ED HAYES

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Last month, I spent a significant amount of time talking with representatives at two different RCN call centers; one in the Philippines, and one in the United States.  I was trying to get their new invalid URL request hijacking service, also known as PoxFire, removed from my account.  The situation spurred me to analyze why call centers are located in foreign countries.  I also wanted to review the factors that should be considered when making the decision to export a domestic call center.  After coming up with a structure that can be used to determine if a call center could successfully be exported, I applied my theory to RCN’s business model.  Finally, I determined if my interactions with RCN supported my theory.

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I was recently watching Nova scienceNOW, and the host said something that really got me thinking:

Many people fear new information that might contain bad news beyond their control. But to fear bad news, by hiding from it, forfeits any opportunity to solve the problem.  –Neil deGrasse Tyson

It was like the doors from heaven opened up, and the light was shining on me!  I could not have said it better!  Neil’s comments reminded me of my work at a former employer.

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Late last week, I was having a problem with RCN hijacking my mistyped URLs.  I was finally able to get them fixed!  This post has two different distinct topics; the situation and how the problem was solved.  In the near future I will post a new entry analyzing RCN’s business practices.

*Update – December 31st 2009*
I added a symptoms section and two guaranteed solutions at the bottom of this post.

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I saw an article over at SmartChange™ about ERP and the Business of Change. It got me thinking of the culture and business practices I witnessed at my last job at USG.  All three main points Marcelino Sanchez reviewed hit very close to home.

Individual Change… An individual may be confronted with a new user interface, a new “best practice”, a different way to make decisions, or any number of new requirements. When this is the case, individuals will tend to experience one or more of the following five key factors: fear, anxiety, confusion, loss of control, or erosion of power or influence in the organization. The more an individual feels any of these emotions, the less likely they are to accept the new way of doing things. Lack of acceptance will diminish or delay the benefits of the ERP effort…

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I just read an article in the Chicago Tribune about the different types of beeps CTA fare boxes make on buses.  After reading it, I could not stop thinking about the decision making process the CTA used when designing the form and functionality behind the fare boxes, Chicago Card readers, and fare acceptance process.

If I were designing the bus fare system and process I would have done the following:

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