Last night we went to the Iron Man 3 9:00 pm showing, and it was pretty good. I was really exhausted though, so I don’t think I enjoyed it as much as I would have if I was more awake. Plus, I knew that I had to get up at 7:15 am on my day off today, so I was dreading that the whole time as well. Once we got home, I pretty much went right to bed. Justin and I found these doughnuts at Sam’s Club that we love called Baby Cakes, so we had a few of those before turning in.

They are the BEST frosted doughnuts I’ve ever tasted.

I woke up this morning feeling the lack of sleep pretty good. (Still am..) And I dragged myself to work. I had to clean off the car because it had SNOW on it. It is May Iowa, I think it’s about time you stop being a little biotch and give uz some nice weather! I clocked in and started my  ”training” which consisted of me and 2 others watching a woman go through Marketing partner problems and trying to resolve cases. It was extrememly difficult to grasp most of the things she was doing so that was frustrating, but I am looking forward to working extra hours. Plus I got paid for an extra 2.5 hours today, which will make up for the days I left early.

So I came home from work just as Justin was getting ready to leave for work, said our goodbyes and I climbed back into bed and read some more of a College Program trip report on the Disboards.com I tried so hard to fall asleep but I also knew that Justin’s mom would be calling so I kept trying to wait for the call. I did some laundry (which is now sitting in the dryer because I am at Panera) and finally she called. The first call was 12:30 pm and we have been on and off the phone until about 2:30 pm. I decided to walk over to Panera to have lunch (hey, I walked so add .8 miles to my week!) and I have been enjoying my broccoli and cheddar soup with a baguette a lot more than I am enjoying my view!

What a horrible, no good, very bad weather day. I have T-Minus 4 hours and 40 minutes until Justin gets home, and the goal is to finish laundry, clean the apartment, and maybe nap? (The last on the list obviously being the most important )

3:30 pm: So I guess I ought to head back now, I just got an email from Justin’s dad about the loan and it looks like instead of 260$ a month it will go to 209 dollars a month. 60 bucks is 60 bucks!

3:51 pm: Back at home, put away some laundry, and now I have till 6:00 pm to fart around until it’s time for me to clean the apartment and shower. His mother called again! I swear this loan consolidation has been more trouble than it’s worth, but hopefully that’s the last of the calls.

4:14 pm: Just realized that I hit the five mile mark today! Not sure what the weather will be like tomorrow, but I might walk home depending. So I could be close to 8 miles!

7:06 pm: Definitely got the nap in… The only problem is now I have to shower and clean the apartment in like 1 hr! Yikes!

9:22 pm: Cleaned the house, made the bed with freshly washed sheets, and am currently baking cookies while Justin is using the restroom and showering. He brought home Northern Lights pizza and it was delicious and so very detrimental to any weight loss!

ForeSee, the leader in technology-driven customer experience analytics, developed this benchmark with data from nearly 50,000 surveys in which customers shared their experiences with contact centers.

Overall, the average customer satisfaction score for contact centers is 80 on ForeSee’s 100-point scale. This score represents a measurement against which companies can benchmark their own contact center customer satisfaction. With ForeSee’s methodology, scores of 80 and higher are classified as “highly satisfied,” while scores of 69 and lower are labeled “dissatisfied.” This industry average score of 80 indicates that consumers are highly satisfied with their contact center experience, but there is room for improvement across the industry.

“Keeping a pulse on consumers’ experiences with the contact center is critical to an organization’s success across all channels,” said Eric Head, ForeSee’s senior director of sales. “By measuring satisfaction correctly, a company is able to gain actionable measurements that allow them to identify areas for improvement while simultaneously using the predictive quality to project future success.”

As a pioneer in customer experience analytics, ForeSee’s technology is founded on a scientific methodology that has demonstrated a strong relationship between customer satisfaction and a company’s financial future. Essentially, when customer satisfaction is scientifically measured, it can be used to predict key outcomes such as future purchases, recommendations and loyalty.

“By working with ForeSee to closely evaluate our customers’ contact center experience, we now have the tools to empower our agents with the information they need to make each customer engagement as satisfactory as possible,” said Chuck DeLuca, supervisor of customer relations at Nikon. “As a result, we have seen the number of multiple calls to the contact center decrease, as our customers’ issues and concerns are addressed directly and more efficiently.”

Scores for individual companies included in the benchmark range from a low of 61 to a high of 94 — a fairly large range that has implications for the future of their customer relationships. Some companies are well-loved for the contact center experiences they provide, while others are strongly disliked.

One reason for the disparity in satisfaction is a result of the primary objective of the contact center. When ForeSee isolated scores for service-focused call centers only, satisfaction came in at 76. This comes as no surprise since a large proportion of customers contacting a service-oriented center are likely calling with a problem and may already be frustrated.

“While ForeSee enables us to create a better contact center experience, the measurement has also led to numerous efforts throughout the organization to increase satisfaction across all channels,” said Paulette Marino, manager of corporate research at JEA. “By learning our customers’ pain points in the contact center, we have adjusted the content on our website and are implementing new email initiatives designed to save our customers the inconvenience of making unnecessary phone calls.”

ForeSee’s benchmark provides insights into the value of a highly satisfied customer (satisfaction at 80 or higher) by comparing their likely future behaviors to those of less-satisfied customers (with satisfaction below 70). This comparison illustrates the impact that customer satisfaction with contact center experiences can have on a company’s future success.

Based on likelihood scores, highly satisfied customers report being:
* 182 percent more likely than less-satisfied customers to make contact again, which can mean higher frequency of interaction, improved engagement and increased share of mind and wallet.
* 149 percent more likely than less-satisfied customers to purchase next time, which can mean increased sales.
* 180 percent more likely than less-satisfied customers to recommend the company to a friend, family member or colleague, which can translate to more business.

“While the contact center tends to be the last resort for customers to engage with a company, it is in a way the company’s last line of defense for securing and maintaining a customer’s loyalty and relationship,” said Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee. “Our research consistently demonstrates the powerful effect of customer satisfaction as we work with organizations that carefully measure and hone their contact center strategies to increase satisfaction.”

More at www.ForeSeeResults.com.

10:49 am: Starting to regret signing up for extra hours. I was looking forward to my day off tomorrow, but now I have to go in to train! The plan was originally to come in at 8 am but I can’t be without a ride. So hopefully I can go in at 10:30 am- 12:30 pm. That would be wonderful. Plus I can make up the two hours that I missed last week (well 2 of the 3.5 hrs that I missed) so that will be good. I was just looking forward to a day off!

11:22 am: So I am going in at 8 am tomorrow and leaving at 10:30 am so that Justin can get me and I can drop him off at work at 11 am. I am not looking forward to getting up that early, but if that means that I can have more hours the next few weeks that will work for me!

11:25 am: Shoot! I forgot to bring something for the pot luck. People are bickering that there isn’t enough food…will that stop me from eating the food that people did bring? Not a chance!

11:47 am: It’s pretty slow so far. I’ve managed to only take 2 calls and I’ve been here an hour. Looking forward to getting a little snack on first break!

11:51 am: Just went to the restroom and realized that I put my underwear on inside out. Cool beans.

12:05 pm: I think I am anxious because I feel like I need to call Justin and tell him about my hours tomorrow. I just need to BREATH because this is not going to make the day go any faster!

12:45 pm: Had the potluck food, just mediocre at best, and went to get a cup of coffee, and it wasn’t free anymore! How lame.

1:06 pm: List of things I need to save money for to explain to N(Justin’s mother)since she doesn’t seem to grasp that I have to save money for things OTHER THAN SCHOOL.

• Car
• Vacations
• A future wedding
• Children
• A house

That’s a lot of pressure and that’s not even the whole list. Life in general is expensive too!

1:21 pm: I am really  missing my coffee So tempted to get a diet Mtn Dew.

1:43 pm: 2 sales, 20 calls. Blah conversion rate. Phooey.

2:21 pm: 4 sales, 30 calls. AW SHUCKS.

2:39 pm: Judge me if you must, but I broke down and bought a diet mtn dew. I had to do it, just had too!

4:32 pm: Lunch gone and over with, only 1hr and a half left to go, and I am at 8 sales and probably close to 45 calls.

5:55 pm: Ready to go home! I have made 9 sales today and had  60 calls.  Not so hot. Going to go home get J’s clothing together and I am going to enjoy a shower and get ready to meet him.

Iar după ce reuşeşti să scapi de coşmarurile primelor 2 luni în care noaptea rezolvi în vis problemele „omuleţilor verzi” de la celălalt capăt şi iubita te ia la trei păzeşte dimineaţa, că vorbeşti în franceză, atunci te linişteşti. Vei conştientiza că sunt doar nişte probleme care trebuie rezolvate şi ţipetele şi nemulţumirile nu au de a face cu tine.

Şi atunci vei asculta tac-tac-tac-tac şi Bonjour, oui, bien sûr, ce n’est pas un problème, votre disque dure est morte, tac-tac-tac. O adevărata simfonie. Iar când în stânga ai un geam şi vezi o rază de soare în martie, îţi vine să fugi cu cordonul de la căşti şi cu calculatorul în braţe şi să te arunci, să tragi în piept aerul de primăvară, să alergi, să fumezi pe nări norii de afară şi să lingi o frunză de cireş înflurită, în timp ce un broscoi îţi mănâncă creierul.

Să ştii că scoţi fum, că stai întins pe iarbă şi că din celălalt căpăt se aud des nombreuses plaintes, ar fi o împlinire. În pauză o ciocârlie să confirme spusele tale şi să butonezi în continuare, nepăsător. John, dă-mi şi mie o soluţie, e bun update-ul sau nu ? Nu, „merge ca ochiul mortului”.

Sună, sunăăăăăăă iarrrr. Apeşi, deschizi, codezi, asculţi, vorbeşti, vorbeşti peste, vorbeşti cu, prin, în monitor, zgârii biroul, alergi prin nori, stăbaţi câmpii şi te reîntorci în acelaşi scaun, tragi apa, te speli, iei o gură de apă, cafea, suc, mânânci un corn sau un salatin şi continui. Nu mai e mult…

Şi asta nu ar fi tot. Dacă mai întârzie şi 8-ul, celebrul 8 de care vă spuneam într-un post anterior, şi ajung cu 3 minute înainte să deschid calculatorul este o adevărată plăcere. Asudezi încercand să te loghezi la timp şi începi să faci mătănii în faţa ecranului, să te rogi la tatăl Jobs să trimită din ceruri mai multi rami şi să atingă cu degetul său creator procesorul, doar doar o funcţiona mai bine. Şi când, în sfârşit, se deschide sesiunea: “ouvrir la session”, constaţi că mai ai fix un minut să dublu-clickezi pe 15 icoane.

Iar când netul, stăpânul nostru, începe să îţi facă figuri, atunci apare semnul divin: APELUL

Iar miile de înjurături pe care le rosteşti în cap nu pot fi stocate nici pe cel mai performant hard disk, nici pe alea SSD ultra sofisticate.

Iar atunci nu îţi pui în cap decât să bei o gură de apa şi să aştepţi, să aştepţi. Numeri secundele, minutele, orele şi îţi ştergi fruntea asudată.

Dar ieşi cu capul sus, ai mai rezolvat o mână de oameni care ţi-au mulţumit sau te-au înjurat după apel. Şi atunci dormi pe perna ta, crezând că mâine vor fi mai puţini.

A mai trecut o zi.

(Dodo)

Persuasive words point an accusing finger at me. If I don’t buy that purifier, I am denying my beloved family safe drinking water.

Courtesy and efficiency pour out of their advertisement and the bank’s executive who comes home (“at your convenience”) to help me fill the account opening form. I just need to sign where she points.

At the exclusive shop, on the phone and over email they are so happy to sell me their laptop. I drink deep from the jargon swirl and agree with everything they say.

I am charmed. I pick one of the many options they offer to make it easy for me to pay them. Then they call center me.

Pay us, drink pure

Over 20 years I have paid almost 24 times the original price of the water purifier in maintenance charges. Without the cleaning, change of filters and repairs the purifier is just a machine that sucks power and does not pass water.

Maintenance is outsourced. The “technician” who drops in when it suits him knows more about the extras I must buy than why the machine left my family without water for five days. He shrugs my outrage away.

The call center offers copied and pasted words of sympathy and promises action. The next day the same technician calls and asks, “Why did you complain?” The only other time he calls is to ask when he should drop in to pick up the cheque for the annual maintenance. When I suggest he should first come with the part he was supposed to replace a month ago, he ends the conversation and does not bother to turn up. That was a smart call just to check if I remembered the unresolved issue and if I was willing to pay. If I ask him to renew the contract now, he can charge me extra for letting the old contract lapse. How is that for a double whammy?

The head of customer service takes ages to understand what I am trying to say and then promises to take up the matter with the same technician. He sounds both unwilling and unable to help. Apparently, when it comes to customer care, they outsource both the function and the attitude.

I visit their Facebook page hoping for social justice. The response to my anger and frustration is again a set of beautifully copied and pasted words. Each complaint gets one response. That’s all. After all, thousands have beaten me to the page, spewing venom all over the page.

Your money, our way

The bank starts by getting my email wrong. Sorry, an error at the CPC, the centralized processing center. She makes it sound as if she, the bank and the CPC are three different entities.

The executive who is so eager to reward me with a credit card for keeping my money with the bank goes back and changes my telephone number on the bank’s records. The agency that sold me the card is different from the agency that entered my information in the system, which is of course different from the agency that would have called me up to verify the information if the second agency had entered my number right. There is also the CPC. Without that number and the correct email address, I am effectively blocked access to my money. “It is all for your security, sir.” Very reassuring.

A week before my deposit matures, I post a request online (“bank on us, anywhere, anytime”) to transfer the principal and interest to my savings account. Just to be doubly sure, I make the call center confirm that they have my new maturity instruction on record.

On the day the deposit is to mature, all the money disappears. Not trusting the web to net me any answer, I walk to the branch. Ah ha! Not our fault, it is the CPC, sir. Not to worry, we will deliver the cheque in a few days. Meanwhile, you may have to pay a penalty for not maintaining the average minimum balance. The system may lose my money but will not fail to fine me.

Surprise! The money is in my account a couple of hours later. Twenty-four hours later, the reply from customer care promises (1) to investigate why my instructions were not followed, and (2) that an executive from the branch will call to explain. They obviously had no clue that I had received the money. It must have been an innocent accident. The executive called a whole week after the money landed in my account that to tell me that the money was in my account.

I think it is wise to get my money and close the account before the “system” grabs it back.

Pay, wait and wait

The laptop arrives several weeks after the promised delivery date. And it dies within three days.

Four months later, call center calls. Hope you are enjoying your laptop and you had a nice experience buying it. No, I am not and I didn’t. So sorry to hear that. Could you tell us what happened so that we can do better the next time? Huh? Where did all my fury-filled, tear-stained emails go?

Nine months later, there is another call. So, would you like to recommend us to your friends? Are you ready to buy your next system from us? I take a deep breath. Then another. Then I put the phone down. Doctor’s instructions.

One doesn’t bend the graph

I could have gone on to buy the next version of the purifier, re-invested in the same bank and bought the latest laptop from the same maker. And told my friends how happy I was with all three. That’s the live happily ever after version.

Instead, I am looking for another purifier, another bank, another laptop brand. They do not know, do not care. One subtracted from millions gets rounded off. It doesn’t bend the graph.

When a CEO hits the dusty roads to feel the pulse of the market, it makes for a wonderful photo opportunity, at least for the house magazine. It must be infinitely more difficult to inject some care and common sense into the call-center-centric systems. Or, is it not worth the cost and effort after the sale is closed and the money is in?

The gurus residing in books and behind podiums advise not to sell a product or service. Instead, find a problem and solve it. Find a gap and fill it. Find a need and fulfill it. Keep finding new touch points with your customers. Use the power of social media to engage your customers.

Reality is different. It is about making it easy for them to take money from you, me and the millions. Squeak later and they call center us.

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10:36 am: I am tired today. Last night was horrible. It all started because Justin said he spoke with his mom about my loan. He swears he didn’t say it, but he told me that he said that I was trying to reduce my loan to help more financially “around here”. Right now, I pay the phone bill, electric bill, and the tv/internet bill. Justin pays the rent and his car insurance. It’s not 100% split down the middle, but I don’t make as much as he does. So it really pissed me off that he makes it seem like I am not helping enough, because I am doing the best that I can. I told him to just leave and go to Best Buy without me, and I also threatened that I wouldn’t be there when he got back. But I was, and he left anyways. I should have just sucked it up and went with him, he asked me a million times. I cried really hard when he left. I was surprised that he did. But when he came back he just asked if we could just not talk about it, but I apologized and wanted to make sure that all of the progress we had made in the last few weeks wasn’t lost. So we made up. I screwed up dinner (I tried making waffles, bacon, and hashbrowns) so it wasn’t until 10pm that we finally had boneless wings. I hadn’t eaten since 12:30 pm so I was grouchy. I feel bad about every thing, but I’m glad he’s forgiven me.

10:50 am: Still no calls, beautiful! It was so hard for me to get up this morning. Just signed up to be available for extra hours. Could potentially work 50 hours a week! 

11:20 am: First call of the day was a sale! I am a tired gal today that’s for sure, but at least it’s almost 1 hr til my first break. 

12:05 pm: Totally just let out a very loud fart! I hope no one can associate the noise with me. How embarrassing!

12:18 pm: Got my potty out of the way. I hate doing that on my break, such a waste! Only 10 minutes till lunch time. 

12:28 pm: Time to eat! When I get back it’s Disney Trip Report Reading Time!

1:45 pm: Just had my manager sit with me and listen to my call. Did an excellent job of course! She said I seem like a responsible, level-headed person, and says I’m wonderful. She also said it must be hard for my boyfriend to stay mad at me with how nice I am… If she only knew the monster I can turn into!

3:32 pm: Walked around the pond twice on lunch (add another .6 miles!) 

3:51 pm: Almost there, just 2 more hours till I can leave! A pretty good day for me so far!

4:26 pm: I so badly want to take a trip to Disney World! These trip reports are just TORTURE! The Art of Animation resort looks incredible, I wonder how I can convince Justin to go… 

4:40 pm: HAVE TO PEE. Must wait till 5:00 pm… I don’t know why I feel like that breaks up the last hour, but it does (in my mind) though I might pee myself before I make it another 20 minutes. 

4:58 pm: Could not make it till 5:00 pm. Crud, stupid bladder. Oh well, only 1 hr to go!

5:45 pm: I have to pee so bad AGAIN. Now I finally understand why everyone who is trying to lose weight has to pee so much. They recommend that we drink 1 gallon a day, but forget to mention that you’ll have to pee every 45 minutes. That’s not going to help my schedule adherence! 15 minutes till I can go home!

As I delved deeper into the products, it became obvious that NICE has shifted from selling product lines to selling solutions to key business issues. Supporting this shift are greater integration of products, new user interfaces and core products targeted at business solutions. This was most obvious in the new release of customer engagement analytics (CEA). This major product announcement emphasized that it enables companies to bring together structured and unstructured data to complete a fuller picture of the customer. As well as the now obligatory tools to support the visualization of customer information, trends and hot issues, a major capability is the ability to map and analyze the customer journey. As my research into customer relationship maturity revealed, the most customer-centric companies now use customer journey mapping techniques to determine how they expect different customers to engage with the company at different times and through multiple channels. Our research finds many departments including the contact center (77%) involved with inbound interactions increasing the need to gain consistency across channels. Customer engagement analytics takes this one step further by capturing interaction data from all touch points, combining it with other customer data and visualizing (or mapping) how customers actually engage with the company – how frequently, at what times, for what reasons, through which channels (and across channels), and with what outcomes. It also analyzes the causes that drive customers to interact with the company. Combining both sides of the analysis, companies can work proactively to improve interactions, in the moment while a call is taking place or in the future (by changing processes and refocusing training of agents).

NICE presenters also featured customer engagement analytics as supporting other solutions or business processes. In this context, they frequently used the phrase “closed loop,” which showed the influence of the Merced acquisition. When it was independent Merced had been a pioneer of closed-loop processes that complete the circle of capturing data, analyzing it to understand what happened or is happening, and finally ensuring that relevant actions are taken to improve future decisions and activities. One of the moist common examples is capturing interactions (for example, call recordings), analyzing how agents handled calls and then using this information to impact quality scores, training, coaching and call-handling techniques.

NICE’s new focus on business solutions goes beyond closing the loop, which tends to remain within a business unit and/or focused business process such as agent quality monitoring. Its approach supports what I call “joined up” thinking and processes. We all know, and my research confirms, that most companies still run as silos: Each line of business does things its own way, has its own systems and takes its own view of the customer. Joining up crosses business units, and while it doesn’t necessarily use a single source of customer data, it does at least share a single view of the customer across processes, decisions and actions. A joined-up approach also crosses communication channels to ensure customers get a consistent, personalized, in-context experience, no matter which channel, person (contact center agents) or technology (Web-based self-service) they use. NICE does this by using customer engagement analytics and bundling different products into a variety of business solutions. One of the first of these is call volume reduction, which is a bundle tuned to reduce the number of inbound calls. Another NICE is calling service-to-sales, which aims to maximize sales opportunities from service interactions. Through an increasing number of partnerships, NICE also is using CEA to influence call routing, helping companies perform smarter call-routing based on the customer’s profile, the context of the interaction and the skills required by the person handling the interaction.

Discussions about multichannel interactions inevitably led to use of a second popular phrase – big data. NICE executives insisted the company isn’t about to become a major big data player for the sake of being seen as such; rather they said it needed to place big data at the heart of what it is doing because much of that involves processing huge volumes of data, especially in the form of millions of call recordings and social media transactions, as well as video recordings. This emphasis agrees with comments by my colleague Tony Cosentino and mirrors my own view that big data per se is not the issue; what matters is what you do with it. The reality of multichannel customer service is that it produces millions and millions of bytes of data. Companies not only have to process these volumes, but much of customer service, customer experience or custom engagement happens in real-time – a phone call, a chat session, an in-store or branch office meeting or a social media post, for instance. The person or technology handling those interactions needs up-to-date information there and then to make a response based on the most up-to-date information, putting the interaction in context and perhaps most importantly personalizing it based on a complete view of the customer. Old techniques didn’t allow companies to support this approach, so I find it significant that NICE is building big data into its business-related solutions.

One such example is Mobile Reach. This product supports what NICE calls hybrid customer service or what I am tending to call connected service. We are used to hearing about assisted service, person-to-person interaction, and self-service (person-to-technology interaction). Connected service includes both, and mobile interaction is a good example. What I call the 2.0 customer is increasingly turning to mobile apps for self-service. However most mobile apps have limitations and cannot complete some types of complex interactions, even on a smart device. Connected mobile service addresses this issue by allowing certain steps to be completed on the device (such as entering basic data), then integrates that data with business applications to provide more information and/or drive next steps; if these steps don’t complete the interaction, it supports seamless connection to a live agent in a smart way; for example, it might bypass IVR because the system knows who the customer is and which person is best equipped to complete the interaction. NICE Mobile Reach is one of the smarter mobile app platforms, and I recommend that companies evaluate it as they step into this brave new world.

Also at the conference, I heard and met with several NICE customers. Of course, they were chosen because they are the most successful in using the products, but as a group they expressed two common themes. First of all becoming customer-centric starts at the top; the CEO must want to do it and support initiatives and actions that deliver a customer-focused approach. Second, employees, including contact center agents, have to buy in to the approach, commit to it and live it. To achieve this, companies must support those employees, give them the tools and information they need, and reward those who meet expectations. To do this most companies will have to re-evaluate processes and technology to determine whether they can support such an approach; they need as well to develop new customer–related metrics and not continue to rely on just those that show how efficiently things are running.

NICE is rapidly evolving to utilize technology innovations that are priorities in organizations today. Our research found analytics and mobile technology are part of the top three today, and with the growing demand on big data that NICE is beginning to exploit. All the messages I heard from NICE were encouraging and a million miles from the old-style marketing of products that do x, y and z, and insisting they are the best. Is NICE all the way there yet? By management’s own admission, not yet. However, compared what I have seen in the past, it has come a long way on the journey and so is certainly a vendor to watch over the next few years.

Regards,

Richard J. Snow

VP & Research Director

As I delved deeper into the products, it became obvious that NICE has shifted from selling product lines to selling solutions to key business issues. Supporting this shift are greater integration of products, new user interfaces and core products targeted at business solutions. This was most obvious in the new release of customer engagement analytics (CEA). This major product announcement emphasized that it enables companies to bring together structured and unstructured data to complete a fuller picture of the customer. As well as the now obligatory tools to support the visualization of customer information, trends and hot issues, a major capability is the ability to map and analyze the customer journey. As my research into customer relationship maturity revealed, the most customer-centric companies now use customer journey mapping techniques to determine how they expect different customers to engage with the company at different times and through multiple channels. Our research finds many departments including the contact center (77%) involved with inbound interactions increasing the need to gain consistency across channels. Customer engagement analytics takes this one step further by capturing interaction data from all touch points, combining it with other customer data and visualizing (or mapping) how customers actually engage with the company – how frequently, at what times, for what reasons, through which channels (and across channels), and with what outcomes. It also analyzes the causes that drive customers to interact with the company. Combining both sides of the analysis, companies can work proactively to improve interactions, in the moment while a call is taking place or in the future (by changing processes and refocusing training of agents).

NICE presenters also featured customer engagement analytics as supporting other solutions or business processes. In this context, they frequently used the phrase “closed loop,” which showed the influence of the Merced acquisition. When it was independent Merced had been a pioneer of closed-loop processes that complete the circle of capturing data, analyzing it to understand what happened or is happening, and finally ensuring that relevant actions are taken to improve future decisions and activities. One of the moist common examples is capturing interactions (for example, call recordings), analyzing how agents handled calls and then using this information to impact quality scores, training, coaching and call-handling techniques.

NICE’s new focus on business solutions goes beyond closing the loop, which tends to remain within a business unit and/or focused business process such as agent quality monitoring. Its approach supports what I call “joined up” thinking and processes. We all know, and my research confirms, that most companies still run as silos: Each line of business does things its own way, has its own systems and takes its own view of the customer. Joining up crosses business units, and while it doesn’t necessarily use a single source of customer data, it does at least share a single view of the customer across processes, decisions and actions. A joined-up approach also crosses communication channels to ensure customers get a consistent, personalized, in-context experience, no matter which channel, person (contact center agents) or technology (Web-based self-service) they use. NICE does this by using customer engagement analytics and bundling different products into a variety of business solutions. One of the first of these is call volume reduction, which is a bundle tuned to reduce the number of inbound calls. Another NICE is calling service-to-sales, which aims to maximize sales opportunities from service interactions. Through an increasing number of partnerships, NICE also is using CEA to influence call routing, helping companies perform smarter call-routing based on the customer’s profile, the context of the interaction and the skills required by the person handling the interaction.

Discussions about multichannel interactions inevitably led to use of a second popular phrase – big data. NICE executives insisted the company isn’t about to become a major big data player for the sake of being seen as such; rather they said it needed to place big data at the heart of what it is doing because much of that involves processing huge volumes of data, especially in the form of millions of call recordings and social media transactions, as well as video recordings. This emphasis agrees with comments by my colleague Tony Cosentino and mirrors my own view that big data per se is not the issue; what matters is what you do with it. The reality of multichannel customer service is that it produces millions and millions of bytes of data. Companies not only have to process these volumes, but much of customer service, customer experience or custom engagement happens in real-time – a phone call, a chat session, an in-store or branch office meeting or a social media post, for instance. The person or technology handling those interactions needs up-to-date information there and then to make a response based on the most up-to-date information, putting the interaction in context and perhaps most importantly personalizing it based on a complete view of the customer. Old techniques didn’t allow companies to support this approach, so I find it significant that NICE is building big data into its business-related solutions.

One such example is Mobile Reach. This product supports what NICE calls hybrid customer service or what I am tending to call connected service. We are used to hearing about assisted service, person-to-person interaction, and self-service (person-to-technology interaction). Connected service includes both, and mobile interaction is a good example. What I call the 2.0 customer is increasingly turning to mobile apps for self-service. However most mobile apps have limitations and cannot complete some types of complex interactions, even on a smart device. Connected mobile service addresses this issue by allowing certain steps to be completed on the device (such as entering basic data), then integrates that data with business applications to provide more information and/or drive next steps; if these steps don’t complete the interaction, it supports seamless connection to a live agent in a smart way; for example, it might bypass IVR because the system knows who the customer is and which person is best equipped to complete the interaction. NICE Mobile Reach is one of the smarter mobile app platforms, and I recommend that companies evaluate it as they step into this brave new world.

Also at the conference, I heard and met with several NICE customers. Of course, they were chosen because they are the most successful in using the products, but as a group they expressed two common themes. First of all becoming customer-centric starts at the top; the CEO must want to do it and support initiatives and actions that deliver a customer-focused approach. Second, employees, including contact center agents, have to buy in to the approach, commit to it and live it. To achieve this, companies must support those employees, give them the tools and information they need, and reward those who meet expectations. To do this most companies will have to re-evaluate processes and technology to determine whether they can support such an approach; they need as well to develop new customer–related metrics and not continue to rely on just those that show how efficiently things are running.

NICE is rapidly evolving to utilize technology innovations that are priorities in organizations today. Our research found analytics and mobile technology are part of the top three today, and with the growing demand on big data that NICE is beginning to exploit. All the messages I heard from NICE were encouraging and a million miles from the old-style marketing of products that do x, y and z, and insisting they are the best. Is NICE all the way there yet? By management’s own admission, not yet. However, compared what I have seen in the past, it has come a long way on the journey and so is certainly a vendor to watch over the next few years.

Regards,

Richard J. Snow

VP & Research Director

Ngayon, Walang access sa Facebook. Pero tulad nito, google plus, may access. — Ano pong point? HAHHA

Noon, Unlimited Youtube, non work related sites

Ngayon, Sandamukal na links na nakablock. Song meaning na lang nakablock pa, pero makakadownload ka naman ng music sa 4shared.com — Doesn’t make sense.

Noon, Pwedeng matulog, walang nangeechos

Ngayon, Bawal pumikit. Ayoko nang magsalita tungkol sa pagtulog, baka magtunog bias ako. Pero may mga taong kung makasalita, akala mo hindi sila talaga natutulog, sarap iumpog.

Noon, Napakaluwag at napaka-light na environment, Walang away.
-Picture picture anything you want.

Ngayon, Ewan ko na lang. Ayoko na i-elaborate. May mga echusera kasi. Nahahighblood na ko. LOL,

Noon, Walang ingay sa paligid. Meron man, kami din may gawa.

Ngayon, pag umaga, nahahighblood ang lahat sa ingay ng mga taong hindi mo maintindihan kung paano sila lumaki at kung mga taga saan. Parang mga squatter sa ingay. OA ng mga taga sales rain na yan..

Noon, Unli eating sa station.

Ngayon, bawal madampian ng biscuit ang station mo, magagalit ang owner. Hay buhay.

Noon, mataas pa sa pakiramdam ang sweldong 14k, ngayon, wala nang mararating yun.

Ngayon, aminin man natin o hindi, wala nang mararating ang sahod natin. Ang dami daming pinapagawa at ang taas taas ng expectation tapos wala lang, thank you na lang ba? Kahit nga thank you wala eh.

Noon, Pag kota ka na, bahala ka na sa buhay mo. Ganun naman talaga dapat di ba?

Ngayon, Ang mga mata ng mga nangeehos ay everywhere. Eh ganun naman talaga. Pag tapos mo na trabaho mo, bahala ka na dapat sa buhay mo. Pero hindi na ngayon ganun.

Kaya maraming nakakaisip na magresign. Dahil madami nang pinagbago noon at ngayon.

My career background before entering the hectic land of advertising was customer service. Having worked for a major insurance company I have had my own share of this particular dilemma come to life. I remember being asked at 2am by a customer who had been rude, unhelpful and generally rather obnoxious about a denied claim(after starting my shift at 7pm the previous day) “who actually reads the policy booklet on whats covered anyway ?” and resisting the temptation to say “people who want to get their claims paid”. The thing was I felt I was doing a disservice to the customers who followed the rules and actually read the booklet to not say anything. In this case the customer was in the wrong, but in the end we reversed the claim and paid it. But was it fair ?

Im to this day really unsure, as im pretty sure it wasnt. Having being called all sorts of fun names because I worked for a medical insurance by customers really helped me develop a tough skin. I had to deny cover to a 5 year old in america for cancer, it was completely right going by what the policy covered, but was it fair ? Again I was unsure and also very young and in tears (after the 5th time of denying cover it did get easier). I suppose because it had been drilled in that the customer is always right it seemed to fight my internal training of giving the customers what they want.

If anyone is in need of toughing up for a job take a night job in a customer call centre for medical insurance.. I had one call from a lady who had spent a night in a thai prison because of a mistake we made. Lets say I learnt very quickly that a tough skin and a honest approach was the best way to deal with a difficult situation, and a decent cup of tea naturally.

- Harvey MacKay

Ah, Labor day. A day we celebrate work by not working. Rest day for most, double-pay for some. A time for “Kilusang Mayo Uno” and other groups to rant about our government for issues like taxes, overtime pays, security of tenure, and  more issues concerning, well, labor. *insert other issues here, please*. But this ain’t about May 1 or Labor day or our government and all their bullshit… well at least not my main topic that is. It’s actually all about… Nah, let me just tell you guys on what happened earlier that led to me posting this blog post, aight?

So I was chowing down on my siopao and a big uhaw mountain dew from the local convenience store when I overheard two ladies talking about call centers (or BPOs, whatever you wanna call ‘em). I assumed they were like fresh college grads or something judging by the way that their conversation went on. So one gal was saying something like she already found a job on a banking firm or what-not; yeah, no big deal there. It was the reply of the other one that kinda pissed me off. ’twas something like, “ako nga wala pang na-aaplayan, kaya pina-pag-call center muna ko ni mama. ayoko naman dun no. parang nagsayang ka lang ng pinag-aralan.” (I haven’t applied for any work yet. that’s why my mom told me to try applying in call centers. But I dont want to. It’s like you wasted your schooling.) *facepalm* I’m like, fuck off, woman. Haha! Hence, this blog post…

So, there. First of all, in my 2 years of working, I have always been a part of the BPO community. Or call centers, call senners, whatever… I actually have that “been-there-done-that” mentality when it comes to the industry; Sales, Customer Care, Technical Support Associate, Trainer. Yup, been there done that. Haha! So that kind of comment coming from someone without any prior working experience? I don’t know. Some fucked up shit right there. And yes, I know a lot of negative stuff are roaming around the idea of working in BPOs. Like it’s one of the most, if not the most unhealthy working environment; Working on graveyard shifts, smoking, disrupted sleeping habits, hours in front of the computer monitor, cussing random people over the phone, power tripping, smoking, drinking sessions in the morning, sex before shifts, smoking, sex during shifts, sex after shifts, and did I mention smoking? No? Not yet? Yeah, smoking. Typical stereotypes. But needless to say, most of those are true. (except for the smoking part.) Kidding aside, anyways, on a more serious note, this industry has taught me lots of things. Things that schools/universities won’t even dare to teach us. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that schools (and your parents for that matter) are wrong. Purely opinion-based (and experience-based as well) here, people. So let me just give you a brief rundown on the things that the BPO industry taught me:

1. Communication skills. Dealing with various clients, customers, colleagues, superiors. Learned how to speak “casually but on a business purpose”. Even before landing a job, job interviews, OM interviews, call simulations… Yeah, those kind of shit. And not just within your line of work, but with your life as well, right? All of us know how to talk, but only a few know how to talk smart.

2. Patience. From power-tripping bosses to delayed pay-outs; customers not knowing the “start button” on their windows PCs, Customers not knowing where the home button is on their iPhone, customers wanting  credit refund from a successful online transaction, irate clients demanding impossible deadlines, colleagues with attitude problems,    Work force peeps screaming “Auto-in” when you’re about to go on your yosi break, TLs forcing you to go OT (minimum of 2 hours), that long line on the nearby carinderia where you take your 45-minute lunch, that “amoy paa” on the sleeping quarters… Need I say more?

3. Teamwork. Hitting the weekly team stats, hitting the monthly team stats, monthly trainers’ evaluation, hitting the required monthly GOS (Grade of Service), hitting the required monthly NPS (Net Promoter Score), sharing links for cheat sheets, sharing links for tunneled Facebook browsing, sharing the password of the company Wi-Fi, Hitting the ACW (After Call Work) button for your teammate while he/she is on emergency poop break, money-lending, advice-giving. Things like those, although small, will be going a long way in terms of your camaraderie. And yes, friendship can go a long way. Believe me, it does. Once, I was not a team player but, yeah, now I am. Somehow…

4. Respect. Very basic; Respect for superiors (so you can ask for that promotion later on), respect for colleagues (so they can lend you more money when your salary is completely depleted due to excessive drinking), respect for customers (though they don’t fucking respect you), respecting the Ate and Kuya security guards (so you can still enter the office while under the influence of alcohol or you just forgot your ID at home.) That kind of respect, you feel me?

5. Relax. It won’t kill if you would be having some hard-earned me-time every now and then, right? Like going on  extended leaves, over-breaks, over-lunch breaks, over-Aux time, semi-AWOL absences, hitting the mute button on ranting, irate customers, hitting the hold button on ranting, irate customers, “haduken”-ing ranting, irate customers (if you know what I mean *wink*), coming to work 3 hours late, going on excessive wiwi breaks, giving that pervert look every time you see those hot chicks from the QA Team. Ah yes, this is the life.

6. Rule-breaking. Now I won’t give examples of rule-breaking ‘cos the news said that companies nowadays are checking the online profiles of their applicants as well. So I won’t say that I sometimes forget to take account notes, most of the time I (deliberately) forget to send escalation requests, I give free credits to customers, like $100 free credits, just for him to shut the fucking hell up. No, I don’t do those things. The’re just plain wrong. And lastly… (and I promise this would be serious)

7. Chances. This industry taught me that life always gives us chances; it’s up to us to take them. Being an undergrad, to earn as much as up to Php. 27k per month is such a blessing. That’s what I call chance. I may have fucked up and ruined my school life but at least, I can prove (and I have proven) to myself that I can succeed in all of the difficulties in life; that the world ain’t all about schools and grades. Sometimes, luck, hard work, and the right approach (I wanted to say “diskarte” but apparently, that’s the English translation of it according to Google Translate), all will be okay. Yeah. Some good shit here.

So there you go, the 7 Deadly Sins, err, 7 Things that the Call Center industry has taught, and is currently teaching me. Yeah. Just wanting to share those, and yes, cheers!~

PS: Dear Teletech Cainta, my one year of stay in your company has really taught me a lot. Thanks for all the memories (and salary). Maybe someday I’ll be back there, who knows, right? Bwiset, ayoko na mag-ingles! Ate Ruth, salamat sa pagpapapasok sakin kahit halating sabog ako’t lasing. Haha! Yung pasalubong mo galing sa Bohol saka nalang. To Wave C8 (Team Rapsa), ok, nalagasan nanaman tayo, este, kayo nalang pala ng isang petmalung ahente. Hehe. Goodluck mga ateng at mga koya, pabagsakin nyo yang mga kumag na customer natin. Auto in lang lahat. Okay? Advocates! TL Marc, ala ko nagkaproblema tayo, gawa ko nadin siguro, pero ayos na yun. Sa susunod na RH nalang na walang yelo natin idaan yan. To pakisabi na rin kay TL Joc ang astig nya. Haha! Boss Len, dabest kang trainer, kaibigan, kainuman, kakwentuhan, anu pa man. Sa susunod na Emperador na lang. Alam ko pa din naman daan kina Yeti e. Haha! To Leann Mendoza, hi. hehe. hihi. At sa buong Teletech Cainta, Mobile Assurance Team, Rock on mga chong. All the best

Juan Miguel Diaz Sales, Emp. ID 2096069

10:36 am: Trying to wait as long as possible to get my first call. Justin is at home and has the day off so today is going to be extremely sluggish and annoying. Let’s hope I don’t lose my sanity!

10:37 am: Coffee machine still free…could spell DANGER. Must remember my 4 cup limit.

11:05 am: No sales yet. Can tell I am probably not getting the extra 100$ on my paycheck even though my conversion rate was awesome last week. Don’t understand. Crud.

11:17 am: Why are loans so confusing? Fixed or variable. No idea which is better.

11:30 am: Got a sale, but it was a marketplace item so it doesn’t count. Blast.

11:55 am: Have to go potty, must wait till 12:00 pm to break up my morning accordingly!

12:05 pm: Operation potty was a success. Boy that coffee gets things started! (TMI.)

12:10 pm: Ready for my break. Wonder if the sand which lady takes credit cards… doubtful (I forgot my lunch today.)

12:22 pm: Already pretty hungry, might have to get something out of the vending machine and eat earlier than 3:00 pm. Don’t know if I can make it till then.

12:31 pm: 2 sales before break. Pretty good. Time to eat something!

12:54 pm: Good 15 min break, ate a tuna sandwich (240 calories), and sat out in the sun. Such a beautiful day, I don’t want it to snow this week

1:18 pm: 3 sales so far. Starting to get a tad bored, must be because I am now on my 2nd cup of coffee. I swear I turn into Beavis every time I have caffeine. I am going to start screaming about TP for my Bunghole.

2:50 pm: Almost second break time, been reading Disney Trip Reports in order to pass the time (and torture myself).

2:59 pm: Time for my walks around the pond! Might call or text J.  Drank 64 ounces of water, will fill up after my walks…and probably will get another cup of coffee!

1:45 pm: Listening to the callback music on a cellphone. So peaceful… I guess I should hang up but I don’t want to! It’s like I’m back on the cruise…

2:02 pm: Reading Disney Trip Reports and having to go potty so bad!

3:30 pm: I tried to walk around the pond and was attacked by hundreds of gnats. It was disgusting, I still feel like they are in my hair and up my nose! Walked around the building instead, fill up my water and coffee, texted J (who is supposedly cleaning out our storage closet) and am back at it.

3:55 pm: I feel like bugs are all over me, super itchy. Not a good feeling.

4:24 pm: Day is dragging. But I have about 1 hour and half left to go. Reading this trip report is not helping anymore, plus I have to pee! I like to wait until 5 to break up the last hour but I don’t know that my bladder will wait…

4:55 pm: Bladder about to explode. Just made another sale so that makes 4 for today. Not too hot. Only 5 more minutes until potty break…

5:17 pm: Ready to go home, only 40 minutes left. Not sure what we will do when I get off (if anything) usually we go to Tasty Tacos on Tuesday but since we went on Saturday I don’t know if we will go again. I am proud for walking and keeping to my goals today! I’m at 3.5 miles for the week (I won’t count today’s walk because I don’t know how far I actually walked since the bugs were LOCO.

5:24 pm: Ssshhh I ignored a call! Let someone else answer it…

5:42 pm: So far I have successfully avoided Diet Coke (or soda of any kind) that’s pretty good for me! Even cutting back to one a day would be better than the two a day (or more) that I’ve been drinking.

5:51 pm: 9 more minutes to go. I’m sure I’ll get a call. But I’m ready to get out of here!

7:45 pm: Got into a huge fight with Justin about him not helping out around the house on his day off and my loan. Made him go to Best Buy and the grocery alone even though I said I wouldn’t be there when he gets back. He still left. He really upsets me sometimes. I just wanted to go out and enjoy the afternoon, now it’s almost 2 hours since I’ve been home and all I have done is cry.

That is why I created the Customer Service Officers program within the City of Philadelphia’s customer service initiative. The primary responsibilities of the Customer Service Officer’s role are to:

• Support departments to achieve their respective customer goals and key performance objectives
• Implement appropriate actions towards improvement in their departments

Including departmental Customer Service Officers (CSO) within a strategic initiative not only offers a specified liaison between the Chief Customer Service Officer and the department but it also provides the initiative with an “expert” in specific departments. With this model, each CSO can bring insight and make recommendations that will help the initiative survive in individual departments.

In the City of Philadelphia Customer Service Officers Program, CSO’s create the following materials which are unique to their department:

• Vision and Mission Statements for Customer Service
• “Voice of the Customer Program” Process to Identify and Prioritize Customers’ Needs and Wants to Improve Service Quality
• Customer Service Training Program
• Customer Feedback and Engagement

While it might seem that this approach will create a fragmented customer service initiative across our organization, it is my responsibility as a Chief Customer Service Officer’s to make sure these deliverables are consistent with the higher-level plan. This approach, however, provides the overall effort with a department-level expert in the planning stage and a liaison throughout its implementation.

What programs do you currently have in place to ensure the organization is executing your customer service plans and initiatives? Help Rosetta out by leaving your suggestions in the comments below and the best answer will be rewarded with a $5 Starbucks gift card.

One of the big players in the BPO industry is finally coming to Davao very soon!

See us at the following recruitment events and get hired for our Davao site ASAP!

May 1 – SM City Davao The Annex Atrium (10am-5pm)
May 2 – Red Ribbon Gaisano Mall (10am-5pm)
May 3 – Red Ribbon Gaisano Mall (10am-1pm)
May 3-4 – McDonald’s Matina Town Square (3-6pm)

مَرْكَزُ الاِتِّصَال

مركز – Center

الاتصال – Call

أُجْرَة – Taxi

Guarantees should be specific.  But service in general offers some leeway to include ‘money back.’  Take improved ground shipping for instance today.  Carriers have maps to show the number of days in which you can expect a shipment to be delivered–just no guarantee.  Yet true to their maps, the majority of the time packages arrive according to the delivery time map and the chart is specific.  It’s available to help plan order fulfillment as well as for times to determine a guarantee is necessary for the package to arrive on a specific day.  

Yet another sixty four thousand dollar question may be only applicable to how long will the bitcoin will be around.  (Maybe it’ll go on in similar fashion as crowdfunding.)  All involved here do so too in a general way as well to an end.  Neither bitcoins nor crowdfunding exist in a specific environment—another way of saying ‘unregulated.’  Pros and cons, as Randy Newman’s ‘Monk’ theme lyrics would indicate:  “it’s a jungle out there.”

Clichés aside, progressing ourselves through e-commerce is sifting through generalized information to get to some specifics that we can hold onto.  (For dear money if nothing else.)  As shipping goes from here, in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania (latitude 41°24’58”N, longitude 75°88’17”W), the reach in two days is about 162,066,420 people and 52,062,980 people within one day ground.  Sorry, I can’t be more specific regarding county populations and where exactly day delivery maps draw the lines.  Specifically, then, I’m referring to service in general. 

1. What hours is the office open?
2. When will he/she be available?
3. Is there an emergency number I can contact directly?
4. Is there someone else available who can answer my questions?

By the same token, our virtual receptionists and operators are trained to get the following information FROM your customers:

1. The name and contact numbers for the caller.
2. The best time for our customer to return the call.
3. The reason for the call if that is appropriate. Only if the customer is comfortable sharing that information.

We work with our clients to build a general script that will come up on the operator’s screen. It will prompt them with the company name, and information that you give supply to us. Plus a list of commonly asked questions with the answers you would like us to give.

When we take orders for you from your Website’s 800 number, we help your webmaster build in a page where we enter the orders, track the customer’s information and once again, we work with you to develop a list of FAQ’s. The more orders we take for you, the better we get to know what types of questions to anticipate.

Central Comm. and South Coast Answering Service strives to give you and your customers the personal service they deserve.

Pearl Answers

Over the last 25 years, BPA Quality has listened to millions of calls and has been able to establish four basic parts of a quality call interaction.  The science of Quality must be able to be measured.  A standard ruler must be established to make each evaluation actionable and coachable.  The four parts of a call are the opening/welcoming, the customer connection, the problem resolution and the closing.  Depending on the industry, each piece of the call can be evaluated using calibrated measures.

In this blog, I will discuss basic measures that can be adjusted to fit each call center need.  The important thing to remember is that all parts of the interaction must be able to be MEASURED!

If you were to ask a handful of people what tone meant to them, you would receive a handful of different definitions.  With that being said, how can you provide an objective view of any call interaction??

So … Let’s talk about a Quality Interaction …

OPENING

In the opening, the agent should use enthusiastic words and tone that immediately reassure the Caller that the Agent is going to do all they can to help.  Offering of assistance is vital in this measure because it opens the conversation to find out the true reason for the customer to call and how the Agent can immediately assist.

CONNECTING with the CUSTOMER

According to research, connecting with the Customer can be broken into many measures, that then get broken down even further to be able to be accurately measured.  Most importantly, the Agent must show willingness/enthusiasm, Care & Concern, Respectful of Time, Use Up Beat Tone and Actively Listens.

PROBLEM RESOLUTION

A well trained agent should soar through this measure with flying colors. This measure identifies the reason for the call, agent must take ownership and then addresses the original reason for the Customer call.  Sound easy, right?

CLOSE of CALL

The close of the call should leave the Customer with warm feeling of having a great experience from that Quality interaction.  The agent should offer further assistance, thank the Customer for calling and really offer an additional personalization to the call.  At BPA Quality, we don’t want any interaction scripted and this is why we encourage a personal touch from the Agent.

Well, that is a quick overview of a Quality Interaction.  If you are interested in getting your own calibrated ruler, contact me and I would welcome any discussion about Quality.

Happy Monitoring…

Not only do we take your calls, Central Communications can also take your orders. In Orange County, we serve as the order fulfilment for companies that sell Gift Baskets and other products that customers order through various websites. We are fully trained by our Orange County customers in their product line so that we can intelligently answer any questions that their customers may have.

We have several representatives that work around the clock, taking down and sending out messages, marking down appointments and sending them to you in a neat and organized package.