Women get flirty at 30 - Chat and Emails

Don't get carried away by the title :). Once your chat/email is over. How do you know if you impressed the customer?

THE 30 Silver Bullets to measure your Chat/Email and how the customer feels about the interaction

Connect: Build trust
1. Greeting – Offer welcoming words
2. Greeting – Maintain positive tone
3. Listen and don’t interrupt
4. Express empathy through words and tone
5. Use customer’s name only wherever required
6. Tell them you will help
7. Request for more information if required and immediately thank them for providing the same

Professionalism: Confidence
8. Express sincerity and helpfulness through tone
9. Maintain appropriate language and flow of information. Do not overburden customer with too much of information
10. Use simple English, avoid jargons or abbreviations. The communication is not a competition to demonstrate your vocabulary skills
11. Use “I,” not “we,” when appropriate
12. Use “please” and “thank you” to show courtesy
13. Avoid tragic phrases and jargon
14. Use phrases to build confidence and trust

Deep Dive: Understand and Ask Questions
15. Ask questions (to yourself and if required, the customer) to get to the root cause/problem/issue (the “what” and the “why”)
16. Comprehend, understand and acknowledge making the cutomer feel confident that you understood the situation
17. Before hold/transfer, explain why and get permission
18. After hold -- use their name…wait for a response…thank them
19. Keep interaction to appropriate length

Write or Inform and Clarify What You Will Do
20. Be proactive: offer options and/or solutions
21. Set a deadline or timeframe before the customer asks
22. Educate with relevant information
23. Be knowledgeable and accurate
24. Summarize the next step(s)
25. Get agreement on the next step(s)
Close With the Relationship in Mind
26. Offer additional assistance when appropriate
27. End with a positive and confirming phrase about addressing the issue
28. Close with sincere tone
29. Did you lead the interaction to resolution or closer to it?
30. Thank customer for contacting you and for their time

To be continued...

Managing BPO Quality Through Calibration

Ensuring high quality is a critical priority for a company when it is making business process outsourcing decisions. Calibration is a helpful way for outsourcing providers and clients to ensure that quality standards are clearly understood and achieved. Calibration – comparing with defined standards, is a step taken in BPO relationships to reduce perception gaps and measure and address any performance gaps. In this article, we will provide a basic overview of calibration and some things to look for in a robust calibration process.

Service Quality - Correct Sampling Key to Accurate Delivery

WHAT IT IS
Sampling is the process of selecting part of a population to determine parameters and characteristics of the whole population.

Sampling may be random or purposeful. The major difference between the two is that random sampling is more confirmatory while purposeful sampling is more exploratory. Both types of sampling may be applied to:

• Attribute Data: To reach a conclusion about a population in terms of the proportion, percentage, or total number of items which possess some characteristic (attribute) or fall into some defined classification. Typically, the classifications defined when sampling for attributes are some variation of "in compliance" or "not in compliance." Examples of attribute sampling includes tests of compliance with voucher processing controls, tests of compliance with controls over fixed asset additions, and surveys which provide demographic information or answers to “yes/no” questions.

• Variables Data: To draw conclusions about a population in terms of numbers, such as dollar amounts, height, weight, etc. It is usually used in substantive testing to determine the reasonableness of recorded amounts. Generally, variable sampling involves calculation of the difference between the actual and recorded values of a sample and projecting this difference across the population. Examples of variable sampling include tests of inventory quantities, tests of total assessed taxes uncollected, and surveys which gather ratings or interval variable data.

DEFINITIONS used in Sampling

• Confidence level the percentage of times the sample accurately represents the population. A 95 percent confidence level indicates that if 100 samples were drawn from the population, 95 would be representative
• Desired precision (d) (margin of error) the amount of deviation from the estimate one is willing to accept. In opinion poll (simple random sampling), figures quoted often have a listed "margin of error" of, for example, + 3 percent. This means if 52 percent of respondents say they will vote for a political candidate, the actual percentage in the population may be as low as 49 percent or as high as 55
  percent.
• Expected percent error rate (p)
• Normal distribution occurs when data are distributed in a symmetrical bell shape such that the number of data points decreases the farther they are from the mean (average).
• Standard deviation (σ) indicates the dispersion of data which are normally distributed. The actual standard deviation of a population is rarely known since this can only be determined by a census (100 percent sample). Typically, the sample standard deviation (s) is used in calculations once samples have been drawn.
• Tolerable rate indicates the maximum acceptable error rate in the population. 
  

z relates to confidence level. The z-value is a standardized value which indicates how far from the population mean (or proportion) a sample mean (or proportion) can be and still represent the population. The z-value is critical when calculating sample size. The most common z-values for two-tailed tests are:
                              Confidence                Level z
                                   99 %                        2.58
                                   98 %                        2.33
                                   95 %                        1.96
                                   90 %                        1.64
The most common z-values for one-tailed tests are:
                              Confidence                Level z
                                   99 %                        2.33
                                   98 %                        2.05
                                   95 %                        1.64
                                   90 %                        1.29

HOW TO PREPARE FOR SAMPLING

1. Determine the objectives of sampling based on the project objectives.
2. Define the population and the sample. Since the informational objectives are known at this point in the process, the identity and characteristics of the population should be fairly clear. The most important thing is to define the population rigorously and thoroughly since this definition will serve as the benchmark against which each potential sample is measured. In defining the population and the sample, consider these questions:
1. What is the larger group (population) about which general statements or predictions are required? What are the characteristics of this group, and which of these characteristics are of greatest interest? 
2. Under which circumstances is one most likely to find information about the characteristics of interest? When, where, and why do the members of the population exhibit these characteristics?
3. Which subgroup (sample) of the population is most likely to exhibit the characteristics of interest in a way that allows gathering data in an efficient, effective, and economical way?
4. When and where is one most likely to capture the sample data sought?

When answering this last question, take stock of information already available, such as statewide data bases, agency records, mailing or telephone directories and lists, client lists, and so on. Other issues to consider include:
— How much will it cost to design and execute the sample?
— Has this study been done before?
— If data are available from multiple sources, which source is best?
— What kinds of statements, predictions, or decisions might arise from the
data?
— How precise must the results be?
— Are the resources required to collect and analyze the data at hand?


FORMULAS FOR DETERMINING SAMPLE SIZE


For variable sampling using simple random samples, the formula for determining the
sample size is:

Deal With Losing a Friend

Losing a friend can be really tough, especially when it is through no fault of your own. Even though you might feel sad, realize that it's not the end of the world. You will get over it and you will make new friends.

Steps

1. Take time to mourn over your loss. This is a big change in your daily life to not have that friend as a part of it. Cry, scream into a pillow, shout, hit the pillow, play the music at its loudest possible. Do whatever it takes to get the sadness, rage, anger, disappointment etc. out of your system. Let it out so that you can move on from these destructive feelings and so that you can cease to harbor negativity that you will continue to carry if you do not release it.
   
2. Find a new hobby, activity or regular social event. Don't sit around and sob incessantly. Do something proactive and lively to distract your mind and soul. Quit moping and resume your path in life. Go shopping, treat yourself to an ice cream at your local restaurant, or go and play a sport. Take up a hobby or set yourself a challenge, such as a 5000 piece jigsaw or beating the computer at a game of chess.
   
3. Join a club. You will meet lots of new people and get heaps of new friends instantly.
   
4. Find a new friend. There is always someone new. Talk to people around school, college, work or your neighborhood. Talk to people that you have never really talked to before and you may be pleasantly surprised. Be nice and friendly, but don't be overly friendly the first time you approach them. Just go up and say "Hi" or something, and try to act casually. If you start talking to each other, don't act too eager to be friends too quickly. Just be yourself and stay casual. And take it calmly and slowly - simply because you have lost one friend doesn't mean you should rush out and find another replacement. Friendship develops over time and needs careful choices and good tending.
   
5. Avoid spending time thinking of ways to make your former friend jealous. This will only make you look sad and desperate and it only ever rebounds on yourself. Revenge fantasies might amuse your sorrowful side but they are a pure waste of energy and dig a deeper level of sadness and inaction for you. See step 1 again if you find yourself falling into this trap.
   
6. Keep a casual relationship with your former friend. When you see your former friend around, don't be sour or nasty. If he or she talks to you, don't ignore your former friend. Just say hi back and if you still don't want to have a long conversation, be polite and just excuse yourself. Having an appointment or a homework assignment to complete are good enough excuses.
   
7. Don't spread rumours about the person, or talk about them to everyone. Nobody will want to be your friend if they discover that you talk about people behind their backs.
   
8. Smile! Find things to smile about. Do something for someone, raise money for charity by doing a sponsored run, do things that make you happy again. Realize that you don't need this person to make you happy, and it is not the end of the world now that they have gone. It is one of life's lessons and there should be a kernel of wisdom in what happened for you to learn from.
   
9. Get on with your life. This is the most important lesson. Don't stop going out with other friends, or take it out on them. Carry on as if everything is normal, and it will feel normal. Soon you will forget all about this person, or at least, be able to think of them without bitterness or sadness.
   
10. Remember that with every ending, there is a new beginning. That means, there's time to get your life going in the direction you want. Pamper yourself and hang out with new interesting people.
    

Tips

• Don't let this friend know that you are upset because then he/she might think he/she has won. Or, your former friend may simply be irritated to think you still harbor a desire for friendship with them and may be provoked into spreading malicious gossip about you.
  
• If you are nice to everyone, everyone will want to be your friend!
  
• Don't let this person think that you are letting yourself go because you two aren't friends anymore. This is immature and self-destructive behavior that only impacts you and your future prospects for other friendships. People do not turn around and rescue wallowers, so try not to hold on to such a fantasy.
  
• Stay strong! If what this person did was bad, don't accept them back as a friend. If he or she begs or promises to be a good friend, stay firm unless you think this person has really changed or you feel it would be wrong not to. Don't be weak, you will just look and be treated like a doormat!
  
• If it really will, then make friends with them again. If the fight was silly and you feel it was, it is possible they are too. Start out by apologizing a few days after the fight and then leave them alone. Do not retaliate. If they say no, you will know you did everything you could.