The guest experience manager

Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence

Have a guest experience tip? Click here to share.

Have a guest experience tip? Click here to share.

Best Practices and up to the minute news on Customer Experience Management and Service Excellence

Tag Archives: call centers

A 5-Minute Cap on Hold Times for Customer Service Lines Could be Coming to California

February 10, 2026Guest Experience Newscall centers, Emotions, Guest ExperienceKristen Grau

Automated customer service lines are supposed to help with customer satisfaction. But with long wait times and unclear options, they often leave people feeling more frustrated than before they called. That's why an assemblymember from California is trying to change that. Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur proposed the Right to Human Customer Service Act (AB 1609) in January — which would prohibit customers from being placed on hold for more than five minutes. Plus, it would require that a human mus...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

What is Call Center Concierge Service?

September 12, 2025Conciergecall centersDeb Hipp

Concierge service, which has long been a mainstay at luxury and other hotels, has now moved into other industries. For example, a health insurance company may offer concierge service to the insured where they can order fee-based, ala carte services from providers. Many consumers also now expect concierge service at their health insurance providers, insurance companies and other industries. In a nutshell, call center concierge service allows customers to resolve issues and get answers without bei...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

12 Calls Later, My Customer Service Issue Remains Unresolved

July 25, 2025Communication and Messagingcall centersDeb Hipp

“We are sorry you are experiencing a problem. Goodbye.” That’s the automated response I got when I tried to pay a medical bill by calling the toll-free number on the statement. Earlier in the call, an automated voice asked for my phone number, then responded with, “We do not show an account with that number. Please try another number.” But the automated system didn’t recognize that number, either. So, in other words, I was on my own. Maybe it was my turn to say goodbye to poor customer service. ...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Press 1 for Frustration: Fixing the Call Center Guest Experience Before It Costs You Business

February 15, 2025Communication and Messagingcall centers, Guest ExperienceJoe Pye

Every hospitality leader knows the guest experience doesn’t begin when a customer walks through the door – it starts when they try to reach you. Yet, hotels and restaurants often frustrate their most engaged customers before they even set foot inside. Call center automation, designed to streamline operations, is increasingly becoming a roadblock that pushes potential guests away. A guest calling to modify a reservation, ask about amenities or confirm a booking shouldn’t have to fight through a r...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

4 Tips for Training Call Center Employees to Provide the Human Touch

July 21, 2023Communication and Messagingcall centersDeb Hipp

Customers calling agents for answers expect more than chatbot-like responses. Even as hotel, insurance, billing and many other types of businesses offer omnichannel options for contact, including chat bots, text messages, email, social media and mobile apps, many customers still prefer to sometimes call and speak with an agent. In fact, 58 percent of consumers surveyed prefer making a call, and 48 percent prefer live chat for simple service requests, according to a customer experience report bas...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

Misinformation Kills: Conflicting Information Between Insurance and Medical Suppliers can Harm More Than Profits

March 11, 2023Communication and Messagingcall centersDeb Hipp

Receiving opposite answers from two customer service reps left me wondering whether my health insurance claim would be approved or denied. When I called Cologuard recently before sending my mail-in specimen to add new health insurance information to my doctor’s order for a routine screening for colorectal cancer, the process seemed easy enough. “Most health insurance covers Cologuard so you shouldn’t have a problem,” the Cologuard agent told me. “But we always call to make sure first. I’ll call ...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

When Reservations Miss the Mark – Closing the Call Center Gap

August 21, 2015Competitive Intelligencecall centers, Communication, hotels, TrainingRoberta Nedry

The properties are magnificent. The brochures are compelling. The promise is clear. Then the guest makes the call. What happens next can either reinforce that promise or quietly unravel it. When the first call falls short A guest calls with excitement, ready to plan a stay. Instead of connecting with someone who knows the property, they reach a central reservations agent who has never been there. Questions go unanswered. Responses feel generic. The conversation becomes transactional. The call is...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login

The Power of a Friendly Voice in Customer Service

August 17, 2015Communication and Messagingcall centers, Guest ExperienceRoberta Nedry

High notes, low notes, coughs, gulps, groans, deep sighs, boredom, rudeness, reticence, frustration — and wait a minute, back up — enthusiasm in a phone call? I was prepared for most of the above, but not enthusiasm. Today, one rarely finds enthusiasm in any phone call dealing with service needs. Yet one person I spoke with had a lilt in her voice — a sound and feeling that she was genuinely happy to be there and answering the phone. Three of the four calls I made featured everything but enthusi...

Enter your email below to access this content:

Already a subscriber? Please login