Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics
Contact Center Show
Most customer experience goals are meaningless. In this episode, Bob Furniss and Amas Tenumah dismantle the way contact centers set annual CX metrics and explain why leaders keep optimizing numbers that customers neither notice nor value. Using insights from a John Goodman article on CX goal-setting, the conversation exposes the disconnect between executives, customers, and frontline teams—and why automation, deflection, and “respectable” percentage improvements often make service worse, not better. This episode is about shifting from internally convenient metrics to customer-impactful...
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New Year Predictions — What 2025 Got Wrong, What 2026 Gets Right
Contact Center Show
2025 predictions — graded AI-powered knowledge Bob’s 2025 prediction: AI would dramatically improve knowledge in contact centers. Result: Early but mostly wrong. The technology moved, but the data did not. Knowledge bases were too fragmented, too dirty, and too poorly governed for AI to meaningfully improve frontline work. The industry instead spent another year chasing bots, automation, and surface-level “AI assistants.” Grade: C+ The failure was not AI. It was the state of enterprise knowledge. Remote work reversal Bob’s 2025 prediction: Work-from-home would shrink and...
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HOLD — The Suffering Economy of Customer Service
Contact Center Show
Amas Tenumah explains why customer service is not “broken” but intentionally designed to fail. Drawing on decades inside contact centers, historical research, and real corporate incentives, he argues that long waits, deflection, and automation-first strategies are features—not bugs. The conversation dismantles common CX myths, challenges executive complacency, and frames consumer behavior as the only force capable of triggering real change. Core Themes The Suffering Economy of Customer Service: When service is universally bad across industries, it’s systemic. Incentives—not...
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Empowering Sales Teams through AI
Contact Center Show
Summary The conversation explores the integration of AI in sales, focusing on how it enhances customer engagement and improves sales efficiency. Bob Furniss discusses the importance of using data to empower salespeople rather than reducing their numbers, emphasizing a customer-centric approach to AI in sales. Takeaways AI can enhance customer engagement in sales. The focus should be on empowering salespeople with data. AI is not just about reducing costs but improving efficiency. Sales strategies should prioritize customer needs. Data-driven insights can lead to better sales...
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Unlocking Value in Contact Centers with Brad Cleveland
Contact Center Show
Summary In this conversation, Amas Tenumah, Bob Furniss and Brad Cleveland discusses the three levels of value that contact centers create: efficiency, customer satisfaction and loyalty, and strategic insights provided by AI. He emphasizes the importance of these levels in improving products, services, and processes. Takeaways there's three levels of value that contact centers create Level one is efficiency customer satisfaction, loyalty, if we do a good job it's the strategic insight that AI can provide it can still tell us, hey, here's a trend I'm seeing Here's an opportunity to improve...
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Stacy Sherman: Why 'Satisfied' Is the New 'Fine' And 12 Reasons That's Not Good Enough"
Contact Center Show
Low-Cost, High-Impact CX Improvements The Power of Language: Transform "I can't" into "How can we" Shift from "I have to" to "We get to" Being "impeccable with your word" (inspired by The Four Agreements) Words trigger emotional responses that shape customer perception Getting CX Buy-In Across Organizations The Alignment Problem: CX initiatives fail when metrics aren't shared across departments Success came when executives adopted the same CX metrics as the CX team Without shared goals, customer insights get shelved with "we'll get to it later" The Pilot Program Strategy: Start small...
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Live from ICMI Conference - HR as a Contact Center with Bianca
Contact Center Show
Episode Summary Broadcasting live from the ICMI conference in Orlando, Amas and Bob discuss the evolving role of AI in contact centers, the ongoing struggle for strategic recognition, and welcome special guest Bianca, who shares her unique perspective on running HR as a contact center at Michigan State University.
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How Contact Centers Became the Corporate Nervous System (Live from ICMI w Daniel)
Contact Center Show
Host: Bob Furniss (without co-host Amos) Guest: Daniel Thomas, Informa Location: ICMI Conference Expo Floor Guest Background Daniel Thomas approaches contact center industry from a research background Surveys audiences and writes research reports Has "front row seat" to industry transformation Conducts the annual State of the Contact Center survey About the State of the Contact Center Report Comprehensive benchmark study surveying contact center professionals Covers multiple verticals including: Training and skills Compensation and salary Technology use Leadership perceptions Strategy ...
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Navigating Complexity in Contact Centers (live show w Luke Jamieson)
Contact Center Show
Summary In this conversation, Amas, Luke and Bob explore the evolving complexity of contact centers, challenging the notion that they are becoming simpler. They emphasizes that while the intention may be to simplify processes, the reality is that sophistication often leads to increased complexity. They also highlights the reliance on outdated metrics, such as those managed in Excel, which can contribute to agent burnout and friction with customers. They advocate for a shift towards more effective lead metrics to enhance the overall efficiency and satisfaction in contact centers. Takeaways...
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Is Salesforce and CRM in trouble?
Contact Center Show
Summary In this conversation, Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss discuss the evolution of contact centers, the impact of CRM systems like Salesforce, and the role of AI in enhancing agent performance. They reflect on the historical context of CRM, the challenges faced by agents, and the future of customer service technology, particularly focusing on the Agent Force initiative. The discussion also touches on the sentiment within the Salesforce community and the potential for new competitors in the market. Takeaways Salesforce has become a dominant player in the CRM space. The evolution...
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In this conversation, Amas Tenumah and Bob Furniss discuss the intersection of sports fandom and the business of contact centers, particularly focusing on business process outsourcing (BPO). They explore the reasons companies choose to outsource their customer service operations, the challenges involved, and the evolving landscape of the BPO industry. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding core competencies, cost savings, and the need for competent consultants in the BPO space.
Takeaways
The NBA Finals can evoke strong emotions and rivalries.
BPOs are third-party services handling customer interactions.
Cost savings is the primary reason for outsourcing.
Companies often outsource to focus on their core competencies.
Successful outsourcing requires understanding what to delegate.
BPOs can leverage scale and technology for efficiency.
Choosing the right outsourcing partner is crucial.
AI is changing the landscape of customer service.
Consultants with deep contact center experience are valuable.
The BPO industry is evolving to include more tech services.
Chapters
00:00 NBA Finals and Personal Rivalries
01:15 Understanding BPOs and Contact Centers
02:26 The Decision to Outsource
03:35 Implementing Outsourcing Strategies
06:25 The BPO Industry's Shift to AI
08:07 Core Competencies in Outsourcing
10:52 Final Thoughts on BPO and Customer Care