"Richard F. Snow" (born 1947) is an American historian and writer of novels and short stories.

More Richard Snow on Wikipedia.

The whole agent thing hasn't changed since I started in call centers 15 years ago. The pattern stays the same. It's not a long-term career. It's not a well-paid job.

The results say that actual interest in revenue generation is still very low. All the talk about profit centers is just that -- it's all talk. The dominant driver [in contact center maturity] is still cost savings.

Based on our recently released Customer Contact Center study, the most important drivers for these centers are cost and customer satisfaction -- factors that are not necessarily compatible, and may even be in conflict at times. The impact of this paradox ripples throughout the enterprise. Companies must consider the implications and how they will balance the conflict.

It's just staggering to me, and I know it from personal experience. I've seen agents in wheeling chairs so they can wheel in between several desktops.