Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Philippine Call Center Agents’ Bad Reputation: Deserved or Not?

Call center agents conjure up images of annoying callers selling you stuff you never even knew existed, robotic disembodied voices who asks you how they can help but eventually after an hour, you find out they can’t do anything for you, callers who call in the middle of the night asking if you’d like to change carriers and so on . There’s no denying the stigma attached to the call center industry. I’d like to examine the matter to see if call centers, in particular, Philippine call center, deserve this reputation.

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Philippine call center

Is that all they are? I don’t think so. When you book a flight, a hotel or resort, you speak to an agent. When you have something to clarify or ask something from a company, you are more likely going to be directed to a call center. Agents have been given a bad reputation because of some parts of their job. But what customers sometimes forget is that these call center agents are people, too. They are not all the same, they have different personalities and chances are they haven’t met you before so they do not dial your number just to annoy you. They are just doing their jobs.

I have great respect for the call center agents who are courteous and sincere in wanting to help customers. I’ve had my share of frustrating encounters with call center agents but in those cases, I’m more irate at the company itself than the poor call center agent I’m talking to.

Philippine call center agents are particularly delightful to talk to because generally speaking, Filipinos are respectful, kind and polite. They are less likely to be sarcastic and apathetic because they are raised to be God-fearing and obedient. Actually Filipinos are generally shy but their call center training develops their self-confidence allowing them to communicate effectively even with foreigners.

We could be a little more courteous when we receive calls from these agents. A little dose of positive karma always helps.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Best Barbados Apartment Hotel Establishment I’ve Seen

Getting away from it all is no use if you can’t really “get away from it all.” And for me, this means really cutting off ties with civilization. I don’t want to see any more big buildings in my vacation. Nor do I want to see a busy town with roads full of cars and busy people. This is why when I go to a vacation in Barbados; I look for a cozy little Barbados apartment hotel that is far away from the big luxury hotels. I hate dealing with crowds when I am on vacation. I want to literally get away from it all as much as humanly possible. On my last trip, I got my wish. And it was all thanks to my stay at this Barbados apartment hotel called Tropical Winds.



Here’s is the front view of the hotel. It is really cozy, and the location is perfect since the east coast of the island is great for water sports especially since there are not too many people who like swimming there. The hotel was just a few minutes away from Long Beach, one of my favorite beaches in the island for personal reasons. And for all its value, one does not even need to pay a lot of money. It is truly a great Barbados apartment hotel.


This beach is another one of my favorite places in the island. Crane beach is world famous and has been named as one of the best beaches in the world in the TV show, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Looking at that gorgeous white sand and those unreal azure waters would instantly remove all the stress from your body.


Barbados Apartment Hotel

Surfing is really one of the most relaxing things you can do. You feel one with the wave and one with nature once you get to ride that sweet wave. It’s pure freedom.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Cheap Hotel on the South Coast

Everyone knows that the south coast has almost every expensive luxury hotel in Barbados. You can easily assume that this area is the Beverly Hills of this commercialized island paradise. However, the beaches are so gorgeous that the insane prices of most of these hotels or resorts are not enough to deter the middle class vacationer from going here.

The beaches of the southern coastline are excellent areas for water sports such as diving, wind and kite surfing and snorkeling because of their characteristic small to medium waves. The beaches here are therefore more popular for locals and tourists alike, making it the liveliest coast of all.

To aid my fellow middle-class fighters, I looked through the list of reviews for each of the different southern coast resort and hotel in Barbados and found the three cheapest ones.

The third cheapest is the Bougainvillea Beach Resort on Maxwell Coast Road. The establishment features attractive seaside townhouses with separate entrances that either surround the pool or face the lovely beach front. The rooms are perfectly designed for families and boast relaxing Caribbean pastel colors. A neat little fact about this place is that you can arrange to have a private cook who can prepare special Bajan cuisine.

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hotel in Barbados

The second cheapest is the South Beach Resort. Located on Main Road, this resort is actually a time-share vacation club. The look of the place is dramatic and picturesque. It’s run like a hotel minus the expensive costs. The rooms are clean and well-maintained, each of which features a very modern bathroom. The beach is located just across the street where it is easy to rent and purchase chairs, toys and even food.

The cheapest of the three is the inn called Peach & Quiet. It lacks the flashy features of your typical resort or hotel, but offers stylish suites instead. The suites are elegantly spare and are constructed more for simplicity and function. The property has its own freshwater pool. If the guests desire a swim in the ocean, the nearby beaches are but five minutes away. This establishment is for adults only.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

The Rainbow Mouth Inn Barbados Travel Hotel Review

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Sheena and I went to the Rainbow mouth Inn in Barbados last month. I decided to write about our experiences and make a Barbados travel hotel review just because I have so much spare time.

So there I was, extremely existed at finally being able to set foot on Barbados, the mystical island of pop sensation Shakira. Wait – Shakira didn’t live in Barbados. Oh wait that’s right, this was Rihanna’s homeland. Anyway, the truth was that I couldn’t really care less about this island. I never really heard of Barbados before until my one of my best friends told me that she badly needed me to accompany her on her vacation since her other friend with benefits couldn’t go. She said she’ll shell out for half the expense of my ticket. So why not right?

Anyway, when I got to the Rainbow Mouth Inn, I thought to myself, “wow, this place is really something else.” Nah, not really. It was the usual place. I have after all spent time in a lot more expensive five star hotels. But the hotel was pretty good actually. It just was not that memorable to me for some reason.

But when I finally saw the beach front, I began to sing a different tune. The place was effing incredible. The white sand is so fine. The beach was one of the most beautiful one’s I have ever seen in my entire life. And believe me; I have seen a lot of great beaches in my time.

I also loved the culture of the island itself. Imagine going to a quaint England town, but imagine that it was in a magnificent tropical island! It was such a fantastic combination. I’d love to take my girlfriend next time here when I finally propose to her. Anyway, the single bed room my friend and I shared was also fantastic, perfect for a honeymoon.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Social Media is the Future of Partner Relations Management

I can’t imagine how people were able to survive the world without social media. I mean, yeah, at a certain point, majority of the population didn’t know what they were, or how to use them. But now, it definitely is a relevant part of society. So relevant, in fact, that its disappearance would cause an almost irreparable disruption in the workplace, school and home.

Partner Relations Management is even utilizing social media via web 2.0 communities. It’s a growing trend amongst partners within a channel, and it truly appeals to end consumers because of its ease, convenience, interconnectivity and accessibility. Through social media and corresponding networking sites, customers are able to browse through the goods and services that they want without having to go through the hassle of web 1.0 sites that are mainly comprised of frames and links for form downloading.

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There has been an issue that talks about the difficulty that resellers are facing because of their lack of involvement with social media and web 2.0. Vendors, on the other hand, they have been more in tune with the customer’s preference for web 2.0, and have used it to attract end consumers and thus increase their performance significantly. If resellers do not update themselves and join the social media bandwagon, they will be left behind, and the channel will suffer as an unfortunate consequence.

The development of social media is inevitable because of the evolution of society. Things change as time progresses because a variety of needs and problems arise which developers need to keep up with. Technology was invented to make things more convenient for a person, that’s why it is important that people update themselves with processes that are definitive of this generation. Social media answers the need for efficiency and real-time interaction. With social media, collaboration and communication is made easier, and has even transcended into online learning, workplace training and so on.

I think that the role of social media would even increase in the coming years, and it would continue to develop beyond imagination. And when the time comes that it does reach that pinnacle, Partner Relationship Management Software would not be the only one that will benefit from it. Social Media is the future, and everyone must pay close attention to it.