A Customer Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Mary R!

Wow! sometimes creating an exceptional first impression can result in lifelong customer loyalty... this may be just be the case here!

Team Leader Michele wrote:

[Client] customer Gypsy R. requested to speak with me tonight. She said she never asks to speak with supervisors but she just had to let me know how fantastic a job Mary did taking her orders. She heard about [our Client] on the Dr Oz show and while she is vegan, she has several family members who love fish. She felt great giving them gifts of our products due to it being organic and from sustainable fisheries. She said Mary did a great job explaining the shipping times and options and was very helpful in choosing the right items. She is going to call back and order more gifts. She wishes she could speak with Mary every time she calls because she is so sweet!

Thank you, Mary, for taking such great care of this first time customer. She truly appreciates your time and patience, as do we!!


Michele M Hayes
Taction ~ The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center agent Angie D!

Team Leader Michele wrote:

[Client] customer Maria F. couldn't say enough about the incredible job Angie did tonight. She wanted to send a big thank you to her for being so sweet and understanding. Maria needed to cancel an order and Angie did everything in a very courteous manner from finding out if she could help place a different order, to collecting her information. Maria was also impressed that even though Angie [was] a bit under the weather, she stayed positive and took time to answer her questions.
Thank you, Angie, for helping our Customers with such understanding and courtesy. It is truly appreciated every day!

Michele M Hayes
Taction ~ The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Jenn S.!

Team Leader Michele wrote:

[Client] customer Mr Winston asked to speak with me regarding the great job Jennifer did helping him with his order tonight. She took time to explain the products and the promotion he was trying to use. He said she not only helped him save money, but even offered additional products to go with the [product] he was purchasing as a gift. He was pleased at how courteous she was and that she verified everything to ensure the gifts were perfect.

Mr Winston wanted everyone to know that he will continue to be a [Client] customer because of the wonderful treatment he received today. He is sure that we must be a good company if we employ such great people!

Thank you, Jennifer, for being a wonderful representation of our Client. Your dedication does not go unnoticed.

Michele H.
Taction ~ The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

Q4 Heavy? Tony Cox and 5th Food Group offer tips and techniques to survive the long and slow offseason

Another constructive and actionable update from Tony Cox and 5th Food Group! At Taction - The Contact Center we see the ebb and flow of the gifting and specialty food industry first hand and hope that many may pull something from Tony's update for a fantastic 2011...

Read the Food-by-Mail Industry Update December 2010 here http://www.5thfoodgroup.com/Dec_2010

http://www.taction.com/

Happy 27th Anniversary, Taction - The Contact Center!

27 years ago, Steve White moved from Virginia to Maine, to start a business. He focused initially on a very narrow niche - taking reservations for Maine innkeepers. New England 800 Company (renamed Taction in 2001), quickly grew into a respected industry

example of excellence that includes our newest company 800-CALL-NOW^®.

With a dozen or so major clients located throughout the country, Steve began to build his management team with an eye towards individuals he recognized had tremendous talent. First and foremost, he wanted to find individuals who shared his belief that each and every customer call provided an opportunity to create a satisfying experience, one transaction after another.

Our award winning contact center and award winning clientele have made Taction - The Contact Center the success it is today. Congratulations, Steve White and Taction - The Contact Center, on 27 years of excellence!

For more about Steve White and Taction the Contact Center http://www.taction.com

For more about New England 800 Company and 800-CALL-NOW^® http://available.800callnow.com/

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Sue D!

 Laureen, Day Supervisor wrote:

Mr. Willam M., who is home on leave from military service, attempted to place an order on the [Client] Website. He had a very hard time with the website and decided to call and place his order. The item he wanted would not go into his cart and he gave up. He had the pleasure of getting Sue D. when he called.

He stated she was extremely courteous and patient. Sue, with assistance from the supv, was able to get the item he wanted into the cart, get his APO/FPO billing address to process and submit the order! He was extremely pleased and wanted Sue commended for this as well as the supervisor who assisted her. Thank you Sue for providing a great Customer Service experience to a very happy [Client] customer!

Laureen

Day Supervisor

http://www.taction.com/

Customer Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Claire B.!

Team Leader Michele wrote:

Sally Brown asked to speak with me tonight regarding the great service she received from Claire. She said, and I quote: "Claire was very, very nice. She seems like a lovely, very pleasant person. She was polite and professional while taking my orders."

Sally is a long standing customer with [Client] and said she will certainly continue to do business with us in the future thanks to representatives like Claire.

Thank you very much, Claire, for taking such wonderful care of our customers.

Michele H.
Taction ~ The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

 
 

Just Read Food-by-Mail Industry Update for November 2010

Always the optimist, I try not to jump on every band wagon that has a tune I like... I tend to pick'em wrong every time.

However when 5th Food Group's Tony Cox sends a report I'm more confident and Tony's November Report has a pretty danceable beat.

To read the full report and get the newsletter just go to: http://www.5thfoodgroup.com/Nov_2010

An Accolade for Team Taction!

Usually Accolades come in for an individual agent whos service performance prompted a client or customer to call back, mail, or email us and praise that individual's performance.

At Taction - The Contact Center we pride ourselves on developing lasting relationships with and for our clients and their customers.

Here's an example of when that pays off...

Team Leader Michele H. wrote:

"I had the pleasure of speaking with [Client] customer John N. this evening. He wanted to send a big thank you out to all of the wonderful agents he has spoken with while ordering. He is a repeat customer and loves the 'fantastic group of people that work' here. He is happy with the prompt service he receives and states that his order always arrives on time."

Thank you ALL for the great job you do taking care of our Customers everyday. It is truly appreciated.

Michele H.
Taction - The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam
Evening Supv.

What is Taction's Agent of the Month?

At Taction - The Contact Center quality in service and information delivery is our brand. Measuring the things that matter is continuous and the competition each month is tough when the average Agent tenure is 4 to 5 years. These folks know what they are doing!

To answer the question, what is Taction's Agent of the Month, is simple. The Agent of the Month is the Agent with the highest quality rating up to 100 points. How we arrive at that rating is not so simple...

Taction's quality rating system is called AAA and covers the following areas:

• Attendance - In a 24/7, 365 day contact center world, attendance is incredibly important.
• Achievement - Accolades and other achievements, including business improvement ideas
• Accuracy - Call Monitoring Scores and Error rates are covered under this category

To sum it up, Agents who secure the distiction of Agent of the Month have great attendance, get more positve feedback from our clients and their customers, and have higher call monitoring scores and fewer to no data collection errors.

It takes World Class people to make a World Class Contact Center!

www.taction.com

Taction - The Contact Center Announces October's Agent of the Month!

It's official! Taction's Agent of the Month, for the month of October, is veteran Agent Laurie J. Laurie is a frequent Agent of the Month, see September 2010.

Congratulations Laurie!

A child gets a smile every time a Taction employee purchases a snack.

The Community Service and Wellness Committee, at Taction – The Contact Center, announced yesterday that another revenue stream has been added with the donation of a vending machine and roughly twenty dollars worth of inventory!

The machine and its contents were donated by Scotty River Vending upon finding out that Taction wished to purchase the snack and beverage machine and use the proceeds for Taction’s Christmas Child Program. 

The Christmas Child Program became a part of Taction’s community giving efforts in the early 1990’s. Each year the committee acquires a list of local children that could use a little extra around the Christmas tree. Taction employees then each “adopt” a child and with gender, age, and size head out to find just the right gift to give a child a smile during the holidays!

Taction’s CSAW Committee also uses occasional impromptu “jeans days,” silent auctions, yard sales, and cookouts during local events to raise money for the Christmas Child Program as well as the local food pantry and a Little League baseball team.

For more about Taction - The Contact Center see http://www.taction.com/

Taction - The Contact Center Announces September AGENT OF THE MONTH!

Taction's Vice President of Human Resources announced recently that September's Agent of the Month Award belongs to Laurie J. As Agent of the Month Laurie scored higher than any other Agent in all of Taction's critical KPIs to beat out some of the best Customer Service Agents in the industry.

Laurie has been with Taction - The Contact Center since April of 2004.

Congratulations Laurie on a job well done!

800-CALL-NOW® Introduced As "Ready To Deploy" at ERA D2C Las Vegas

Last month Steve White, president and CEO of New England 800 Company, and sales manager Randall McKee traveled to Las Vegas for the 2010 ERA-D2C Convention. ERA-D2C is a key show for bringing inventors, direct-to-consumer marketers, and affiliated vendors together under one roof.

Steve and Randy used the convention to introduce 800-CALL-NOW^® and to announce that all related rights and assets are available for long-term license agreements, partnerships, even offers to invest.

New England 800 Company has assembled a unique and comprehensive package of interactive branding elements and direct-response marketing tools. This powerful and protected, global package features the incontestable registered trademark 800-CALL-NOW^®, along with matching toll-free telephone numbers and matching domain names.

For more information regarding the assets and availability of 800-CALL-NOW® click here.  

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Robin W!

Supervisor Laureen wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with an extremely happy [Client Company] customer today, Carlene V. She and her husband own their own business. They have 10 buildings (Masonic Home for Adults) where the oldest resident is approximately 92 yrs old. They acquired the money to purchase [items] through volunteers and donations. Ms. Vose stated very seldom do you hear enough said about the great Customer Service that is received. She stated that Robin was absolutely amazing!!! Robin assisted Ms Vose with the selection of 6 [items] ($2000 plus order) that she purchased for the facilities. Robin was very kind, polite and wonderful!!

Ms. V. stated "Thank you [Client Company] for hiring such a great employee, you're the best!!"

Way to go Robin! You're the woman!

Laureen
Supervisor
http://www.taction.com/

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact center Agent Laurie W.!

Supervisor Neal R. wrote:

Tonight, I spoke with customer Judith M. She had nothing but good things to say about Laurie. Judith is a very holiday-oriented person who needed help with information on some of our [client's] products. She said Laurie was very patient while helping her with multiple items. Laurie's cheerfulness made the call a pleasure. She even said that she would hire Laurie in a heartbeat if given the chance!

WAY TO GO, LAURIE!

Neal R.
Supervisor
http://www.taction.com/

An Accolade For Taction - The Contact Center Agent Brittany F!

Evening Supervisor and Teamleader Debbie K. wrote:

I had the pleasure this evening of speaking to Juanita T. on [a Client's] line. She had bought some [product] several years ago and was not sure how to read the expiration date on the box.

She was lucky enough to get Brittany on the line who quickly looked up the information and pleasantly explained to Juanita just how the expiration was read [it's encoded].

Juanita told be that she was impressed with Brittany's pleasant demeanor and willingness to help.

Thank you Brittany for all you do! You make us proud! Keep up the good work!
Debbie K.
TACTION-The Contact Center
Evening Supervisor
Team Leader - Untouchables
http://www.taction.com/

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent Mary R!

…So Becki (Teamleader) forwarded an email from Mary R. that basically said:

‘I took a [Client] call this evening for a gentleman by the name of Grant. He asked me what the name of the company I worked for was, where we were, were we an after hours ordering line? He said that the only reason he asked is because he was impressed with how I had handled his call and that he owned a small business in his town that does nautical cabinetry and cutting boards and is looking for a place that he could use to help with calls.’

Mary sent the email on her own time, and as our Sales Person I followed up. Boy did Grant have a lot of great things to say about Mary! Grant has worked in different levels of the catalog sales business and knows how hard it is and what it takes to make a caller feel good about the experience. In a world where most customer service agents just don’t get it, he knows Mary does, she is after all, a great representative of Taction and our Client. As a small business owner he’s quite reluctant to “give up” the direct contact with his customers but seemed to feel we would be up to the task based on his experience.

Congratulations Mary, you’ve got WOW! Factor built right in!

When you talk the talk you get more talk yet when you walk the walk (like Mary) we make new friends who might grow into more clients for Taction – The Contact Center!

Randy

Randall McKee
Sales Manager
Taction – The Contact Center
www.taction.com

An Accolade For Contact Center Agent Claire B.!

Laureen, Daytime Supervisor wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Holly M. from California. She spoke with Claire and stated to me that Claire is an excellent representative [ for tourism], was professional and very friendly. She also stated it made her feel good to speak with someone so pleasant. Holly said "you hear a lot of negative about customer service representatives" and she wanted to be sure Claire received positive recognition for her assistance with info on Fall in Maine. She will be coming to Maine the end of September to the Eastport area and is looking forward to her visit.

We chatted a bit and Holly stated if everyone in Maine is as friendly as Claire and myself it will be a great trip! Great job Claire! Thank you for providing a great experience to another satisfied customer.

Laureen
Daytime Supv.

For more about Taction - The Contact Center's Award Winning Services see http://www.taction.com/

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent Shelly M.!

Supervisor Steve F. wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mrs K. She stated that she had ordered an item and called for some information on it. Shelly was very courteous, knowledgeable, and a pleasure to talk to. Shelly helped her find other items that weigh less and also gave her the Consumer Relations department to help her with other items that would weigh less and that are not carried by shop.client.com. Shelly also provided a dealer referral so that Mrs Kumar could see other items and try them out before buying.

Way to go, Shelly!

Sincerely,

Stephen F.

Customer Accolade for Taction Contact Center Agent Jan G!

Team Leader Michele H. wrote:

Client Customer Richard G. asked to speak with me this evening regarding the wonderful service he received from Jan G. He said she went out of her way to make sure he had all the information he needed for his product return. She also checked our website and helped him find the perfect bag for his business needs. He said Jan deserved the rest of the night off and asked me to give her a big hug for a job very well done.

Thank you very much, Jan, for taking such wonderful care of our Customers! I am sure he will remember this experience and will order from us again in the future.

Michele H.
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam
Taction ~ The Contact Center

Diane Clarkson's Report for Forrester Research makes a fair case for progressive chat.

Posted by atg.com, this report (with contributions from Carrie Johnson, Elizabeth Stark, and Brendan McGowan) made me feel a lot better about how web consumers may view progressive chat.

Use the link to read this informative paper.

https://www.atg.com/resource-library/analyst-reports/Forrester-Making-Proactive-Chat-Work.pdf

Customer Accolade for Contact Center Agent Kim O!

Team Leader Michele H. wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with client customer Karen H. tonight. She wanted to let everyone know what an awesome job Kim did! She stated it was a wonderful experience with no pressure involved.

Kim knew she needed a lot of specific information about supplements before ordering so she explained we have product specialists that would be happy to help her.

Karen is a hair dresser and said she wished she had someone so sweet and knowledgeable working for her! She plans on also letting the specialists know how happy she is with the type of service she received tonight.

Thank you so much Kim for making such a wonderful impression on a new customer! It sounds like you made a lifetime customer out of Karen!


Michele M H.
Taction ~ The Contact Center
Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

Small Contact Center Attracts Clients with Big Talent, Taction in the News!

Publisher Peter DeHaan, Connection Magazine, broke the news story that we think is pretty cool!

Click here to view "Taction Clients Win Big" 

For more about Taction - The Contact Center please see http://www.taction.com/

or contact Randall M McKee by dialing 800.508.9936

or use Email

Customer Accolade for Laurie W.!

Team Leader Michele H. wrote:

Customer Kathy asked to speak to me tonight regarding the wonderful job our very own Laurie W. did! She said she was very helpful and went above and beyond to answer all her questions. Kathy wants everyone to know how much she appreciates the level of service she received from Laurie tonight.

Thank you so much for everything you do for our customers, Laurie! We truly appreciate it as well!

Michele H.
Team Leader
http://www.taction.com/

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent Brittany F.!

Daytime Supervisor Laureen A. wrote:

Dr. Barbara, called to request a catalog. Upon completion of the request, Dr. Barbara asked to speak with management to express her satisfaction and compliment Brittany on the excellent Customer Service she had provided.

Dr Barbara stated she was very nice, very efficient and precise and well behaved. She wanted to be sure Brittany is recognized. She also stated Brittany deserved a raise! Taction appreciates the excellent service you provided to a happy customer!

Thank you Brittany!

Laureen

Daytime Supervisor

Taction - The Contact Center Announces Agent of the Month

 For her third consecutive month, Taction - The Contact Center Agent, Kristi O. has earned Agent of the Month! Instead of being one of those capricious awards a lot of companies give each month, Agent of the Month is a performance based award that is earned, not given. For more about "Agent of the Month" go here.

Congratulations Kristi on your fine performance and your pursuit of excellance in a field of award winning Agents!

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent Robin W.

Team Leader Michele H. wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr Jones this evening. He wanted to ensure all of Robin's peers and managers knew what an "incredibly wonderful job" she did helping him with his order.

He said it was the "most pleasant phone ordering experience he's had in many, many months." He was impressed that Robin took the time to offer him other items and still remained pleasant and helpful.

Mr Jones thinks you deserve a gold star Robin, and I certainly do as well! Thank you for the wonderful job you do taking care of our Customers every single day.

Michele M Hayes

Taction ~ The Contact Center

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent Kristi O.!

Teamleader Becki D. wrote:

Kimberly P. called today and placed an order for some product from [Client]. She wanted to let us know that we are an awesome company and she is going to tell everyone about us. She said she has been looking for [product] online for a couple of days and no other companies wanted to help her. She called today and spoke with Kristie O and was very pleased with the service she received. She said Kristie was excellent and very helpful. Please congratulate Kristie on a job well done. You are AWESOME!

Thanks,
Becki
Team Leader
Taction - The Contact Center

An Accolade for Contact Center Agent, Mary R!

Consumer Advocate Amy B wrote:

Yesterday we received a call from a customer who wanted to buy an additional piece to match the piece that she purchased last week.

She received the best service and was so happy with the way that she had been treated, that she replied to my updated invoice (she received [offer] discount so her pricing was updated) -

"My many thanks to both of you for your outstanding service.  I will enjoy both of my {products] all the more.  My other {products] deserve a break since I travel weekly throughout the US and Canada for work. 

Thanks again, 

Lisa G. "

When you see Mary R., assure her that she does an AWESOME job at Taction!!

Congrats Mary, you are a great asset to Taction and I enjoy working with you!

Amy B.

Consumer Advocate

For more about Taction - The Contact Center and our services please see http://www.taction.com/

Contact Center Agent, Kristi O. does it again!

Just as cream always rises to the top, so does the talent at Taction - The Contact Center. Having just announced May 2010 Agent of the Month we again recognize the example in excellence that Contact Center Agent Kristi O. represents with her second top honor in so many months...

Congratulations, Kristi, for taking Agent of the Month again in May 2010!

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Mary R!

Team Leader Debbie K. wrote:

I had the pleasure today of speaking to a Ms. Snow today who had called in to place an order with [Client], She spoke to Mary R. and had nothing but good things to say about her experience! She said that Mary was WONDERFUL!

She stated that it wasn't often that she gets to speak to a really pleasant customer service person. She said that Mary was rare, and that she definitely seems like she is a keeper! She said she enjoyed every moment that she spent ordering with Mary, and that she deserved a raise!

Thank you so much Mary for your World Class Customer Service. It is a really nice feeling to be on the other end of a conversation with someone saying such nice things about a fellow employee!

Debbie K.
Taction - The Contact Center

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Laurie W!

Supervisor Robin W. wrote:

Millard G. called on the [Client] line and spoke with Laurie. He explained to her that he recently fractured his arm and has a trip to Europe already scheduled. He is looking for luggage that he can strap together as well as something lighter to pull as he can only use one arm.

Laurie examined several pieces here as well as searched on our website. After discussing several styles with Laurie, Mr. G. asked to speak to with the Supervisor. Mr. G. stated that Laurie went the extra step by taking the time to check out and try' the luggage here as well as searching on the website.

He also stated she was very friendly and seemed genuinely empathetic to his circumstances. He is going to place his order on the web once he calls his traveling partner and recommends they purchase luggage here as well. He said to give Laurie 5 stars!!

Way to go, Laurie! Thanks for going the extra mile!!

For more about Taction - The Contact Center and our Clients, please see our website Taction.Com

Taction - The Contact Center Clients All Medal at MCM Awards!

Previously we posted that we had as many as three clients nominated for MCM Awards this year and the results are in!

Consumer Specialty Products, Sales Under $20 million Silver: Century Novelty, Silver Medal
Food/Gifts, Sales Under $20 million Silver: La Tienda – The Best of Spain, Silver Medal
Food/Gifts, Sales Under $20 million Gold: Wild Pure Delicious by Vital Choice, Gold Medal

Congratulations to all of you, we're very proud to be your contact center partner!

For more results please see: http://multichannelmerchant.com/

2010 MCM Awards Will Be Live-Tweeted

Original Post by Tim Parry on LinkedIn.Com via Groups/ Multichannel Merchant

"2010 MCM Awards Will Be Live-Tweeted


Didn't make it to Orlando for RMC? We will tweet the results of the 2010 MCM Awards LIVE today starting at around 1 p.m. Eastern. Follow @ParryMCM"

We'll be watching and when results are tweeted, we'll send an update.

Good luck to our finalist clients! To see our blog on this event:

http://thecontactcenter.blogspot.com/2010/04/weve-got-bragn-rights.html

Linking Marketing and the Contact Center

This Expert Opinion, by Author Susie Buffam, provides insights every Marketing Agency and Customer Care Manager should review. As an outsource provider that follows the mantra, ""living the client brand", we've found that being left out of the marketing strategy can only result in marginal success for clients, with no real data to point to when the inevitable question fires back to Agency, "what went wrong?"

 Linking Marketing and the Contact Center

Posted using ShareThis

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Kristi O...

Supervisor Laureen wrote:

A customer asked to speak with a supervisor to state what great service she was provided. Ms. Jennie had just got out of the hospital, she had been in numerous times and due to this her hair has become very thin. She was on the phone for quite a while with the agent. The customer stated that the agent was sooooo patient with her and it was appreciated as Jennie said she had to repeat a lot of things and the agent was great. Jennie also stated she is kinda gun shy about ordering with  a Credit Card as she has had a bad experience but felt reassured that all was well with ordering from us. 

Who is this agent who provided such great service? 

KRISTI O. [thanks] for being so kind and patient with this customer and providing excellent service as always!

Laureen

(Day supervisor)

Free White Paper, "Are you Ready For Outsourcing?"

As featured in a past issue of Connections Magazine, Taction - The Contact Center's Amelia LaRoche delivers the article, "Are you Ready For Outsourcing?" providing great food for thought for anyone who is considering outsource call center.

Download the .pdf here: http://www.taction.com/news/news.php

Taction - The Contact Center Announces Agent of the Month for April 2010

Here's a new glimpse into our culture...

Each month our Call Center Agents are rated using our AAA+ process, the scoring system blends scores in Attendance, Business Process Improvements (Internal and/or for our Clients), and Quality Assurance (Transactional and Call Monitoring). Agents that have scores exceeding our standard are considered "In The Green" and are rewarded with non-cash or same as cash incentives. The Agent with the highest AAA+ rating is announced as "Agent of the Month" and receives a more valuable incentive for their achievement as well as public recognition.

We're pleased to name Call Center Agent and part time Supervisor Kristi O. as Agent of the Month for April 2010.

Kristi has been with Taction - The Contact Center for almost 2 years now (August). Kristi says she loves working @ Taction - The Contact Center because of her peers and our clients and their customers. She values helping people and feels that she does this on a daily basis, whether it be assisting a customer trying to find a specific product or answering their questions, in her agent role, or assisting other agents in her role as Supervisor and "go to gal".

Congratulations Kristi, on being Agent of the Month for April 2010, you're a valuable member of our Team!

Client Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Neal R!

As we have often pointed out, it is rare in our industry to have a customer go out of their way to praise a call center agent, and even more so when they reach beyond the call center and contact the Home Office. Recently Client Services Manager, Michele B. received an email Fwd from one of our clients regarding agent feedback.

Here is the email message Michele shared with us:

“Neal from Customer Service just assisted me in adjusting my order of  last night, and I wish to commend him on his competence and patience at this hour of the morning. He was of great help, and I appreciate his proficiency and manner. He is to be complimented, which I am doing.

Joanne El-F.”

Nicely Done , Neal, that's WOW! Factor, in writing, from your customer AND our client! By the way, Neal generally works the graveyard shift 10pm to 8am... WOW!

Customer Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Claire B.

Team Leader Michele H wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking with Client customer Charles B. this evening. He wanted to let everyone know how very kind and capable Claire is. He also stated she is extremely patient and made him feel like he was the most important customer she was helping tonight. He suggested we give her a day off with pay and make sure something is on her file regarding his comments!

Thank you, Claire, for WOWing our customers and taking such wonderful care of them everyday!

We truly appreciate it.

Michele M Hayes

Taction - The Contact Center

Team Leader ~ HighesTeam

Evening Supv

"Turn Your Call Center into a Sales Center" published in Connections Magazine, May 2010 Issue

The article, "Turn Your Call Center into a Sales Center" will be featured in the May Issue of Connections Magazine. This informative feature provides guidance from Administrative to floor level for improving call center agent sales performance with strategic bullet points and real world actionables for you to put to work today!

Watch for your May Issue of Connections Magazine or click here to read the article.

An Accolade for Taction - The Contact Center Agent Laurie J!

Supervisor Neal wrote:

Customer Jean R. had such a pleasant experience with Laurie that she decided that she should be recognized. She said that Laurie spent lots of time helping her with her new supplement order. Laurie did a great job combining shipments to save her money. She was very helpful when it came to all the questions Jean had.

Terrific job, Laurie!

Thank you,

Neal

How Outsourcing and Cooperative Purchasing Can Boost Your Bottom Line

On May 6th, 2010 Randy McKee, Sales Manager for Taction - The Contact Center will present, " How Outsourcing and Cooperative Purchasing Can Boost Your Bottom Line" to the Maine Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives at the 2010 MACCE Annual Spring Conference.

Hosted by The Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber and held at the Captain Daniel Stone Inn in Brunswick, Maine the Spring Conference brings Chamber Executives from all over Maine together for three days of thought leadership and is sponsored by Constant Contact, Taction - The Contact Center, and others still coming on board.

The presentation will outline how Taction's new program, the Maine Chambers Call Center Alliance, offers cooperative purchasing for Chambers and their member companies to leverage the power of 24 hour call center to maximize marketing efforts in the highly competitive tourism and catalog industries.

We’ve got brag’n rights!

Well maybe we don't have brag'n rights, however we sure are proud!

Recently Multichannel Merchant released its list of 2010 finalists for the MCM Award and lo and behold we have three clients in line for the Gold and Silver. The total list of 72 finalists span the catalog and e-commerce spectrum and include such trusted brands as Patagonia and King Arthur Flour.

It’s not surprising that our fantastic clients have been nominated, especially since one of them won silver last year (we’re counting on you for the gold this year!), yet to have three at once is incredible and very special!

Gold and Silver Award winners will be announced May 25 at a special luncheon at the Retail Marketing Conference (formerly ACCM) in Orlando, FL. We wish we could be there to see you folks “medal-up”!

To see the complete list of finalists by Category Go Here.

So… Wow! Congratulations, each of you, on being named a finalist for a 2010 MCM Award from Multichannel Merchant and best of luck to you all!

An Accolade for Taction Consumer Advocate Amy B.!

Client Services Manager Michele B. wrote:

We all know what a great job Amy does in assisting you all with [Client's], but what we sometimes tend to overlook is what a great job she does in assisting [Client's] customers.

Below is an email that was sent in regards to the service that Amy provided to a [Client] customer; so I would like to take this moment to personally thank Amy for the great job that she does for both you and our Clients.

Dear Amy,

Thank you for giving me the individualized attention to allow my transaction to (finally!) be completed. I really appreciate the level of customer service you provided, especially in light of the previous experience [DEL] up until that point you took over. The [product] arrived today! The charge and reversal may have happened so quickly in succession that I have yet to even see a charge on my account. All in all, great on both counts! Please feel free to pass this message on to your manager in demonstration of your outstanding job and going above and beyond for me.

Again, many thanks,

Heather

Good News from Connections Magazine

Good news @ Taction - The Contact Center!

An email received today from the editor of Connections Magazine informed us that an article written by Sales Manager Randy McKee, "Turn Your Call Center into a Sales Center", will be in the April issue of Connections Magazine.

Quite timely considering we've been doing Sales Refresher Trainings and creating new Sales Coaching Tools to ramp up for Q2 sales campaigns.

The article has already been posted online at http://www.connectionsmagazine.com/articles/10/026.html

A Client Accolade for All Taction Agents

An Open Letter From Taction Sales Manager, Randy McKee:

Hi Team,

You may or may not know this but your President and CEO Steve likes to say you folks are good... Darned good... That you folks get a lot of Accolades and that just does not happen much in our line of business.

Lets talk about Accolades.

Word History: People usually have to stick their necks out to earn accolades, and this is as it should be. In tracing accolade back to its Latin origins, we find that it was formed from the prefix ad-, “to, on,” and the noun collum, “neck,” which may bring the word collar to mind. From these elements came the Vulgar Latin word *accollre, which was the source of French accolade, “an embrace.” An embrace was originally given to a knight when dubbing him, a fact that accounts for accolade having the technical sense “ceremonial bestowal of knighthood,” the sense in which the word is first recorded in English in 1623.

Accolades would be given when a client, and or caller goes out of their way to praise a Team Member.

This may include:

* asking to speak with a superior
* initiating contact, with a superior (or other), in any form.

I received a voice mail from our newest client Mark who stated that he feels things are going exceptionally well, that he is very, very pleased with the end results of your calls and he knows that as you all become more comfortable with the [qualification] process he'll be seeing more transfers.

This is great work ladies and gentlemen and as I've written before so it bears repeating, I couldn't be any more proud of each and every one of you.

Randy

Randall McKee, Sales Manager
rmm [@] taction.net
Taction - The Contact Center

An Accolade for Taction Contact Center agents Deborah P.

Taction Trainer, Charity H wrote:

I had the pleasure of speaking to a new [Client] customer Kathy today. She wanted to let us know that Deborah had the most patience of anyone in the whole wide world!

She is just getting over the flu and felt that anyone that was able to make sense of what she was saying, and put up with her deserved a raise. She stated that whenever she calls back to order she's going to ask to speak to Deborah!!

Great way to treat our customers!! We appreciate all you do and the wonderful way you do it!

Thanks!

Charity