Anyone whose employment is somehow tied to the contact center industry cringes somewhat every time one of the investigative reporters on a primetime network television show airs a piece on bad customer service. The segment typically talks about consumers getting put on hold for what sounds like decades; never being able to talk to a "real person;" getting lost in voicemail-jail... the list goes on. Yet for every obscure story about a consumer who had a bad experience with a contact center, there are millions of calls that go smoothly where the customer gets what he or she needs, is treated politely, and goes merrily on their way.

But back to those bad experiences. What's the other side of the equation? What experiences do contact center agents have that would rival anything a consumer might be able to cite? Anyone who has ever sat inside of a contact center and spoken those magic words, "how may I help you?" knows exactly what we're talking about. The bizarre. The wacky. The sometimes even unbelievable.

In an attempt to bring some of these stories to light, pay tribute to hard-working contact center agents around the world, and have a little fun, Interactive Intelligence, an early pioneer in contact center technology and one of the industry's major growth stories over the last few years, has put together a contest to go out and find those zany, preposterous stories. The contest is called The Interactive Intelligence Outrageous Interactions Contest (www.OutrageousInteractions.com). And if you're an agent with a tale to tell, you just might end up with a trip for two to Hawaii.

"Everyone hears about the consumer side of an interaction gone bad," says Joe Staples, senior vice president of worldwide marketing for Interactive Intelligence and the creative brain behind the contest. "We thought it would be appropriate to turn the tables and take a look at what experiences the contact center agents have had. And after seeing some of the entries, the word outrageous is a good descriptor."

The contest launched earlier this year and submissions have been received from all over the world. The interactions have to be verifiably true and in good taste. To provide an idea of the peculiar nature of the submissions, consider the entry that tells of a passengers mother who called the contact center upset that she was unable to contact her daughter on one of the cruise line's ships. The agent explained to the concerned mother that the ship has a satellite connection that can come in and out of signal range as the ship progresses on its journey. The very concerned mum promptly advised that aas was not good enough, that the ships should utilize a cable connection. Even when the agent tried to reason with her that to do so would mean a cable would need to be attached to the back of the ship and stretch for thousands of miles, mother could not understand why this was not an option. Her response was that it is the cruise line's responsibility to do whatever it takes.

How common are such stories? According to Staples these are everyday occurrences. "As we've read through the entries, we commonly look at each other and think, you've got to be kidding.' Yet, these aren't isolated incidents. As we've talked to contact center agents and their managers it's become evident that these bizarre interactions are happening every day. The details change, but in just about every contact center every day, there is another story floating around that is categorized as off the wall, or has the agents falling off their chairs laughing." One of the entries came from a contact center where the agents take orders for classified ads. The caller began:

"Hi I'd like to place an ad"

"Sure, what is the ad for?"

"Queen-sized... "

The agent cut her off thinking he knew what she was after. "Oh, so you're selling a mattress?"

"No, I'm looking for a companion. I'm a queen-sized female looking for a man!"

Another entry tells of a guy who completely flooded his vehicle while launching his boat. Water came in the doors when he got out of the vehicle to back the boat off of the trailer. The man claimed the problem was a manufacturer's defect!

An entry from a computer helpdesk agent tells about a time when he was helping a caller who for security reasons had been locked out of her account and was calling to have the account unlocked. In order to verify that the person calling was really the owner of the account, the agent asked the normal routine questions: What is your badge number? What are the last four digits of your social security number? The woman seemed to be getting angry about what the agent was asking for. Finally, in an exasperated voice she blurted out, "Do you want to know my bra size too?" Not thinking, and not really planning on responding, the agent replied, "We already have that." There was silence on the other end of the phone for a few seconds. The agent unlocked the network account and asked her to try it again, to which she responded very quietly, "Thanks."

Not all of the submissions have a funny side to them, though they all show a bit about human nature. One agent describes her job at a contact center selling season passes to past patrons at symphony houses around the U.S. One night, while dialing, she was greeted by a Mr. D and launched into her spiel. What the agent didn't know is that Mr. D was the Dean of Musical Studies at a large university. Mr D was determined to give this unknowing agent a lesson on "fine symphony." The Dean called his son to the phone, violin in hand, and the seven year old began to play. For eight glorious minutes, the entire call center listened via speakerphone in pure rapture to some of the most beautiful music the agents had ever heard. The agent's post-it note with the words "He's seven years old!" floated around the room, as people stood silent, in awe, feeling something greater than themselves. The performance came to an end, and the entire contact center applauded. Then with just Dad and the agent on the phone, he finally identified himself and his son, apologized for giving the agent such a hard time, and ordered two of the best seats in the house for the whole season."

The Interactive Intelligence Outrageous Interactions Contest continues to seek entries via the Web site www.OutrageousInteractions.com until August 31st. Beginning Monday, September 1st, submissions will be reviewed by a panel of expert judges, including Ginger Conlon, editor-in-chief of ltol Media; Blair Pleasant, president and principal analyst of COMMfusion LLC; Art Rosenberg, principal analyst and syndicated columnist of The Unified-View; Rich Tehrani, president and publisher of TMC; Dr. Donald E. Brown, founder and CEO of Interactive Intelligence; and others. The judges will select a "short list" of finalists. These finalists and their stories will be accessible for online public voting to select a winner, "people's choice" style, beginning Monday, September 8th. The winner by popular vote will be announced September 17 from the stage ofTMC's semi-annual Internet Telephony Conference and EXPO, held in Los Angeles. The winner will win a trip for two to Hawaii.

"It's funny how a bunch of the entries can be categorized into a couple main groups," says Staples. "There are a lot of strange interactions created by non-technical people trying to figure out something technical. Then there are several where the callers were trying to establish a "longer term" relationship with the agent - one specific one where the caller and the agent actually ended up getting married. From there it branches into the random stories about everything from cockroaches and dead cows, to a funeral for a dead gold fish.

"Working in a contact center can be a stressful job. This contest pays tribute to the agents who have made this industry what it is today and hopefully gives others a glimpse of what their jobs are like. And you have to admit, this helps keep life in perspective and puts a smile on your face."

Visit www. Outrageouslnteractions. com by August 31st to submit an entry. Or visit the site between September 8th and September 16th to read the short list of finalists and vote for your favorite.

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