The Human Touch in an AI-Driven World

Executing the Vision podcast by Brad Hunter. A fun experience in Costa Rica with Richard Blank. Living Life with Honorable Intentions: Human Connection in a Technological Landscape with Costa Rica's Call Center's Richard Blank Welcome to 'Executing the Vision,' where we delve into the journeys of owners and C-suite executives of thriving 100+ employee companies. Join us as we uncover the secrets to their success, from the initial spark of inspiration to the realization of their vision. Through insightful interviews, we explore the strategies, challenges, and triumphs they've encountered along the way, offering valuable insights for navigating the intricate landscape of the business world and achieving success not only in business but in life. Tune in to gain practical wisdom and inspiration for your own journey to success. Your host, Brad Hunter, talks with the President and CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Born and raised near Philadelphia, Richard's story began at Abington High School, where he graduated in 1991. Unlike many of his peers who pursued conventional medical, law, or engineering paths, Richard followed his passion for the Spanish language. This decision led him to the University of Arizona, where he majored in Spanish and fully immersed himself in the culture by spending a year abroad in Spain. Richard reminisced about his transformative year, splitting his time between Cadiz, Madrid, and Sevilla. He described it as shedding his skin, a hero's journey that changed him profoundly. Without the distractions of television or phones, he soaked in life through museums, books, and personal interactions. This experience not only solidified his command of the Spanish language but also shaped his worldview and future career trajectory. Richard's life in Costa Rica is where he established a call center that stands out for its operational excellence and vibrant work culture. Richard shared his approach to training and employee engagement, emphasizing the significance of treating his team with dignity. He believes in creating a fun and engaging environment, which includes incorporating his passion for retro arcade games into the workplace. This gamification strategy fosters a sense of community and enjoyment, contributing to employee loyalty and the overall success of the business. Breaking Down Workplace Fears If you're not robbing a bank, don't be afraid of a cop. If you're not cheating on a test, don't be afraid of your teacher. And if you come to work, pen at the ready, why are you afraid of Brad and Richard? We're here to support you. And don't judge me on what happened at your last job, and I'm not going to judge you on what Billy did. So I get that straight too. I got to go fill the old school with them. And then we just talk about structure. We talk about attention spans of 30 seconds, like breaths and bites, and sipping things, and information. And so a 10-minute conversation is 20, 30-second checkpoints, okay? And there's give and takes. Embracing Personal Customer Service Over Automation I hope there's that thing where companies realize that like This is a good solution, but not a great one. And we want to stand out. And in order to stand out, we're going to commit to, you know, having live agents. So I hope that your business continues to thrive for years and years to come. Because I despise the other direction, you know, and think there's a lot of other things. And most of these individuals are going to choose other industries just for that long term stability. You know, as I said before, and I completely agree with you, I don't worry about it. And if it happens to come in, as I mentioned before, if you just get one-tenth of one percent of businesses, you could be a millionaire. So you have the ability to find that company as you say that's mom and pop small niche that you'll get the fulfillment you're looking for uh well i tell you what it has been amazing to talk to you i love hearing your story i love hearing your passion about everything um you know like i said when it comes to the environment, the industry that you're working in. And to me, to see kind of how you go about dealing with your people and everything, it's been a fun conversation. From 60 Days to a Lifetime So I was in between jobs at the moment, and I had to get past some parents' guilt. And so I decided to come down here for just 60 days. Well, those 60 days turned into four years. I worked at my friend's center for four years. I fell in love and married the girl of my dreams here. And you know what, Brad? I didn't learn it from sea level. I learned the business from the inside out. When I was at my friend's center, I learned retention and onboarding. And so you came down. So he had the center going. Oh, yeah. He needed, you were a buddy of his. And he said, hey, I know you speak great Spanish. Yes. You're a friend of mine. I need you to kind of help on that front. So that's how you initially kind of got in. A college friend of mine that had a company here. And he goes, hey, Rich, why don't you just come down for a couple months to teach English? You know what it really is. It's like road trip. Like Delta House. He's like, yo, Delta House, come on down for two months and we'll just have some fun. Gamification in Business and Nostalgia Yeah, so talk to me about that part of it. Talk to me about the gamification. I saw you noticed you had mentioned that too on I think some of your LinkedIn stuff. So help me understand what exactly you mean by that and what that environment is. I'm a retro pinball collector first and a business owner second. In fact, I don't even like talking about business. Ask me about my dreams. I'm a Generation X. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and some of the coolest places in town were the retro arcades. Beautiful marquees and machines. And it was safe and clean and fun. Yeah, I too. I too spent some time. We had a place called Star World where I grew up. You had the arcade and the roller rink is what it was like a huge arcade and then also a roller rink. And that's like where you'd go. That was like your Friday nights. You know, Brad, remember when you used to put the quarters up on the marquee? So you have your line and asteroids and Pac-Man. The Human Touch in an AI-Driven World And then talk to me about the future of the industry. I mean, what are, you know, all these days, all the different AI, this, that, whatever right? Everybody's like, oh my God, it's going to take over everything. What do you see as the future of your industry? And what do you need to do to stay out in front? Sometimes you can't do anything about it. You ever see those huge car washes that have the machines? It's better than the guys back in the 70s. It really gets your car washed. I see AI as gathering. And I think it's wonderful. It's the biggest net. It will catch every raindrop. You'll get every ounce out of it. And you can do 95, 96, up to 99% of that. The 1%, let's just use the 1%, is the empathy. It's really true. I don't like cold metal benches and nobody else does. They like cozy things. And Brad, if I'm having the toughest day of my life, I'd call you, right? Or we'd go out and have a beer or we'd just take a walk together as friends and get it out. And so when the machine says, I understand, or I feel you, or I know what it's like to lose something or gain something, or how could a machine say, I'm sorry you lost your mother or your father or a comrade? That would seem, I don't think that's authentic. I can't say hypocritical. But it's the kind of thing that just wouldn't fly. 99% yes. But that real hug and that real handshake, we love that human connection still. https://youtu.be/ibDu3jMUZgI https://youtu.be/jxjKxac3vmc https://youtu.be/ilydbEuh3Dg https://youtu.be/BR0-Q66C-yw https://youtu.be/DAh-mpzdDp0 https://youtu.be/_dmv_6I3UCg

THERE WILL COME A TIME WHEN PEOPLE MAY JUDGE AND BELITTLE YOU... BUT NEVER LET THESE PEOPLE PULL YOU DOWN AND STRIP YOUR SPIRIT AWAY FROM REACHING YOUR GOALS. Meet my good friend Richard Blank. He is the CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, and like you, he also went through judgment, doubts, twists, and turns before he became the man he is today. His story will open your mind to the reality of life, taking a leap of faith in stepping away from your comfort zone and going out of your bubble. AI can sort data and optimize tasks, but can it genuinely empathize? While AI excels in efficiency and analytics, Richard argues it fails to deliver genuine emotional support. Though excellent data, AI technology can't replace human compassion. Real empathy demands a human presence. Brad Hunter: Are you fully leveraging your chosen company software and automation for optimal daily operations and income generation? For business owners running multi-million dollar companies the use of company software and automation solutions cannot be overstated especially in terms of tracking, monitoring, and income generation. But are you one of those paying hundreds of thousands to millions a year for third-party platforms that no longer meet your basic needs? As a tech expert and consultant, delivering smart automation and maximized software functionality have been my mission. I have helped million-dollar companies to save up costs and develop tech solutions and integrations in day-to-day operations. And the results… Up to $3M in savings by leveraging automation to replace an antiquated, highly labor-intensive commission reconciliation processes for a retail wireless company Significant cost savings and huge improvements in tracking, reporting, and employee morale with the replacement of an outdated mix of software platforms, spreadsheets, and handwritten forms with a user-friendly single web-based solution for a multi-facility pork operator industry Replacement of over $300K in tech subscriptions in lending and mortgage space with one new platform and added integrations resulting in substantial ROI Decreased client commission errors by 62% by reducing data processing lag time and improving communication to the field Reduced client commission department man hours by 57% Improved commission error reaction time by 95% through automated data processing Saved clients $7,800 per location annually Being in the software development and automation solutions space for 12 years, I want to share my expertise with you. Richard’s journey in the call center space is filled with twists and turns. When he was 27 years old, he relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in San Jose. With a mix of motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard shared his knowledge and trained over 10 000 bilingual telemarketers. Mr. Richard Blank holds a bachelors degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Philadelphia's Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. In addition, inducted into the 2023 Hall of Fame for Business. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students that plan on majoring in a world language at the university level. Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state of the art BPO telemarketing outsource company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train each and every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium sized international companies, entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. We encourage you to visit one of our call centers on your next personal vacation or business trip to Central America’s paradise, Costa Rica. While you are here, we would recommend taking an extra day of your trip to visit breathtaking virgin beaches, play golf next to the ocean, try your luck at deep sea fishing, explore tropical jungles, climb volcanos or just relax in natural hot springs. Come and see for yourself why call center outsourcing in Costa Rica is a perfect solution for your growing company and a powerhouse in the BPO industry. https://costaricascallcenter.com/en/outbound-bpo-campaigns/ #BradHunter #ExecutingtheVision #RichardBlank #CostaRica #CallCenter #Outsourcing #Telemarketing #BPO #Sales #Entrepreneur #B2B #Business #Podcast #Gamification #CEO Unique Company Culture Through Gamification I have a huge area here. And instead of putting in additional lockers, I just put in a row of machines. And I have games in my house. It's a happy medium. It allows people to meet others from different departments. You can let off steam recharge batteries. I've seen people fall in love by the Pac-Man machine. They're smoothing machines. And it's really enabled people on their first day with me to play the games prior to any training class so they can bond with the other people in class. And then instead of just absorbing, now they're contributing because their defense drops. That mass goes from a 10 to a six. So that four then gets moved into forward motion. So it's just mass distribution. And for me, it's also a good sign for my clients. Why don't you have games in your office for your people? It's also a good way to show people how I treat myself. Now I treat the people that work here. Amazon is 10 times my size. Jeff Bezos is the man. And with all due respect, I don't think he's played pinball with all of his agents like I have. And so when it comes down to the call center Olympics, I might not win everything. But Brad, there's a couple areas in which I crush. And that's been more than enough for me. to be in business for 16 years, have people with me over a decade and grow to 150. And so slow and steady. And if you do, then you'll have the fidelity and the people that will walk with you long-term.