Vincent Deschamps

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that  research and development spending is holding steady in the current economic slump. According to the Journal, companies spent nearly as much on R&D in Q4 2008 as they did a year earlier. Why? Because companies are wary of emerging from the recession with obsolete products. The reasoning is understandable, but it's half-baked. What else should companies be wary about? Emerging from the recession without customers to buy their products. Put another way, customer service is "the other R&D," a business function that can't be ignored in a downturn. Now, most enterprise organizations recognize the need to improve their customer service to be competitive. Fewer enterprises, however, have had the money to do so - until now.  The rise of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions that improve customer service is giving companies a ... (more)

Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts Adds Contact Center Solutions

With the global economy in recession, companies and consumers alike are tightening their belts. However, if a company cuts costs at the expense of customer service, the results can threaten both reputation and revenues. Delaware North Companies’ newest operating company, Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, relies on an on-demand hosted contact center from Echopass to meet business targets during an economic downturn. Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts was founded in 1992 after winning the bid to service the U.S. National Park Service’s largest contract — Yosemite N... (more)

Fortune 500 Finds a Secret Weapon in SaaS-based Contact Centers

From a business standpoint, software as a service (SaaS) is all about operating vs. capital cost and rapid time-to-value. Fortune 500 enterprise companies can no longer afford to make steep, up-front investments in software integration, hardware and staff; and then wait from 12 months to over 18 months to realize business value. Today, companies need immediate return with little to zero up-front investment. That's what SaaS delivers, and nowhere is SaaS delivering more convincing value than in the contact center arena. SaaS-based contact centers resolve the demands to cut costs ... (more)

Everyone Wins When Employees Work at Home

Working from home is a rare grand slam, game winning business trend. In the contact center and elsewhere, the transition from commute to telecommute benefits employers, employees, end user customers and the environment alike. Employers can turn their business models upside down and have a huge advantage when contact center agents work at home. More and more businesses understand that the agent-employee — whether in customer service, sales or help desk — is a key asset, and retaining that asset is a must-do. Outrigger Hotels had over 100 agents in a Denver contact center to serve i... (more)