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Softphones for Contact Centers in 2017

Many phones to choose from

It’s been more than 2 years since I wrote the Softphones for Contact Center ACD post, and looking back, not a lot has changed as far as the relevance of how softphones can be used and can help cut your startup costs, assuming you are using a free version. A little bit has changed on the softphone landscape in my experience, so let’s talk a bit about the three softphones I mentioned in the original post. Continue reading “Softphones for Contact Centers in 2017”

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Happy Halloween! Scary Contact Center ACD Situations!

Halloween is pretty awesome, in my opinion. While I don’t necessarily get in character with the amount of dedication that many people do, it’s still a fun little ‘holiday.’ I definitely like hitting the web to see what people come up with for costume ideas. Plus, discounted Halloween candy post-October 31st is nice treat. Let’s switch focus to the contact center ACD and some of the scary moments that can occur if you happen to be the administrator of a contact center. Continue reading “Happy Halloween! Scary Contact Center ACD Situations!”

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Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Pushes the PS4 to the Limit: FastAGI Can Push Your Asterisk Contact Center There As Well

On May 10th, Naughty Dog released the 4th and likely final installment of the Uncharted series, with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. The Uncharted series is definitely one of my favourite sets of games, so I was looking forward to the 10th for a long time. Reviews are glowing. Digital Foundry called it a “technical powerhouse” and “the best-looking console game we’ve ever tested.” That’s some high praise regarding how this title pushes the limits of the PS4’s capabilities. What can you do to push the limits of your Asterisk-based contact center without needing to upgrade your hardware? Let’s take a look at FastAGI. Continue reading “Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End Pushes the PS4 to the Limit: FastAGI Can Push Your Asterisk Contact Center There As Well”

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Large and In Charge: Tips for Call Center Capacity Planning

You have a successful contact center in operation and things are going well. The site isn’t having any issues with call quality, database latency, or agent portal usage. It’s a wonderful thing. You have a new client coming on board and all of a sudden, you need four times the capacity and throughput that your site currently handles and handles well. While the new business is certainly welcomed, how can you expand, efficiently and effectively, to meet these new requirements for your contact center? Continue reading “Large and In Charge: Tips for Call Center Capacity Planning”

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Super Bowl 50 is Coming! Effectively Handling Volume Spikes in your Contact Center ACD

 It’s that time of year again. Super Bowl Sunday is this weekend. Regardless of which teams happen to be playing in the big game, the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers in this case, it is must-see TV. People watch for various reasons. They want to watch the game itself, they just care about the commercials and the halftime show, or they just want an excuse to hang out with friends on a Sunday night. Whatever your reasoning for watching the Super Bowl, the bottom line is that millions and millions of people tune in who normally would not be tuning in if it were any given Sunday. With the most-watched sporting event worldwide looming on the horizon, let’s have a look at how you can handle volume spikes in your contact center ACD.

Continue reading “Super Bowl 50 is Coming! Effectively Handling Volume Spikes in your Contact Center ACD”

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Would You Like PBX Dial Notifications for Incoming Calls? You Can Have Them!

These days, more and more people want to stay in the loop as much as possible. With cell phones being almost a necessity, this statement holds true even more. We all want to be notified in one way or another when something of interest happens, whether it’s a Facebook message or a Twitter DM. Using PBX dial notifications can help keep you in the loop if and when you are on the go and not currently at your PBX extension’s location. I know I’m stepping out of the contact center realm with this PBX-specific topic and that’s ok. Let’s talk about these dial notifications. Continue reading “Would You Like PBX Dial Notifications for Incoming Calls? You Can Have Them!”

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Hold For the Holidays: How to Not Annoy Your Holding Customers

The 2015 holiday shopping season is well under way. Black Friday and Cyber Monday have come and gone, and now we’re into the home stretch before the holiday break. I’m keeping a loose eye on Twitter and it appears that a lot of people are tweeting out to companies about being on hold for an atrociously long period of time and they are, of course, not happy about it. Nobody wants to be stuck on hold any longer than they need to be, so I can sympathize with these people. Contact centers should be prepared to handle the influx of calls that are no doubt going to happen during this time period and should be able to adjust accordingly. Continue reading “Hold For the Holidays: How to Not Annoy Your Holding Customers”

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Preparing for the Fallout: Ways to Avoid a Contact Center Disaster

Bethesda’s latest installment in the Fallout franchise, Fallout 4, releases in four days. I know a lot of people who are incredibly excited for this game. I’m actually not one of the them, as of now, but that could certainly change. With that in mind, let’s talk about a few of the options you have for avoiding a contact center disaster. Continue reading “Preparing for the Fallout: Ways to Avoid a Contact Center Disaster”

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Big Plays From Big Jays: Contact Center ACD All-Stars

It’s been a very long time, 1993 to be specific, since folks north of the border have been this excited for MLB playoffs. The Toronto Blue Jays are once again playing ball in October, and after a fairly disastrous start culminating in 2 losses at home, they have roared back to win the ALDS 3 games to 2. Game 5 will certainly go down in playoff baseball lore as one of the weirdest and wackiest games, with a 53-minute 7th inning that would make the greatest storytellers blush with jealousy. Stars shine the brightest in the spotlight, and Jose Bautista was the North Star last night, after his mammoth 3-run blast that put the Jays ahead for good. Let’s talk about letting your contact center ACD all-stars shine. Continue reading “Big Plays From Big Jays: Contact Center ACD All-Stars”