Liz Jackson, 33, who founded a telemarketing company, was made an MBE for service to business at Buckingham Palace, following nomination by a client. With a grant and a loan from the Prince’s Trust, she started Great Guns Marketing in 1998…and a year later lost all her sight. Based in Basingstoke, her company now turns over £2.5m pa and has further offices in Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Derby, Darlington, Glasgow and Waterford. It specialises in appointment setting and lead generation.
Ms Jackson said: “[I was] incredibly shocked to find out…just for doing something that I love.”
HOURS OF CALLS
This small voice recorder, called SD Recorder (£149), is half the size of a paperback and can record up to 340 hours to a standard SD memory card, such as those used in digital cameras. Mains or battery powered, it connects to the handset cord and has an adapter for mobile phones. It comes with software to allow search and retrieval, and email and export as .wav files. Comvurgent, which designed the product, says it is ideal for assessment and training of agents.
TWO NEWCOMERS
beCogent, the outsourcer based in Airdrie, has hired Fiona McGlinchy as business manager, responsible for inbound customer service for Virgin Media. George Violaris has been appointed as head of technology services. Previously director of a small consultancy firm, he heads a team of three business managers.
NEW VERSION
Activa Solutions has launched a NCHS (National Call Handling Standards), version of its Veritel XQ, used to evaluate call centre call handling competencies and skills, as well as to highlight non-compliance and areas for development. Activa says it is tailored to meet Home Office and APCO guidelines.
WHAT DO THEY THINK?
The Listening Company is to carry out a survey among 1,000 UK consumers aged 18-plus. It is designed to show what customers want from call centres and what the industry can do to improve standards.
Interviews will comprise two parts: the first will investigate perceptions towards call centres in terms of the overall level of customer service; the second will explore attitudes to offshore call centres.
Questions will include: “When you call a call centre do you feel that the agent listens and shows interest in your conversation?”, “Do you feel the agent is able to answer your enquiries?” and “What do you find is the most annoying aspect of using a call centre?”