It is a bit of a touchy subject Should you use a: Voice Response Unit VRU, Interactive Voice Response IVR, one of those damn electronic things (call it what you will) to answer your customer’s calls? The naysayers will have you believe they damage “moments of truth” and ruin the “customer experience”. The fans will tell you they are hugely […]
Are You Susceptible to Suggestion?
How to get elected How would you like to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? One perfectly legitimate move you could take is to change your name to Adam Abbott. In the UK ballot papers are presented in alphabetical order, so with a name like that you would be at the top […]
The Problem With Technology
I’m on holiday. Two weeks in southwest France. Glorious autumnal weather, misty mornings, bright sunny days and trees with leaves of every shade from burnt copper to liquid gold (very poetic if a little formulaic, sorry). Of course to get here involved a little trauma; no pain no gain. I had to leave home at […]
Clever Capital Investment or Shiny New Toy?
If you have ever called a call centre, no doubt you have used an IVR (interactive voice response, press 1 to change your address…press 2 to… you get the idea). The public is generally a little damming about them, to quote Wikipedia: “IVR is sometimes criticised as being unhelpful and difficult to use due to […]
The Monument
In the manufacturing world they use the term “monument” to refer to any piece of equipment that is too big for its purpose. They are expensive pieces of capital equipment that drive massive economies of scale at a local level but fundamentally mess up the total system. Because of their inflexibility they must be “fed” […]