Advice from a Call Center Geek! – Details, episodes & analysis

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This episode is my AI Christmas wish list for CCaaS. 

Not toys. 

Not buzzwords. 

The real AI tools contact centers should already have but don’t. Everyone is focused on making AI talk to customers. 

That’s missing the point. 

AI in CX isn’t supposed to just talk. It’s supposed to run the contact center. 

I break down the biggest opportunities CCaaS platforms are skipping, from AI flow builders you can prompt in plain English, to real-time workforce orchestration, predictive routing that replaces “next available agent,” dashboards built instantly by prompt, in-call coaching that actually helps agents in the moment, and real-time billing with zero surprises. 

This is a wish list, but it’s not fantasy. 

This is practical, achievable AI that would make life easier for the people running the floor every day. If you’re tired of AI demos that look good but don’t change operations, this episode is for you. 

All I want for Christmas is CCaaS AI that actually works.

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

Join us for an inside look at Expivia Digital and the current state of contact center technology. We share our 30-year journey from running contact centers to consulting on CCaaS platform selection, AI quality assurance, and NICE CXone implementations. As members of NICE's Executive Advisory Board, we discuss the biggest trends shaping the industry in 2025: usage-based pricing, AI automation, agent experience, and how to cut through vendor promises to find technology that actually delivers ROI. Whether you're evaluating platforms, implementing AI, or trying to optimize your current stack - this is the real talk contact center leaders need to hear.

Come check us out at Expiviadigital.com

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this thought-provoking episode of Advice from a Call Center Geek, we dive deep into one of the most contested questions in customer service technology:

Can artificial intelligence truly demonstrate empathy, and how do we meaningfully measure it?

While tech companies tout their AI's emotional intelligence capabilities, we'll cut through the marketing hype to examine what empathy really means in customer interactions.

We'll explore practical examples from call centers where AI handles emotionally charged situations, comparing them with human responses to similar scenarios.

 Through real case studies and expert insights, we'll break down the components of empathy, from emotional recognition to appropriate response selection - and assess how AI systems measure up against these criteria.

Rather than accepting the binary "AI can/cannot be empathetic" debate, we'll examine the nuanced reality of how AI systems process and respond to emotional cues. 

We'll discuss concrete metrics used in call centers to evaluate emotional intelligence, whether applied to human agents or AI systems, and question whether these measurements truly capture the essence of empathy.

This episode challenges both AI skeptics and enthusiasts to reconsider their assumptions. 

For call center leaders and CX professionals, we'll provide actionable frameworks to evaluate AI solutions beyond the buzzwords, helping you make informed decisions about implementing emotionally intelligent automation in your customer service operations.

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

That one call contact center agent that is consistently late by 1, 3, or 6 minutes every day to shift or coming back from break/lunch.  This can be a tricky situation to handle and one that we all deal with in the contact center environment. 

You get frustrated, WFM is on you, other agents are irritated because they can go on break until that agent comes back...it can be a mess if left unchecked.

In this episode, we discuss that it's ok to hold agents to certain standards as long as it's part of the core competency that you need from them and that's been explained.  We also talk about certain ways to avoid this and when to move it to progressive discipline.

This should be a pretty valuable episode to any call center manager or supervisor.

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "security" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

Middle management is the absolute lifeline of your contact center.  Have you educated and given them the tools they need to be successful.

We are in the process of overhauling our management training program and want to give all of you an inside look at what you should be converting and how to do this.

This includes chapters on
:
TECHNOLOGY/OPERATIONS

• Telephony understanding
• KPIS (Already created a dictionary for this)
• Reports- What to look for
• Supervisor Checklist
• Starting the Day the Right Way
• Motivations
• Analytics understanding
• Daily Synopsis format

HR

• Dealing with agent issues (top 10 issues and how to handle)- Script and Video
• Attitude Effort importance
• Policies and Procedures
• Legal issues 
• What we can say, can't say to reps and peers
• When to Escalate to HR
• Chain of Command
• Slack 

MONITORING/COACHING/CLIENTS

• How to Coach
• Monitoring/Scoring
• Dealing with Clients

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "education" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

In this totally unscripted episode, I sit down with 5 of our contact middle management to discuss how they manage their teams. 

We talk about coaching tips, QA, dealing with motivation issues, and how to handle confrontation that sometimes arises in any work environment from their perspective. 

Really unique episode and one that we want to do more of!

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community:www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "education" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

Educating associates is a core competency of any solid contact center operation.  In episode 141 of Advice from a Call Center Geek, we look at 7 Effective Call Center Training Tips You Can Implement Easily.

Topics in this episode include:
Focusing On the Major Call Center Skills
Equipping Your Agents with Sufficient Product Knowledge
Creating KPIs for Every Training Session
Making Training Sessions Practical and Easy to Implement
Fostering Continuous Improvement
Provide Constructive Feedback
Map Out a Clear Growth Pathway for Your Agents

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "education" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

This episode is definitely in my top 3 favorite episodes and a MUST listen for any Call Center Geek out there.  I re-recorded this episode 4 times to make sure I got across what I needed!

In this episode, we take a deep dive into the Metaverse and How it will fundamentally change CX, service, rewards programs, and customer retention.

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "meta" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

Turnover...the arch-nemesis of every contact center. 

While it's never going to be perfect, there are some tactics that we can take to improve the culture and the turnover of the contact center environment. 

In this episode, we look at 5 ways that we battle turnover here in my contact center, Expivia. 

These include a dive into:

Culture
Associate Pay
Agent Engagement
Growth and Progression
Having a Say
Difficult Processes and Procedures

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "NFT" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com

Send us Fan Mail

I love this episode. If you are a call center geek, it's for you, if you are not but want to understand the power of the oncoming NFT revolution, this is for you as well!

NFTs are going to be a large part of business and service in the coming years.  They are not a fad, they are a tool that all of us will need to understand, and the earlier that happens, the more ahead of the game you and your organization will be!

I have gone down the rabbit hole with NFTs, Crypto, Defi, and blockchain, and what to tell you all I have learned.  In this episode, we discuss all the ways NFTs can and will be disrupting business.  This is a brainstorming session where I want to plant the seed in all my listener's minds as to how you can utilize these new technologies.

We talk about NFT in terms of:

• Tiers of Customer Service
• Customer Tiers
• Ticketing
• Access
• Content
• SAAS Companies
• Community
• Contracts
• Fundraising
• Startups
• REIT's
• Metaverse
• Gaming
• API
• AI 

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Schedule time with me to talk about anything call center related:
https://calendly.com/call_center_advice/15min
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel
Text Me: Text "NFT" to 814-247-0633

 Through Expivia Digital, Tom works with contact center leaders on CCaaS platform selection, AI implementations, and NICE Studio and integration services. 

Same honest, vendor-neutral advice you hear on the Call Center Geek podcast, applied directly to your specific operational challenges. 

Schedule a consultation at ExpiviaDigital.com to discuss your contact center technology strategy. 

Click here:

expiviadigital.com

Follow Tom: @tlaird_expivia
Join our Facebook Call Center Community: www.facebook.com/callcentergeek
Connect on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tlairdexpivia/
Follow on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@callcenter_geek
Linkedin Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/9041993/
Watch us: Advice from a Call Center Geek Youtube Channel

OttoQA: try.ottoqa.com

Expivia: Expiviausa.com