Actual for You - Business

The Seasonal Slump?
Everyone who has ever been in sales has heard it said that the holidays are the down time of the year. That is the reason that many businesses close for the season. Some will close for a couple of days while others close for the entire two weeks between Christmas and New Years Days. I have even heard of businesses closing for the entire holiday season beginning Thanksgiving and lasting until Valentines Day. Now that is what I call “Death Valley Days”.Do you agree? Do you allow yourself and your business to succumb to this mindset? Do you close down the shop and

Michael Jordan's Got Nothing On You
I made a mistake last week involving pants… I bought them. The problem is, and I have to say that I pretty much knew this before I left the store, they don't fit. In my defense, I am a man. I don't like clothes-shopping to begin with, and when you throw in the extra step of having to try things on, I get to a point where I'd gladly plunk down my credit card on an ill-fitting clown suit, if I thought it would get me out of the store faster. But the real mistake was taking the pants home, cutting off the tags and then deciding t

While writing a piece about racist attack on call center workers, I felt that I was not doing enough to get into the depth of the matter. Just analyzing the published data and reading report written by someone else did not feel enough. I decided to talk to someone who actually works in a call center. Following is the transcript of our talk. My respondent works at a call center in Pune, India. The answers have not been edited.

1) Here in USA we hear about call center workers being abused by callers from USA. They call them bad name and are nasty. Have you faced this kind of situation..? If yes then how did you handle it and how did it made you feel about Americans in general? Also did the bad behavior from American callers made u have a bad image of America..? If an employee complaints of bad behavior from callers how does the management handle it? Are the employees provided counseling..?

Certainly. Daily an agent would get at least one or two calls where the customer gets abusive. In such situations the agents ask the customer to refrain from profanity or else he might hang up. This does not always work out as the customer may still be abusive and since the calls are all recorded the agent simply cannot hang-up on the customer and he has to request him at least twice. This does make the agent feel bad and it might affect the agent’s productivity. However a tenured agent (someone who’s been in the process for over 6 months can handle these situations smartly. However the new joiners find it pretty tough to deal with and it is for these agents that we have counseling sessions eit

Exploding Your Ads With Classified Advertising
Classified advertising is a form of advertising that many new business owners overlook. With today's shift in advertising from off-line and online there's never been a better time to use his valuable marketing tool.Correctly applied classified ads can yield the most exposure to your product in any of available online. When improperly used however a classified ad can be a tremendous waste of money.To be a success with classified ads and any off-line advertisements it’s absolutely critical to keep the four key components of direct marketing in mind at all times. Th

script of our talk. My respondent works at a call center in Pune, India. The answers have not been edited.

Crafting Your Company's Image By A Professional Logo
'The contents of a book can be easily assessed by its cover.' Similarly, the logo of a company or any enterprise mirrors its quality of service offered. The logos that feature on the pages are responsible in alluring the browsers. Herein lies the importance of logos.A logo incorporates within itself the vision and motif of the company. A company logo should, therefore, be simple and forceful enough to represent the company's brand name. It should be able to convey key information within its limited format.Logo designers should be creative and avoid imitating desi

t made you feel about Americans in general? Also did the bad behavior from American callers made u have a bad image of America..? If an employee complaints of bad behavior from callers how does the management handle it? Are the employees provided counseling..?

So What Are You Working For?
It’s 7.00am on a Monday Morning, and you reach over to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock one more time, before you roll out of bed to begin the process of getting ready for another day at work.Let me ask you a question – is that you?The reality is that it is everybody at one time or another. But what is it that energizes those of us that are successful into beating that alarm clock up in the morning. That is, in getting out of bed and ready to face the day before that alarm clock has even considered giving its morning wail?As simple as it sounds, i

calls where the customer gets abusive. In such situations the agents ask the customer to refrain from profanity or else he might hang up. This does not always work out as the customer may still be abusive and since the calls are all recorded the agent simply cannot hang-up on the customer and he has to request him at least twice. This does make the agent feel bad and it might affect the agent’s productivity. However a tenured agent (someone who’s been in the process for over 6 months can handle these situations smartly. However the new joiners find it pretty tough to deal with and it is for these agents that we have counseling sessions ei

What Every Manager Should Know About How to Prevent Customer Service Conflicts
There are five techniques that have been proven to be effective in resolving, minimizing, and preventing conflicts. And by conflicts I am referring to any of the following that may take place between two or more people: misunderstanding, miscommunications, arguments, disagreements, mixed messages, fighting, etc.A. Active Listening: Use this approach when you want to let the customer know that you’re truly paying attention. Do so by totally involving your eyes, ears, and body. Pay attention to his body language, move close, cup your hand over your ear, lean forwar

t twice. This does make the agent feel bad and it might affect the agent’s productivity. However a tenured agent (someone who’s been in the process for over 6 months can handle these situations smartly. However the new joiners find it pretty tough to deal with and it is for these agents that we have counseling sessions either immediately or after the shift. In such cases the Team leader also takes over the call from the agent. This is called as an escalation. Americans in general are quite patient and can wait for hours before they finally get to speak to a live human as the wait times are generally high especially in Tech support. Initially agents do feel let down and depressed because of such incidents but eventually they do overcome. However one such call can ruin the day for an agent irrespective oh him being tenured or a fresher.

2) If given a chance will you work in America for Americans..? Please give reasons for your answer.

This is a very subjective question. The pay packet in call centers is more compared to other jobs in the market. Likewise if you look at growth opportunities offered in the US market certainly the prospect of working In America is very appealing. Just a few bad American customers cannot scare Indian job seekers away from the $$$$$$.

3) Do you think that in future with raising costs in India, the call centers will migrate to other low cost locations..? and Do you think you are prepared to take another job in another industry?

Shifting of call centers or having a new setup is not entirely dependent on the monetary part. Yes the very reason

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Every consultant has had the feeling: the conviction that your own private service practice is your true calling. Your passion quest. Yet, the mundane details of actually running a business make even the most inspired business person ask whether the choice was the right one.

Payroll outsourcing costs are negligible when compared to the expenditure incurred in processing payroll with in-house staff. According to statistics, 40% of the entire administration time of a small business concern deals with payroll processing. Payroll outsourcing is a cost–effective solution for proper profit management. The cost of outsourcing is based on the specific services provided. Most of the companies offer some basic packages as well as advanced versions. The price of the package varies with the added advantages.

As per the recent reports, automotive industry is undergoing the recessionary period. The competition in the industry is on rise and the big companies like Ford Motors and General Motors Corp. are facing losses despite their best efforts.

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