How to Display Lyrics on your Windows Media Player

So you like a particular song, but don't know the lyrics?
And you don't have time to look it up online?

Worry no more!

A cool plugin called Lyrics Plugin can display songs on your winamp/windows media player screen! Even from hard to find songs! I was able to find lyrics from Cannibale Corpse, Opeth, Symphony X, Local Artists, etc..

Just download it here.

After installing, open windows media player, go to Tools--Plugins--Click on Lyrics Plugin. And voila! The screen will show the lyrics of the selected song. Just in case, it doesn't, you may need to rename the said song to it's correct title like, "Track 01" "1.name of the song" to "name of the song".

Now sing your hearts out!

MS Word Trick

1.Open MS Word 2003 and type:

=rand (200,99)

2. Hit Enter.

You're supposed to see something weird.

How to make your PC Talk

This is so cool I have to post it even if it's off topic..

Open a text file in notepad and type:

Dim msg, sapimsg=InputBox("Enter your text","Talk it")Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")sapi.Speak msg

Save the file with a (*.vbs) extension, it will create a VBScript File.It will prompt you for a text when you open the file, input the text and press ok."you will hear what you typed

This works in XP. I don't know about Vista.

The computer speaks perfect English. Albeit in a cyborgish kind of way.

You can change the speech rate by separating syllables.

He said it..

"Lowering your standards and expectations, only breeds mediocrity..."

Philip Salvador

How to Address Language Issues

In this line of business, everything relies on communication. Language issues, are translated into stats, by poor QA scores, low CSAT, low FCR and high ATT. Being a QA for 4 years, I have experienced working with agents who went live, had difficulties communicating, and as a result, had low morale. This is because they are often at the end of customer abuse. They have issues completing resolution because the customer's can't understand the steps. They have long calls because it takes a lot of effort on their part just to discuss a simple point. It was a challenging task at first. I know that the conventional way of coaching won't work. By going through a series of trial and errors (with emphasis on errors), I was able to find a series of steps that worked with most of the agents I have handled. This is a tried and tested formula.

1. Motivate- Excite.Brainwash. Attitude Transplant. They're all the same.

The first issue I have experienced is coaching agents with bleak outlook on self improvement. After all, they spent 14 years, at least, of education trying to work on their ps and fs, th, vs and bs, to no avail. Some of them already accepted the fact that it is impossible to learn. There are different ways to motivate people, but the first step is to let the agent know that there is a NEED for improvement, and that it's not too late to learn a new skill. And that need is supposed to be addressed to as soon as possible.You have to build the confidence.This is because effective communication requires confidence. Without doing this, we can't go to the next steps.

2. Minimize Word Count- Most agents with this problem, fall into a trap. Wherein, to compensate for this perceived flaw, an agent talks more, sometimes out of control, drowning the customer with details, circling around different topics. Sometimes this can be due to enthusiasm of being in a new environment. Or simply because of a notion, that maybe by speaking more, they are practicing more. But this is a common sight. However, what this does is that it makes matters worse, because the language issues have now become more obvious. And sometimes by over talking they find themselves, hitting communication walls. The first thing that we should do is to HIDE the flaw. After all, when it comes to communication, less is more.

Coach agents on:

a. Being clear, concise, and direct to the point. Take note of common sentences that are wordy and come up with modifications.
b. Minimizing fillers.
c. Avoiding run on sentences.
d. Planning the call ahead of time, anticipating possible discussion points.
e. Organizing thoughts and focusing on one topic at a time.
f. Using transition phrases to direct call flow.
g. Being in control of their emotions during the call


This step alone can make a huge difference. In fact, for most agents, I only did this step, and they figured out the rest.

3. Create Audio Scripts- Scripting makes it easier for new agents to handle certain situations like referrals, closing, handling an irate customer, etc. By constantly rehearsing the lines, agents can say it with more confidence in time. The problem is , can they say it correctly?

As people grow old, they become accustomed to their native speech sound, and can find it hard to retain the correct way of pronouncing particular words/phrases. Communication is 100% mental, because when we speak, we retrieve a memory of words into our head before putting it in a sentence.Sometimes, if our mind is cluttered with an abyss of thoughts, our speech is, well, cluttered. If we hear our neighbors, talking in bad English for years, we unconciously retain it. When we retain it, it manifests itself when we speak.

To create audio recorded scripts, we must write down the scripts that the agent frequently uses during the course of a call. Record it using windows recorder, and have the agents listen to it before shift and even at home. By doing this, we are re programming their memory, and this time with the correct data.


4. Improve Speech Techniques-Intonation is the speech music. Each language a genre. Even if we pronounce all the words correctly, we would still sound awful if the intonation is incorrect. For example, in our native tongue, every syllable is pronounced, whereas in the American Language, sentences are treated like sound groups. This contrasting characteristic is one of the challenges when coaching these agents. Voice modulation exercises can be beneficial in terms of sounding clearer, more confident and more mature.

5. Think in English- When we think in Tagalog, we find it hard to construct sentences in the middle of a conversation. By thinking in English before shift, we are conditioning our mind for this activity.Thus, we are avoiding incorrect transliterations and will sound more spontaneous, less strenuous when we talk.

6. Speak English-

Exaggerate.

Most often, even if agents have the skill, they are often shy to display it. We must exaggerate , stressing on twangs, intonations, inflections, etc. Even if it sounds embarrassing at first, this is an essential part of this development. Through this way, we are conditioning our mindset that speaking English is something that comes naturally. And it will.

Agents should listen to their call recordings and must take notes of commonly mispronounced words. There are a lot of websites that can be used as a reference. (i.e., encarta.msn.com, then go to dictionary, etc.)

I'm not a big fan of English only Policies because it can be compared to forcing a basketball player to keep on shooting even if his mechanics are wrong. It lacks creativity and displays short understanding of the agent's psyche. The previous 5 steps must be achieved FIRST before enforcing such policy.

7. Improve on Grammar- Agents should notice patterns between correct grammar usages. Most often, the same rules apply. There is lot of grammar related sites. The best one for me is Englishpage.com.

8.Develop Conversational Skills- Cultivate good phone savvy/personality by listening, turn taking, avoiding dead air, building rapport, spontaneity, and expressing one's point with clarity.

Overall, this completes the package.

Metrics Troubleshooting part 3- FCR

There is not enough words in this blog, that can capture the significance of FCR to the operations of a contact center. And it would be euphemism to say, that I am someone who can speak his mind.FCR is the only metric that balances and measures customer service effectiveness and operating cost efficiency.

Here are 5 reasons why FCR should be the key iniatitive for a center's success.

1.It reduces operating cost- Customer's calling for the second time about the same issue constitute additional cost. For example, if we have a 70% FCR rating this means, that 30% of our call volume comes from the same customers. And then, what if half those issues are still unresolved? Then what we have here is a snowballing effect, creating a heavy toll on the operating cost.

2. It improves Customer Satisfaction- It is a known fact that FCR is highly correlated to customer satsfaction. Some might say, that it is it's highest correlated measure. Some might argue, that FCR, or its lack of, is the biggest driver of customer dissatisfaction.For instance, a study conducted by research consulting firm Customer Relationship Metrics found that “caller satisfaction ratings for the company in general and for the CSR will be 35 to 45 percent lower when a second call is made for the same issue.” Another study, conducted by Service Quality Measurement Group (SQM), revealed that for every 1 percent improvement in FCR, you get a 1 percent improvement in customer satisfaction.

3.It increases Employee Satisfaction- an organization with low FCR often has low employee satisfaction and high turnover. The stress is very high on the employee who handles the second and third call from that customer whose issue wasn't resolved the first time.

4. It increases opportunities to sell-when a customer call is resolved youincrease the customer cross selling acceptance rate by 20%. SQM’s research shows that customers’ needs must be resolved before the CSR has earnedthe right to move on to any sort of sales activity. If the CSR cross sells beforethe inquiry or problem is resolved, the customer is irritated and feels that theorganization is pushing its needs, rather than serving the customer. As aresult, the fundamental customer relationship is undermined.

5.Reduce customers at risk – SQM research shows that if the customer’sinquiry or problem is resolved in the first call only 3% of those customers areat risk to go to your competitors. Conversely, 34% of customers who did notget their inquiry or problem resolved are likely to go to your competitors. Customers that are at risk of going to competitors are a result of unresolved customer inquiries or problems and have the biggest impact onthe call center’s financial performance. Most call centers are not aware howmuch revenue they are losing as a result of the customer’s inquiry or problemgoing unresolved.

There are several key tactics and tools you can implement to achieve — or at least approach — your center’s true FCR potential.

1. Two plus calls- We must track calls that are usually not resolved on the first contact. There should be a pattern.We must identify the call types and probable causes and the practice its' most efficient resolution. Then align it with the training materials, QA Scorecards, and coaching workflows.

2. Align FCR/AHT targets.-Even with the right training and tools in place, FCR will suffer if agents are confused with performance objectives. Asking agents shoot for a high FCR rate while at the same time rigidly requiring them to have low talk times will likely result in rushed calls, a high incidence of errors and rework, and increased agent burnout and turnover.

3. Train, empower and retain- Training and QA should be focused on issue resolution and confidence building activities. Then, through coaching, data must be gathered to identify knowledge gaps so that action plans will be implemented to narrow it down. Employee turnover must be reduced. This means that the agents on floors are agents armed with knowledge, confidence and experience, the qualities that contribute to issue resolution.

4. Awareness and Accountability- FCR must be viewed as the most important metric and everyone (from agents to Account Managers) should be held accountable. And it most be known, that the only judge of FCR, are the customers.

5. Process Improvements- Rework, wastes and delays should be minimized so that the agents can focus their energy on resolving the customer's issues. Process Flow Charts, Process Diagrams,Scripts, must capture the most efficient ways of resolving a particular issue and have it implemented. The most important catalyst for such process change, would be the agents. Top organizations recognize that agents are the true customer contact experts in the call center. These organizations actively solicit suggestions and feedback from agents on what they need to do to improve the process. Furthermore, through this, agents know their role, and their importance to the process. This is because THEY are the process.

6. Specialization- Skill Routing is a common practice by organizations that aim for FCR. Through this, customer and/or call type are matched with the CSR’s knowledge and skills.We can have roaming tier twos ready to assist CSRs on the floor or through phone. If issues are so complex and diverse that most of the time spent is on research, we can have a research specialist per subject, product, or per call type.

7. Technology- Tools and resources must be available and accessible at all times to the agents. They must have access to all customer information and history to assist in resolving customer’s issue. There must be an Online Knowledge Base that is constantly improved to pursue FCR. Pop up screens that instructs. Voice Message Box where callers can leave messages when agents are not around, or even when they are on hold-(just kidding about the hold thing).

8. Customer Empowerment- there are times when issues may be resolved, but the customers don't know it. The agent must verify this with the customer by asking, " have I resolved your issue?", or "would there be anything else?" or by narrowing down parameters, "so the reason for your call, would be.."

By establishing support FAQs, we are empowering the customer closer to FCR. What better way to resolve an issue with help from the customers who can vividly describe their issue, know what caused it, and would just like a few info on what to do next?

9. Rewards and Recognition- Agents who contribute to a center's FCR must be recognized.

Deming Quality Chain Reaction (applied to a contact center set up)

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1.Improve Quality

Quality is the focus. Everything starts and ends with quality. Without it, improvements will not be sustained in the long run. For example, if an account bills client on a per call basis, then focuses on getting calls without providing any quality help to customers, then it is bound to fail. Because, in today's market of intense competition, someone will always provide better service,by providing better ways of meeting the customer needs. Management should always be at the forefront whether by iniatitives on establishing quality metrics, or through process improvements.

2. Reduce Costs-

As quality is improved, costs are reduced because of less delays (long calls) and defects (customer dissatisfaction). One of purposes of quality is to have less rework, with this, agents know what is acceptable and what is not. Thus, operational definitions are clear. By chopping off redundant steps through process improvements, calls are more efficient because of less rework and delays. Agents can focus more on issue resolution and improving the customer experience. By focusing on quality, agents are less prone to mistakes, leading to customer satisfaction. Time, machine and materials are economized.

3.Improve Productivity-

As costs are reduced, the company have better use of the agent's time and energy. As much of it is no longer spent on defects.They are now more devoted to work that only adds value. As a result, billable utilization increases, getting more value per employee.

4. Reduce Prices

We now have MORE products (calls) that have a higher quality. These are created with lower costs. We now have savings. Savings are now passed to the market by reducing prices to our clients.

5. Capture the Market

We now have more calls, with a higher quality, and at a lower price. This provides us a great competitive advantage compared to competitors. We can now create markets that provides calls to the changing needs of its clients.

6. Stay in Business

Once the contact center has stayed ahead of competitors, and has captured the market. The long term prospects of the organization have been ensured.

7. Provide jobs and more jobs-

Companies that focuses on quality realizes the value of continous improvement. Thus, opportunities for new jobs are created.

8.Improve ROI-everything gains.

It is recommended that the internal customers ( steps 1-3) were satisfied first before the external customers. Or else the chain breaks.