Author: Andrew O'Brien

A New Year Ahead and a Dose of Inspiration—Happy Holidays from Blue Ocean

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Customer Service Outsourcing, Holiday Customer Service

  Have you ever been more ready to end a calendar year? In our world of customer care, empathy has always been the cornerstone, the key to happy customers and happy clients. When 2020 came along and turned the world upside down, empathy became simply priceless. Impacted by the pandemic, unemployment, health issues, wildfires, lockdowns, […]

 

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Redundancy: Preparing Customer Care for Crisis Situations

by Andrew O'Brien in Contact Center Outsourcing, Contact Center RFP, Customer Service Outsourcing

Redundancy. Business Continuity. Those are major check boxes in every RFP we’ve ever responded to. Boxes to be checked on both sides of the equation – the buyer asked: “What’s your plan in case of disaster?” The bidders answered: “Here’s our plan in case of disaster….” Well, as the saying goes, humans plan and the […]

 

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Current State of Affairs at Blue Ocean

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Blue Ocean News, News

Stating the obvious, the past few weeks have been a turbulent time for everyone the world over. In response to this crisis, the world of work has been rapidly evolving.  For our clients, our partners, our employees, and our followers here on this site, I want to share a short update about current state of […]

 

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The Wall is a Myth: Getting Closer to Your Customer Through Outsourcing

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Contact Center Outsourcing, Customer Retention, Customer Service Outsourcing

For brand-conscious organizations who have never outsourced before, there’s a common fear that putting your customer care in the hands of an outsourced partner effectively builds a wall between you and your customer. We get the reasoning – after all, your customers are your most important asset and anything that adds a layer between you […]

 

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AI and Customer Care: The Future is Here

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Artificial Intelligence, Contact Center Technology, Customer Service Outsourcing, Multichannel Customer Service

Siri, Alexa, and OK Google… these are the virtual interactions that Sci-Fi movies have portrayed for decades past. The future is, it seems, here at our fingertips. These technologies are sparking new expectations in today’s consumers on an almost daily basis. We want intelligent interactions that are personalized to our own situations and we want […]

 

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The Evolution of Self-Serve Customer Service

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Customer Service Outsourcing, Multichannel Customer Service

Ever have one of those days when you simply don’t want to talk to anyone? That day inevitably coincides with the renewed urgency of the task you’ve been procrastinating over: calling customer service to fix your computer/check your warranty/renew your membership/reset your password. We know you hate calling tech support. We know you’d rather not […]

 

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5 Cost-Effective Reasons to Outsource Your Contact Center [Slideshare]

by Andrew O'Brien in Andrew O'Brien, Contact Center Budgeting

Your contact center goals are to achieve cost-effectiveness and efficiency while also delivering exceptional service experience to your customers. The challenge is, how does that translate into numbers? Calculating call center costs in order to build a business case for outsourcing depends upon a complex array of factors and considerations. We want to make it […]

 

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