful that your clients think enough of you to complain.

Most won't, they will even tell you that everything is fine and then simply take their business elsewhere. True, the customer is not always right, (any more than you are,) but the customer always deserves to be treated fairly, and with respect.

2. Inconsistency.

Be consistent in the level of your service, product representation, and professionalism. When these things vary customers become uneasy and uncomfortable, and soon move on.

3. Lack Of Good Listening Skills.

Truly and actively listen to your client. Immediately address their needs and concerns by first acknowledging them, and then fixing them. Beware of different frames of reference. What you consider short and what your client considers short may be inches apart.

4. Lack Of Strong Commitment To Customer Service.

Good customer service begins and ends with the owner's and/or manager's understanding of good customer service, their ability to inspire and lead by example, and their commitment to enforce their same high standard on the call center staff.

5. Insensitivity.

"I'm sorry, but our policy is..." or "There is simply nothing that I can do about it." These types of statements are fatal, even when they might be true. Some staff may even say unkind statements like "Boy, what a bitch she was."

Maybe she is a bitch, maybe her father died that day and she was simply out of sorts. The point is you don't know, so always assume that he or she is otherwise a very nice person who is just having a bad day. Further, such attitudes left unchecked soon become the rule not the exception, and this attitude then spreads throughout the staff like cancer.

Credits
Article: http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/Obstacles-to-Good-Customer-Service-6-page-1.htmlImage: matchstic.com/blog/?author=3

Telemarketing: Are Call Centers Being Used To Harass Consumers?

In recent years, call centers have been very instrumental in providing product support services and straightforward information to consumers as well as administering network operation for telemarketing and debt collection.

Telemarketers and financing companies such as credit card and loan providers are now using call centers to reach more consumers. This is where the legal gray areas create conflicts between the companies and the consumers.

IDENTITY THEFT

First and foremost is the method by which companies get hold of consumers' personal information. The companies are arguing free enterprise, but legal experts agree that this borders on identity theft.

To cite an example, a credit card provider, through a call center agent, calls to offer you its services. When you ask how they got your phone number, they would say that you were referred to by one of their clients. But when you ask for the name of this client, they would say it's confidential. This is a form of identity theft. You should not entertain such calls, especially when they get to be very bothersome. Don't give any additional information about you. If you feel that they are being intrusive just tell the caller to remove your name from their list because you are not interested.

Another example is when you receive a call telling you that you won a certain promotional product and that you 'lave to go to their office to claim it. Again, how did they get, old of your name and phone number? The catch: If you go to their office and try to claim the alleged product you won, they may lure you to buy other products before you can claim the prize (Warning: Don't fill up any of their forms, and don't sign anything they give to you). This is telemarketing at its worst. Not only did this unscrupulous people steal your personal info, but they will also try to dupe you into buying unrated and substandard products.

Some insurance companies also use call centers to promote their services. Agents would call on you saying you have won an accident or life insurance through their promotional or anniversary raffle of some sort, but you would need to go to their office to fill up some forms. They would keep on calling week after week. Again, this is very bothersome to consumers.

PHONE HARASSMENT

You are harassed when: pestered by calls seeking information about you; offered products and services you didn’t ask for; asked for people you don't know; threatened with law suits. You become a victim of phone harassment.

Phone harassment is causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation repeatedly and continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called number.

All forms of unwanted telephone calls may be considered phone harassment. And phone harassment of whatever kind is illegal in most jurisdictions. Credit providers use the scheme in calling their indebted clients repeatedly to annoy and harass them into payment. Under international law (“Fair Debt Collection Practices Act"), however, even phone calls in connection to debt collection without prior consent from the consumer or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, is considered phone harassment.

Many might have experienced receiving calls allegedly from a particular law office searching for a particular credit company it represents. The caller will insist that your telephone number appears on their records even though you have already advised them that they obviously made errors because the person they are looking for does not live in your house nor does the telephone number belong to him. They, however, will keep on calling you in search of the same person repeatedly. If they are really calling from a law office, then they should know that what they are doing is phone harassment, and this is in violation of your civil rights. It can be considered public disturbance.

It is plain and simple phone harassment because they could have checked the telephone company and be informed that the number does not belong to the person that they are looking for. They are harassing the wrong person (victim), and this constitutes a violation of the victim's right. If call centers are allegedly being used for this purpose, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) should look into this matter.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Never ever give personal information on the phone to people you don't know. In cases where products and services are offered through the phone, tell them outright that you are not interested. It is, however, given that these telemarketers may have obtained your personal information from other sources, say, from your credit card application or from house-to-house product surveys.

Identity theft is a very serious matter. Unscrupulous groups seem to be creating databases of consumers' personal information through application forms and public surveys, and selling them to telemarketers. Our legislators should formulate a very clear-cut law against this intrusive act to prevent the problem from blowing out of proportion.

Imagine the trauma and harassment of a 70-yearold woman receiving repeated phone calls from an alleged law office seeking a person she does not know. She remembered filling-out a survey form about senior citizens where she wrote her phone number. Later on, she has been receiving product offers from telemarketers through the phone. And the worst of it is a threatening phone call regarding debts incurred by a person she does not know.

When you receive such calls, record the number of the caller (if you have caller I.D.), the time of the call, and if possible any vital information you can obtain from the caller (such as caller's name, company name, etc). Don't answer any of their questions. They are the callers; you should be the one asking the questions, not them. If possible, record your conversation. Call the telephone company and have your phone harassment complaints recorded. Report the (repeated) incidences to the proper authorities such as the NTC, the DTI and the NBI.

One more thing, never ever let these unscrupulous people get the better of you. If you feel it is already a waste of time talking to them, manners or no manners, just hang up.*

Credits

Article: http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/Telemarketing-Scam-Are-Call-Centers-Being-Used-To-Harass-Consumers-179-page-1.htmlImage: http://www.ehow.com/how_4860285_stop-annoying-ads-advertisers.html

Listen Your Way to Success

There are many factors and variables that affect our sales on any given day. There is however, one key skill that will increase help you increase your sales immediately.

Listen to your customer!

That's it! That's all it takes to close more sales. Sounds simple doesn't it? Unfortunately, the majority of salespeople fail to do this.

In the countless sales transactions I watch, I notice that most salespeople don't ask their customers enough questions. Sure, they generally uncover a few basic needs that the customer has. They know what they're looking for in a product with regard to features, specifications, color, and price.

What they don't do is probe to uncover additional information about the customer. They don't ask them why they want that specific product, or why they're considering our store. They don't learn where the customer has been shopping or what they've seen. They don't ask what they like and/or dislike about the other stores they've been in to. They don't find out what their hot buttons are or what makes them tick or what will motivate them to buy. They fail to gather enough information!

I believe that there are two primary reasons for this. First, we don't believe that people will give us this information. The fact is, people will tell you anything you want to know providing they trust you and as long as you ask the right questions in the appropriate manner. For example, if a customer tells you that they are buying a product because they are going on a vacation, do you ask where they are going? Do you show interest in their holiday or are you too concerned with closing the sale? Are you more interested in your personal problems or watching the clock to care? In many cases, we are so preoccupied with something else that we miss vital clues customers give us.

An amazing thing occurs if you demonstrate even a tiny bit of interest in your customer. They'll begin to open up! They'll provide you with information you may not have learned otherwise. They'll talk. They'll tell you everything you need to know in order to close the sale. People love to talk about themselves and they'll start to feel more comfortable with you as they talk. When people feel more comfortable they relax. We all know that a prospect who is relaxed will be more likely to buy than someone who is tense and uptight.

The second reason for not gathering sufficient information is that we feel it takes too much time. In my training sessions I frequently hear that this time is better used overcoming objections. My response is that if we gain more information and fully understand the customer's motives and needs, we can often overcome objections before they occur. Use your time more effectively during the sales process. Instead of spending so much time overcoming objections find out what your customer's true concerns are beforehand. This will help you adapt your sales presentation to meet their specific needs, address their concerns, and move you closer to closing the sale. Ask yourself, "What information do I still need to help the customer make the appropriate buying decision?"

We've all heard the expression that information is power. Gain the extra leverage in the sales process by investing the time gaining extra information from your customer. Do it consistently and you'll develop stronger relationships with your customers, which, in turn, will help you close more sales.

-- About the AuthorKelley Robertson is a Senior Partner of The Robertson Training Group and the author of, "Stop, Ask & Listen - How to welcome your customers and increase your sales." Gain practical advice on how to increase your sales by subscribing to his 59-Second Tip, a free weekly e-zine at http://www.robertsontraininggroup.com/. Kelley can be reached at 905-633-7750
Credits
Article: http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/Listen-Your-Way-To-Sales-Success-145-page-1.htmlImage: http://iasos.com/audioclp/BabyListeningWithHeadphones.jpgLinks to this post

Hiring People: Fresh Grads or Career Shifters?

There have been so much hype and quibbles about the emerging new industry in the Philippines called Call Center Industry (CCI), most specifically Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). The Internet is calling it a phenomenal industry, newspapers banner it as the trend of the future, and even our government is giving heads to it as the economic savior.

So many statistics have been released by various groups of economic monitors. Some boogies the imagination, other contradictory. Is the CCI really the answer to the national economic slumps? What is its effect to the socioeconomic environment? Is it good or bad?

SURVEYS AND FORECASTS

Research by independent market analyst, Datamonitor, reveals that the number of call center agents based in the Asia-Pacific region will continue to grow throughout the next five years, driven by the low costs, ever increasing language skills, and internal demand. According to Datamonitor, “Asian markets including India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore will be driven by internal demand in additional to a focus on language capabilities and comparative advantages from price standpoint” Datamonitor also noted that “new locations such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand would continue to adopt Asian outsourcing markets, in addition to mainstay clients, which include the UK and the US.”

Southeast Asia dominates the list of the 2005 index, with the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapre, Thailand and Indonesia filling up the top 15 positions. Additional reports by the survey states that the Philippines is a favorite of foreign investments for off shoring because of the English-proficient workforce, despite its political fluidity and infrastructure frailty. A Canadian market research company, XMG, stated that the Philippines is capable of exceeding India, in the call center industry, as market leader, as early as 2008.

So where do we get people to fill up the seat? NEW GRADUATES OR CAREER SHIFTERS?

According to conservative expert estimates, for the Philippines CCI to grow into a million workers by 2010, the industry needs to recruit an average of 200,000 additional workers each year; a figure some industry experts say is quite difficult to achieve at the current trend. Even if the industry achieves half that target, recruiting about 100,000 new workers each year for the industry would mean a significant number will have to come from career shifters – licensed professionals who have specific career specialties but opted to shirt work due to personal or financial concerns.

Today, some BPO companies are studying specific program options to attract career shifters into their fold. Many companies, however, hire career shifters as they come and where they are needed. Although there are still conservatives who believe that fresh graduates offer more than career shifters. Says the president of Me American International Group (AIG) Business Processing Service Inc.. Chris Duncan-Webb, "We prefer fresh graduates. For us there is really no great advantage in hiring career shifters. It is much easier to assimilate new graduates into our culture than import from other companies with a different culture.¬
Ideally. companies are hiring newly-graduates for the simple reason that they want to train them fresh from the drawing boards. Duncan-Webb adds: "We shall continue our policy of recruiting new graduates although occasionally we will recruit career shifters if they fit our profile. I am not sure if the number of career shifters applying will increase but I think probably so because BPO is a new and exciting industry."

There have been no significant studies with regard to the number of career shifters in the outsourcing industry. It is, however, a logical conclusion owing from reports of various groups like DataMonitor and Jobstreet that the number is increasing every year.
Many companies prefer to hire workers who already have experiences in technical as well as management areas. Professionals in the field of engineering, information technology, sales and marketing. industrial management are especially adept to the job and could have distinct advantages in working in call centers.

Indeed. some service providers need people who are good in conversation. in mental calculation.. and in psychology. These are specified areas where career shifters are well accepted. Because shifting to a BPO career seems to be a new trend, however, human-resource experts can't seem to agree on whether or not it will accelerate in the next few years or on how it will impact the Philippine corporate economy.

The Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT) seems to be betting on career shifters to meet the country's job targets in the BPO and cyberservices industry. CICT estimates that more than 40,000 career shifters are going to join the cyberservices industry until 2010. The Commission also expects career shifters to make up 30 percent of new employees in the medical transcription business from 2008 to 2010.

The current situation is that newly-graduates are filling up the seats of phone-operating rank-and-file service and information providers, while career shifters are absorbing the vacuum of supervisory positions in the field of technology. Engineering and management, and even in medicine where medical and diagnostic transcription is now an emerging online business.

Most experts believe the impact will probably be broad-based and will hit small and medium enterprises the hardest. Career shifters in the call centers and BPO industries would come from small-and-medium-scale (S&M) businesses that cannot afford to pay high wages and provide attractive benefits packages like the big companies. If this trend accelerates, it will make things more difficult for the S&Ms, which is where the bulk of Philippine economy lies..

Credits

Article: http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/HIRING-PEOPLE-NEW-GRADS-or-CAREER-SHIFTERS-192-page-1.htmlImage: http://tell.fll.purdue.edu/JapanProj/FLClipart/Verbs/graduate.gif

Handling Difficult Customers

When it comes to dealing with difficult clients, listening is a cardinal rule. Listening is an art, a skill, a discipline, and like other skills, it needs self-control. You must ignore your own needs and concentrate attention on the person speaking. In that way, you can give good rebuttals that even the hardest clients can’t oppose.

In Customer Service, we usually dub the difficult ones as “nightmare” clients. Ask the CSRs who have encountered one. Don’t think it’s not going happen to you, chances are if you think that way, then you’re only setting yourself up to fail. If it hasn’t happened to you, it will, sooner or later, guaranteed.

What makes a nightmare client so awful? Let me count the ways. For example, this client can't make up his mind, and when he does it's unquestionably a terrible decision, until he changes his mind again, and makes a more disastrous choice, blaming you or others, naturally, when things go wrong. Then when you save the day through a tremendous effort and sheer brilliance, he decides to just forget about it and before you know it, you’re left high and dry. The difficult client doesn't care that you have other clients. He will call you frequently for the silliest reasons or no reason at all. Your patience will definitely be put to test… Loosen up! Don’t let the situation get the better of you. Aside from listening to the clients’ gripes, here are some more tips on how to handle difficult clients.

Be polite and attentive. Do not allow yourself to become provoked. Be consistent in your responses since it reflects badly on your company if different representatives give different responses to a policy/features question. Do not try to explain the policies if you realize you are unsure about the rationale behind it. Refer to someone who can enlighten the client, call a person that you know can handle the situation. Merely talking to a “higher” authority even if the policy is not waived satisfies many clients. You can inform them nicely that he may like to take this issue further and speak to your supervisor. But do not tell them that you’re afraid there is nothing else you can do for him. If you ARE the highest authority on duty and the client does not wish to call back and talk to your supervisor at another time, there may be no alternative other than to politely but firmly repeat that you regret that you are unable to do anything further for them at that time. But instead, assure them that your supervisor will call them the soonest possible time.

Avoid a condescending or impatient tone. Make the client realize that you are listening on the other line and that you understand his point of view. The aim in this initial part of the interaction is to calm the client; there is little benefit in attempting to communicate information to the person while they are distressed. Once the client is calm, effective communication with the client over his specific problem may begin. You will need to make a judgment about the appropriate course of action; it should be beneficial to both client and your company. And before ending the conversation, leave lines of communication open. "You have my number; please call if there's anything I can do." This simple phrase does so much. It informs the client that you're not running away from obligations and would be happy to assist them again.

Credits

Article:http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/Handling-Difficult-Customers-7-page-1.htmlhttp://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/Handling-Difficult-Customers-7-page-2.htmlImage: http://www.callcentrehelper.com/call-centre-qa-coping-with-angry-customers-223.htm

Graveyard...Why Not?

One of the worst things in life is getting stuck with a lingering question that keeps popping in and out of your head while you go out and try to make a living for yourself. A question that goes in and out but you don’t get to answer because you are preoccupied with an activity called work. What is worst is if that question is directly related to it. In other words, a work-related question.

Let me give you an idea what I am driving at. I’ve been doing closing calls for a company for more than a year but its only now that I came to ask myself, why am I working at this unholy hour when I do have a choice of getting something that will make me a part of the “normal” yuppie crowd. Is it the pay that I am receiving? Hmm, something to ponder even more but that’s a question that can be argued upon with a few rounds of beer so let's leave that behind, shall we? Maybe there is something more! So the question now is, what makes the graveyard shift so attractive that I just want to reach out and grab it like a long lost friend?

I enlisted the help of some so-called "experts" when it comes to doing the graveyard shift and they came up with almost the same answers. Normal answers like hassle free traffic to and from the office stands to be the best reason to do graveyard. Yeah, I think they do have a very good point there. I would rather traverse the Avenue knowing that I wouldn’t get to see yuppies, old time employees and newly grads strolling along and making the beeline to the nearest building entrance.

Another reason would be the less stress on your pocket. I can probably say that I can survive one shift with P20.00 in my pocket because I don’t have to worry about any parking fee and other incidentals that come along with doing a morning shift. Yes, it’s less expensive in the evening.Some of my more fashionable "experts" would reason out laxity in dress code as one big factor why graveyard is so cool. Doing the morning shift gives you the feeling of formality. The graveyard shift provides you with an outlet to be whatever you are, just as long as it is within the bounds of the company's rules and regulations. Call Center “owls”, when it comes to fashion, only have one motto, diversity. It is only here in this campaign that you could see you the ever-present fashionista and the much maligned baduy crowd and everything else in between.

Some also consider the non-presence of the sun as one big factor why they choose to do graveyard. I could speak for myself, I am what you might call a native stud not part of the mestizo crowd so you could just probably imagine the relief I feel every time I go to work.
With all factors considered. I thought long and hard and I came to the conclusion that hey, its not all of the above mentioned factors that made me realize that I made a good decision with sticking to graveyard. It’s the vibe, the feel that you are doing something out of the ordinary; something that feels different from the norm. Sure, I'll graduate eventually into a morning shift, that comes with a shift in priorities. But as of now, I will relish the fact that some time within my so called life, I came to do something different and I enjoyed it, made some money out of it and made some lasting relationships along the way.

So graveyard isn’t that bad after all.

Credits
Article: http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/GraveyardWhy-Not-5-page-1.html, http://www.callcenterdirectory.net/call-center-articles/GraveyardWhy-Not-5-page-2.htmlImage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/250000/images/_250264_body_clock_300.jpg