Beverly McIntosh is the President and founding partner of McIntosh & Associates, Inc., a customer care/call center consulting firm based in Dallas, TX. McIntosh has more than 20 years of experience in call center design, implementation and management and is regarded as one of the leading experts on customer care communications management. Her areas of expertise include voice network design and management, call center operations, service strategy development and direct marketing.

Previously, McIntosh was the senior vice president of business development for APAC TeleServices, the nation's largest outsourcer of customer service and sales solutions. McIntosh managed the sales and marketing process for all APAC divisions.

Prior to joining APAC, McIntosh was a principal with A.T. Kearney, an EDS company, leading the Customer Care/Call Center Consulting practice. She joined EDS in April, 1994, as vice-president of sales and marketing for Customer Service Technologies (CST), a division of EDS' Core Capabilities.

Prior to joining EDS, McIntosh was the vice-president of sales and marketing for the Telemarketing Division of TeleServices Resources (TSR), a subsidiary of American Airlines.

McIntosh is a frequent speaker at trade association meetings and is active in industry associations.

• Establishing A Service Strategy - The Foundation For Superior Service Delivery:

Just as businesses utilize an enterprise strategy to provide the framework for business decisions and direction, successful customer service units utilize a well defined service strategy as the foundation for superior service delivery. This session will review the components of a service strategy, three operational models for service delivery, the benefits provided by a well defined service strategy and the challenges of sustaining a service culture consistent with the service strategy. Three case studies featuring firms which have delivered superior service through a well-articulated service strategy will be provided.
• Don't Predict The Future, Invent It!

Only one firm on the Fortune 500 list at the dawn of the twentieth century will be around for the next millennium. Why could only one firm remain successful over the course of the twentieth century? The answer is simple: invention. Successful businesses not only continue to innovate and offer new products and services to their customers, they also continually reinvent themselves. They recognize that the success of the past must be escaped to effectively compete in the future. Therefore, they constantly seek to optimize existing systems and resources while establishing bridges to the future which will change the face of the enterprise. How do they do it? This session will explore the role that customer service plays in gathering intelligence and providing the enterprise with the data necessary to invent a new and compelling future.
• Quality In A Call Center Environment - Stakeholder Satisfaction And Retention:

The fascination with quality as statistical process control and continuous improvement has led some firms to ignore the real reason for focusing on quality: sustained business performance and growth through the delivery of superior value to all enterprise stakeholders. By carefully identifying and understanding the value sought by stakeholders, businesses can effectively design an operating model which drives teamwork and collaboration and which ensures that all stakeholders support the correct business objectives.
• Who's On First - Customers, Employees, Or Shareholders?

The debate is as old as "What comes first, the chicken or the egg?" What is the enterprise's primary focus? The customers who provide the revenue? The employees who deliver the products and services? Or the bottom line valued so highly by Wall Street and shareholders? Even when a firm clearly articulates a position, a careful analysis of the enterprise's actions and decisions reveals that reality rarely supports rhetoric. This session will review the value of deciding "Who's on first?", how to create and sustain a corporate culture aligned with that decision, and will look at three firms which have used this focus to achieve competitive advantage in their marketplace.
• Customers Are Calling: Are You Listening?

What happens when customers call your firm? They have expectations based on what you have promised in your advertising, in your product literature or by your past actions. Listen to revealing calls made to major domestic corporations, and you will be amazed at how easy it is to answer and how difficult to listen. Calls will be evaluated based on delivery of the value promised in advertising, the competitive advantage created or lost through call handling and the enterprise's understanding and ability to exploit the data gained through customer dialogue. Attendees will gain new insights as diverse industries and firms are called upon to answer their advertising.