December 1998

BY RICH TEHRANI

As an example, I recently used the Web to purchase two tickets to a show in Manhattan called "Stomp." I did a Web search and reserved what were apparently two of the best seats they had available. I then entered my credit card number and received a confirmation. What could be easier? The concern I have now, though, is do I really know that these seats are the best I could have purchased? At some point in my order I would have liked to have been reassured by a knowledgeable human that these expensive seats were really as good as they seemed.

Once I had filled out the elaborate form on the Web, I felt I needed to complete the transaction online and did not want to repeat the entire process by phone, which probably would have involved being put on hold for an eternity or answering a myriad of IVR questions. So I was stuck -- I could either complete the transaction via the Web or call and confirm the order. For convenience's sake, I chose to complete the order on the Web and now I hope that I picked two great seats. Time will tell.

A call center link or a chat window on the Web site would have solved my dilemma, but no such option existed. All of my questions about the seating could have been dispelled if would have been given the option of a click-to-chat or push-to-talk icon and had a live agent give me real-time advice. Who knows, an agent could have upsold me on more expensive tickets or pushed me pages promoting another show I wasn't even aware of and sold me tickets to that show also. It is apparent, though, that giving consumers access to these intertwined communication options will be a feature on every commercial Web site in the future. The benefits are just too compelling.

But until Web sites are integrated with chat and call centers, customers still must choose between calling a company or e-mailing it. While it is apparent that companies are beginning to take their Web sites more seriously, most still consider the call center the front line and the Web site an afterthought. I realize companies are scrambling to implement the best Web sites they can. They just don't seem prepared for the onslaught of customer interaction the Web invites.

Recently, I was interested in purchasing an enhanced air filter for my new car. The filter's manufacturer explained that the product was not yet on the market and suggested I contact a mail order distributor for more information. I then called the mail order distributor and asked to be contacted when the filter was available. I found the company's Web site and sent an e-mail. I never received a response. I still don't have the air filter.

Since then, I have had better luck contacting various companies via e-mail or by filling out their online forms. Nokia was kind enough to respond to my question about one of their cellular phones. They sent me back an e-mail response three days after I sent them my query. When I received a new credit card and needed to update my Dining Ala Card account, I sent an e-mail. A few days later I received a response that my e-mail had been routed to the correct deparent.

We seem to have different expectations of the Web than the telephone. A three-day response is unacceptable when we use the telephone, yet we tolerate this delay on the Web. I am not sure why. Presently, e-mail lacks the instant gratification and interactivity that speaking with a live agent provides.

Still, we hear about the huge influx of e-mail companies deal with. I am willing to bet one of the reasons for the volume is because dealing with e-mail is easier than dealing with poorly designed menu trees on IVR systems. Beyond that, if an IVR system allows customers to leave messages, it may be viewed as too informal. We are used to dealing with companies by phone in real-time; there is no such expectation with e-mail.

So what if IVR systems allow us to leave a message rather than waiting for the right agent to answer the call? I've never encountered a menu option such as, "Press 5 at any time to leave us a message that will be answered when the next agent is available."

Many times I use voice mail when e-mail doesn't seem like the right form of communication. I can't do this with a call center. I either use e-mail or wait until the company gets around to taking my call. So perhaps the proliferation of e-mail companies experience is due to the fact that as customers, we can now easily express ourselves without traversing complex menu trees and then waiting for the correct agent to take our calls.

The invention of e-mail routing programs that mimic ACD routing tables shows that the Web can be improved by learning from the call center. In light of the need for simpler IVR menu trees, perhaps it's time for the call center to learn something from the Web. It's time to have the best of both worlds.

Sincerely yours,
Rich Tehrani
Group Publisher
[email protected]

As founder in 1986 of the original call center event, TBT (Telemarketing and Business Telecommunications), we are making a bold statement with the above headline. When you produce a product the market likes, it is always a bit unnerving to tinker with it. When we decided to expand the world's first call center show to become CTI™ EXPO by encompassing computer-telephony integration and Internet telephony, we were, to say the least, apprehensive of what the reception would be.

What we found, however, was that the market embraced our new format with open arms. In fact, the attendance at our first CTI™ EXPO last May in Baltimore was more than 300 percent larger than that of any other call center show. Of course, this is partially due to the larger scope, but we learned quickly that call center decision makers needed a show like CTI™ EXPO.

The expanded exhibitor base of CTI™ EXPO allowed call center decision makers to see products that were absent at other shows. A great example is Internet telephony gateways: Distributed call centers are now using these gateways over their WANs to transfer telephony traffic at little or no cost. It is not unusual for Internet telephony gateways to pay for themselves in six months. If you have a distributed call center and haven't explored Internet telephony gateways, you are missing a huge money-saving opportunity.

Industrial computers is a huge exhibitor category at CTI™ EXPO, yet not one call center show has ever had these vendors exhibiting. As telephony migrates to the PC, it is essential that computers with industrial strength and redundant components are used to eliminate the chance of mission-critical telephony applications failing due to computer malfunction. As PC-based call center solutions proliferate, it is vital to ensure that every mission-critical PC is an industrial computer. This includes, but is not limited to, Web servers, e-commerce servers and fax servers.

Finally, at CTI™ EXPO Spring 1999 in Washington, D.C., May 24-26, we will offer a completely new learning center. As many of you have no doubt read in publications such as this and CTI magazine, there is a proliferation of PC-based PBXs and ACDs. Companies such as Altigen and Interactive Intelligence have been promoting these types of products for many years.

The evolution of the PBX into the PC PBX has led to what we call the voice/data switch. The voice/data switch is a PBX that is also a network hub and, in some cases, a unified messaging server and even a firewall. These products are typically based on the Internet telephony protocol but don't necessarily need to be. For example, CellIt uses A to the desktop to achieve the same goal.

The inherent benefits of this type of approach are numerous. Now you can expand your call center to another building, state or country through a simple WAN connection to your second office that allows you to seamlessly link together your two voice/data switches. This is possible with protocols like QSIG and recent PBXs, but voice/data convergence allows you to take advantage of data networking standards that will help drastically lower costs and learning curves. Telephony is still considered black magic by many for good reason: the acronyms and lack of standards in telecommunications are rampant.

Another benefit of the new telephony wrought by voice/data convergence is that remote agents can now easily connect to the voice/data switch through Internet telephony using a VPN and a PC or Internet telephony appliance such as an H.323 telephone. The possibilities are staggering and certainly beyond the scope of this column. CTI™ EXPO is the perfect forum to talk to the vendors before making your next PBX purchase.

As always, our learning centers are areas where vendors will objectively educate attendees for free. As with all C products, we provide the highest quality educational events available. Come to CTI™ EXPO in Washington, D.C., May 24-26, and discover for yourself. Remember to check www.ctiexpo.com for regular updates. See you in D.C.