So, here is my random Thursday thought!!!
When I first started as a travel agent back in 1984 (yes, I am that old - but very young at heart!), our "contact centre" was a far cry from what we see today. I still remember my trusty classic desk phone (solid enough to survive a nuclear blast!), dog-eared flight timetables, and that credit card imprinter that gave us all forearms like Popeye! 💪
In those early days, customer service was a proper mix of detective work and improvisation. Need information about the Costa del Sol (Spain)? Hold that thought while I have a wrestle with our filing cabinet! Booking a simple flight? Just give me three hours, sixteen phone calls, and perhaps a cheeky prayer to the travel gods! Yet somehow, we managed to sort holiday dreams with nothing but a phone and good old British perseverance.
The late 80s and early 90s brought the first major shift with basic computer reservation systems. Suddenly information was at our fingertips-albeit through green-screen terminals and command codes I still remember to this day. And who could forget the fax machine-that brilliant contraption that turned important documents into barely legible thermal paper that would fade before the customer even collected their tickets!
By the mid-90s, call centers as we know them began taking shape. ACD systems meant calls could be routed to the right agent. We started tracking metrics (though nothing like today's analytics), and customer interactions became more streamlined. The internet was beginning to change everything, though we didn't fully realize it yet.
The 2000s brought the multi-channel revolution. Suddenly customers weren't just calling-they were emailing, chatting, even sending texts. Our once phone-centric world expanded, requiring us to adapt our skills across platforms. CRM systems helped us keep track of customer histories, though the dream of true omnichannel was still years away.
And now? Well, I'm fairly certain my mobile has more computing power than our entire office did in 1984. The last decade has been breathtaking-cloud systems, workforce management tools, sentiment analysis, and now AI and automation handling routine inquiries while we focus on complex problem-solving. What once required a room of filing cabinets now fits in our pocket!
What hasn't changed in 40 years? The fundamental need to connect and assist. Behind all the technology, customers still want to be heard, understood, and helped by a real person who cares.
I sometimes miss the simplicity of those early days, but I wouldn't trade the tools we have now that let us deliver better service than ever before. From classic desk phones to chatbots-what a journey it's been!
Who else remembers the "good old days" when "turn it off and on again" meant physically yanking something from the wall?
Share your war stories below! 😂
#General Question
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Tracy
Genesys
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