Articles by Andrew Gilliam

I Can Hear You Smiling: Emotionally Aware Support for Emotionally Exhausting Times

When things get tough, actively practicing empathy and seeing the world through our customers' eyes can improve service and support for both analysts and customers.

July 30, 2020 on SupportWorld

ICMI Virtual: A Summit for Contact Center Professionals

ICMI Virtual explores how contact centers can evolve their strategies, sustain their remote workforces, leverage metrics, and make the most of newly acquired technology.

June 23, 2020 on ICMI

How To Maximize the Value of Virtual Training

I interview an experienced instructional designer to learn about the process of adapting in-person courses to a virtual environment.

June 10, 2020 on ICMI

Keep Your Career Moving Forward

Andrew Gilliam collected some helpful links from around the web to help you network, keep learning, and make the most of any setbacks you face.

June 9, 2020 on SupportWorld

Crisis Communication Advice for Contact Center Leaders

Crises and remote work have something in common—the need for greater thoughtfulness, transparency, and communication.

May 6, 2020 on ICMI

The Emergency Response Team Of Your Business - What You Need To Know

This is a quick and dirty tactical guide to crafting an emergency response team in the face of an impending disaster, should your organization not already have one.

March 18, 2020 on ICMI

In Case of Emergency: 5 Tips to Enable Remote Work

Being productive outside of your regular work environment is challenging, no matter where that is. These tips will help your team have a smooth transition to work outside the office when necessary.

March 17, 2020 on SupportWorld

Designate Essential Personnel Contact Center

Designate Essential Personnel For Your Contact Center

During an emergency, having the right people on hand at the right time is vital to your company's recovery. Do you know who those people are? Learn how to designate and manage essential employees.

March 12, 2020 on ICMI

Will It Blend?: The Pros and Cons of Channel-Blended Agents

Customer Experience Lessons from a Nespresso Money Mule

One coffee lover gets more than she bargained for while searching for a good deal on Nespresso. Helping customers navigate and recover from rogue experiences is an essential consideration for experience professionals.

January 19, 2020 on Tin Cans & String

Make Your 2020 Resolutions Come True... Right Now!

The beginning of a new year is a great time to energize ourselves for future pursuits, but it can be a struggle to maintain our resolve throughout the year. Here are some ways to get started on your resolutions, right now!

January 10, 2020 on ICMI

Will It Blend?: The Pros and Cons of Channel-Blended Agents

We love our channels, yet many struggle to deliver consistent, effective service everywhere. Channel-blended agents can bolster omnichannel success by working across multiple channels.

December 13, 2019 on ICMI

CCTR Insider: Why Leaders Don't Act On Unstructured Feedback

It can be incredibly hard for leaders to organize and act on unstructured feedback effectively. Without the right processes and technology in place to capture and structure the feedback, it's impossible to act.

October 24, 2019 on LANtelligence

CCTR Insider: Solutions To Maximize Unstructured Feedback

CCTR Insider: Why Agents Don't Share Unstructured Feedback

Unstructured feedback is the next great frontier in customer experience management, but the disorganized nature that gives the term its name makes it difficult to take full advantage of the goldmine.

September 26, 2019 on LANtelligence

CCTR Insider: Solutions To Maximize Unstructured Feedback

When we receive feedback in a disorganized way, it’s up to those capturing the feedback to give it some structure. Most employees haven’t been trained and don’t know what to do with these kinds of suggestions.

August 27, 2019 on LANtelligence

Six Hidden Costs of Saying "NO"

There is no shortage of reasons to tell a customer "no." In some cases, the law requires it! It's up to us to communicate necessary rejection while preserving the customer's goodwill towards us. Our actions when denying a customer decide the outcome.

August 14, 2019 on ICMI

Check the Box: Making Customer Experience Surveys More Actionable

Having a customer satisfaction survey doesn’t mean you have insight into what frustrates your customers. Asking the wrong follow-up questions can degrade the survey experience and the entire customer experience.

August 1, 2019 on SupportWorld

CCTR Insider: Hold, please! 5 Steps For Happily Waiting Customers

Waiting on hold can be a customer's worst nightmare. As customers, we've been there ourselves! Agents abruptly demand that we wait without a clear reason why, and when they return to us, it's like they've never met us before. We're left wondering why we can't just have our issue resolved.

July 25, 2019 on LANtelligence

Good Help Is Harder To Keep: Retaining Top-Performers

CCTR Insider: How to Help Contact Center Agents Survive Their First Call

Especially for first-time contact center agents, speaking with that first customer can be a nerve wracking experience. As trainers and coaches, how do we help our new colleagues to have the necessary confidence and knowledge to assist our customers along their journey?

June 25, 2019 on LANtelligence

Good Help Is Harder To Keep: Retaining Top-Performers

Working in a contact center isn't always exciting, and when it is... that's not necessarily good. As a result, it can be a struggle for even the best contact centers to attract and retain top talent.

June 4, 2019 on ICMI

Mixed Messages: Your Feedback Is Important, But We Don’t Have Time To Listen

Companies beg us to take their surveys, but what happens when customers beg for help? Many surveys conclude by telling customers that the company cannot respond to each customer individually.

May 28, 2019 on Tin Cans & String

Employers: Tell Us About Yourself

We expect candidates to flatter us with unique and meaningful reasons why they want to work for us. No one wants to hire an employee desperate for any job, but can we clearly articulate who we are and why our work is important?

May 17, 2019 on ICMI

5 Ways Tomorrow's Contact Center Will Deliver Value

Imagine what the world will be like after you've checked off every box on your customer experience to-do list. This article explores the contribution of contact centers towards the end of an organization's customer experience journey.

May 1, 2019 on Call Center Weekly

Why Most Surveys Suck

Let’s be honest, most surveys suck. When was the last time you said, “Wow! That was a great survey experience,” as a customer? I’ve never heard those words. Why does it seem to be so difficult not to screw up what should be a relatively simple concept?

April 16, 2019 on Tin Cans & String

Who's Taking Your Survey: Design With These Customers In Mind

Great communicators and leaders will tell you the importance of considering your audience before starting any endeavor. Surveys are no different, but who is this mysterious audience? What do they want from us, and how do we get them to offer us constructive feedback?

February 19, 2018 on ICMI

Gifts I Thought Were Cool, As A Kid

It’s that time of year again! Presents! It might surprise you (not really) that I had a really nerdy wish list as a kid. I stand by most of my requests, but there are definitely a few items from my wish list that cause me to wonder, “what was I thinking?”

December 24, 2018 on Tin Cans & String

First Impressions: Apple Business Chat

Imagine ordering a replacement credit card or changing your hotel reservation being as easy as texting your friend. That was Apple’s vision when they introduced Apple Business Chat as part of iOS 11.3, released in March 2018.

December 13, 2018 on Tin Cans & String

McDonald's Survey: 5 Reasons I'm Not Lovin' It!

McDonald's is the epitome of fast-food and uses a quintessential restaurant survey. That doesn't mean they got it right. I've served up 5 lessons for you, no purchase necessary.

October 1, 2018 on Tin Cans & String

GREATER Practices for Live Chat Support

Live chat support continues to grow in popularity with customers and service providers, but chat has its own nuances and challenges that make it different from other channels. Learn how to to make your chat GREATER than the competition.

September 24, 2018 on Tin Cans & String

Rules for Using Your Customer's Name

Using customer names is the most simple form of service personalization, but it can go wrong. Here are five simple rules to use customer names effectively.

September 17, 2018 on Tin Cans & String

What Comes Before "The One Number You Need To Grow"

About six months ago, the survey that I've been working on for almost two years went live. It's the first step toward revitalizing our Voice of the Customer program. In the beginning, I recognized that capturing actionable data will be very challenging and essential to gain traction.

September 9, 2018 on Contact Center Geek