Advice from a Call Center Geek!
Advice from a Call Center Geek is a weekly podcast with a focus on all things call center and contact center. Tom Laird, CEO of 600+ seat award-winning BPO, Expivia Interaction Marketing and Ai auto QA startup OttoQa, ICMI Top 25 Contact Center thought leader discusses topics such as call center operations, hiring, culture, technology, and training while having fun doing it!
Episodes
239 episodes
2025 Geek Gauge CCaaS Rankings!
In this episode of the Advice from a Call Center Geek podcast, we unveil our highly anticipated 2025 Geek Gauge CCaaS Rankings. We break down the comprehensive analysis of the top 19 Contact Center as a Service platforms, showing wh...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 239
•
18:24
What to Demand from Your 2025 Outsourcing Partner- Setting Up Your RFP
In 2025, outsourcing isn’t just about price, it’s about AI, partnership, tech, and long-term CX strategy. In this episode, Tom Laird breaks down exactly what to look for in a modern contact center outsourcing partner and how to buil...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 238
•
23:23
The Survey Delusion: Why NPS and CSAT Are Failing Your Call Center
EPISODE DESCRIPTION:Are your post-call surveys actually providing meaningful insights, or just creating a dangerous illusion of customer understanding?In this eye-opening episode of Advice from a Call Center Geek, we ta...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 237
•
25:10
Beyond AHT and SLA: How to Measure Success in AI-Powered Contact Centers
Traditional contact center metrics like Average Handle Time and Customer Satisfaction scores have served the industry well for decades. But as AI transforms how we serve customers, through virtual agents, agent assistance tools, auto-quality as...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 236
•
20:00
Contact Center Coaching 2.0 -Turning QA Insights into Agent Coaching Gold
Most QA programs score agents but don’t actually develop them—and that’s the problem. In this episode, we break down how to move beyond compliance-based QA and use real call insights to coach smarter, faster, and better.You...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 235
•
24:42
Beyond Words: Measuring AI Empathy Through Impact
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 meanin...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 234
•
18:28
Let's Get Real: The True Story of AI in CX & Your 2025 Game Plan
Tired of the AI hype cycle? In this straight-shooting episode, we're diving into what's actually happening with AI in customer experience operations right now. Not what vendors are promising, not what futurists are predicting, but the real deal...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 233
•
33:12
2025 Predictions for CX and the Contact Center Industry
As we wrap up another year, it's time for our highly anticipated ACG 2025 Predictions Episode! In this special forecast, we'll dive deep into the future of technology and customer experience, sharing valuable insights from the entire Expivia te...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 232
•
26:29
The Future of Contact Center Outsourcing: What to Expect in 2025
(I apologize for the poor audio on this episode, we had a mic failure, but the content is awesome so I hope you still find value!)In this episode of the ACG podcast we explore the future of contact center outsourcing in 2025. We dive in...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 231
•
21:29
The Future of QA: Why AI is a Game-Changer for Contact Center Quality in 2025
The way contact centers approach Quality Assurance is undergoing a major transformation, and AI is at the heart of it. In this episode, we explore how advanced tools are enabling intent analysis, uncovering customer behavior ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 230
•
31:39
Mastering Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Your Ultimate Contact Center Superbowl Playbook
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are almost here, bringing the year's biggest sales rush! For contact centers, this is the Super Bowl of customer service, and preparation is everything. In this episode of ACG, we dive into updat...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 229
•
16:56
𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗕𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁: 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗠𝗕 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀
In this episode of ACG, we explore how small and medium-sized businesses can harness authentic artificial intelligence to transform their contact centers without overspending. With a flood of so-called "AI" products in the market, ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 228
•
27:49
Unmasking False Hustle: Revolutionizing Customer Experience
Join me for an exciting episode where I take a deep dive into the heart of my latest book, False Hustle. Many contact centers and CX leaders are unknowingly sabotaging their own success by focusing on misguided efforts to appear
•
Season 1
•
Episode 227
•
30:07
Calming Irate Customer Interactions: 5 Proven Techniques
In this episode of "Advice from a Call Center Geek," we dive into the challenging world of dealing with angry customers. Discover five powerful, actionable techniques that can transform heated interactions into opportunities for bu...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 226
•
24:43
What Technology does a World Class 2024 Contact Center Have?
Did you ever ask yourself what the high-end contact centers are doing differently? In this ACGpodcast, we dive deep into the cutting-edge technologies that set elite customer service operations apart from the rest. This is ho...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 225
•
24:20
Adapting to the Future of Contact Center Outsourcing- Lessons Learned for All
The contact center industry is evolving, and with that evolution, contact centers of all types are starting to learn valuable lessons.In this episode, we'll dive into how the BPO landscape is changing, what these changes mean for custome...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 224
•
28:59
Everything We Learned from Starting An AI CX Company - OttoQa
Join us as we dive into the journey of founding and growing OttoQa, a cutting-edge AI-powered Customer Experience (CX) company. In this episode, we'll share our firsthand experiences, lessons learned, and the challenges we faced in buildi...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 223
•
20:16
Mastering QA: Crafting the Perfect Contact Center Quality Assurance Forms
What if you could transform your call center’s efficiency and agent performance overnight? This episode guarantees you’ll walk away with actionable insights on crafting the ultimate QA forms for both voice and chat channels. ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 222
•
25:28
How You Can QA Contact Center Calls Using ChatGPT (Desktop)
In this ACG episode, we dive into the transformative impact of AI on customer service QA. Hosted by Tom Laird, the CEO of Expivia Interaction Marketing Group and OttoQa, this session explores how ChatGPT and Claude 3 enhance call analysis...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 221
•
16:04
Exposed: The Unvarnished Truth About AI Deployment in Contact Centers
Are you overwhelmed by the relentless push to overhaul your contact center with AI? Let's clear the air about the real impact of AI in this industry. My recent talks reveal a surprising fact: many companies are not rushing into AI ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 220
•
22:41
Will Auto QA Platforms End the Era of Traditional CX Analytics?
Tune into our latest ACG podcast episode, "Will Auto QA Platforms End the Era of Traditional CX Analytics?" where we dive into the world of customer experience analytics. We’ll explore and compare the tools and techniques beh...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 219
•
19:22
Tips to Disrupt your Service Desk with Technology and Tactics
Join Tom in this insightful podcast episode recorded at the HDI Philly event held at Princeton University. Delve into groundbreaking strategies and cutting-edge technologies, including AI, to revolutionize your service desk operati...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 218
•
47:50
Unlocking the Power of Prompts: Enhancing CX QA with Proven Strategies
Dive into the transformative journey of OttoQa, where we've uncovered the profound impact of prompts in elevating customer experience (CX) quality assurance (QA) processes. This podcast (taken from a Linkedin Live Event) brings the insights and...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 217
•
32:03
Creating an AI Roadmap for Your Contact Center from the Ground Up!
This podcast is based on the presentation I delivered in Miami at the "CX Under the Sun Event" to more than 100 CX professionals who are just beginning their journey with CX AI transformation.During the presentation, I share my views on ...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 216
•
46:40
2024 CX, AI, and Contact Center Predictions
As we step into 2024, the realms of Customer Experience (CX), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and contact centers are poised at the brink of transformative change. Let's explore the exciting, realistic predictions that are shaping the...
•
Season 1
•
Episode 215
•
29:33