Lashback

| Barbara Arnn

When the going gets tough, it’s time to pay attention to CRM. A new Jupiter Research report called Multichannel Customer Service warns that although consumers

Cool It

| David Pluviose

Before you rush out to snap up industrial real estate, some caution may be warranted, warns Robert VonAncken, executive managing director of the Landauer

PRIVATE EYES

| Jeff Siegel

When a supervisor at one of WearGuard-Crest’s two U.S. call centers asked an employee why she had been e-mailing computer games back and forth with several

ALL IN THE FAMILY

| Steve Harris

When the holiday season draws near, magazines dispense healthy doses of advice on how to survive family gatherings. Clearly, these are hugely stressful

Crossing the Bar

| Timothy Van Mieghem

Inspect process, not production, with overseas suppliers Preparing for an international audience through an appreciation of their culture and methods

Keep IT Happy

| David Pluviose

When it comes to top talent, finders aren’t always keepers. A report by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young titled Retail I.T. 2000 gauges how much priority companies

talking heads

| MCM staff

Everybody’s going to go wireless. Wires are expensive, and so are the infrastructure, the support personnel, and the office space. Wireless technology

FORBIDDEN CITY

| Dave Eckley

In traditional direct marketing, the statement You will receive your order in seven to ten business days actually meant something to both the cataloger

Ahead of the Game

| Barbara Arnn

As stories and jokes about failed dot-coms proliferate, it begins to seem that they are all here today, gone tomorrow. But e-commerce and multi-channel