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Dick Bucci

Pelorus Associates


Dick has over 30 years of management experience and is one of the most widely published analysts in the contact center industry.  He is a regular contributor to Contact Center Pipeline, Call Center Times, and Expert Advice.  He is also a member of the panel of industry analysts chosen by CRM and Speech Technology magazines to select winners of their annual service awards.  As founder and sole employee of Pelorus Associates, Dick has provided market research and consulting services to 35 worldwide clients.  He has an undergraduate degree from Kent State University and MBA from Case Western Reserve University.  As a resident of a lake community near Charlottesville Virginia, Dick enjoys boating and fishing.  He is also a rabid fan of the University of Virginia Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns. www.pelorusreports.com 

Author Wall of Fame

What is one thing other people don’t know about you?

I worked my way through college as a merchant mariner. At age 19, I became the youngest junior engineer in the Great Lakes fleet.  Here is a photo of the famous Edmund Fitzgerald.  You probably remember some of the lyrics from Gordon Lightfoot's famous song, “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald.”  This was a typical ore boat of the time.  Freight is loaded into the holds in the middle of the boat.  The most common freight is iron ore, typically mined in Minnesota or Wisconsin.  From these northern ports, ore freighters, like the Edmund Fitzgerald, carried the iron ore to large cities located on the Great Lakes, typically Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo.  There  the cargo holds were unloaded using giant mechanical buckets.  These ports were chosen because of their proximity to steel mills, which processed the crude ore into steel and consequently, into vehicles and other products.  Much of the domestic steel industry has now shifted to other countries so demand for ore freighters is much lower than when I sailed these ships.

I worked in the engine room which is located deep in the stern of the boat.  My job was to keep a constant check on the motors and pumps.  When in port I had the very responsible job of helping maintain the ship on an even keel by operating giant ballast pumps.

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Articles by Dick Bucci

Four Ways to Attract and Retain Millennial Agents

Because of today’s healthy economy, millennial job-seekers can be selective. They will seek out organizations that best meet their vision as ideal employers.

Technology Workforce Optimization


Promote Better Work-Life Balance in the Contact Center

The concept of work-life balance is gaining traction in North America as labor shortages allow workers to be more selective about the companies for whom they choose to work.

People Culture COVID-19 Agent Motivation


Now You Can Shop at the Contact Center App Marketplace!

Virtual marketplaces for contact center solutions are growing in popularity.

Strategy Technology


Contact Centers and The Debate Over Personal Privacy

Businesses today have an incredible amount of customer data on their hands that needs to be handled and used responsibly.

Technology Data Security


The State of the WFO Market

A core driver of all contact center solutions, is growth in the agent population. For the past five years, we have seen consistent growth in agent employment.

Technology Workforce Optimization


Smartphones Rock the Contact Center

Visual guidance such as diagrams, forms, pictures and live videos will slowly supplant more sterile voice or text interactions.

Technology Omnichannel


Automation Generation

The contact center innovations of the past 40 years have succeeded in improving agent productivity and delivering a more satisfactory service to end users, but their record for substituting automation for labor is mixed.

Technology Workforce Optimization


2016 Was a Busy Year for WFO Restructurings

In the future, the next big acquisition moves will not come from other WFO vendors but from the giant companies that sell software or services that analyze customer data.

Technology Vendor - Management Strategic management


Dissecting the Customer Experience Management Market

With software, it’s not always easy to separate a CXM solution from other applications intertwined and provided in the same platform.

Technology Omnichannel


The Current and Future State of the WFM Systems Market

As economic power continues to flow from seller to buyer, it becomes increasingly important to strategically leverage the consumer information that resides in the contact center.

Technology Workforce Optimization


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