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Building a Human-Centered Call Center: Lessons from Richard Blank on Bridging Success Podcast with Bo Jakins

Bridging Success
A Podcast Showcasing Visionary Business Leaders
Are you a CEO or top executive leading innovation and driving business growth? If so, we want to spotlight your journey on Bridging Success: Connecting Leaders, Innovation, and Growth—a podcast dedicated to showcasing high-achieving leaders who are shaping the future of their industries. The podcast focuses on leadership, innovation, and business growth with episodes covering topics such as the impact of AI on various industries and strategies for overcoming challenges in technology adoption, featuring examples like the inaugural episode with Bo Jakins discussing transformative leadership and technology.

This isn’t just another podcast interview—it’s an opportunity to elevate your thought leadership, connect with an influential audience, and position yourself as an industry authority while sharing valuable insights that inspire and inform.

Episode 8 - From Pinball Machines to Productivity: The Unconventional Path to Call Center Success. July 25, 2025

In this episode of Bridging Success, Bo Jakins interviews the President and Bilingual Telemarketing Trainer of Costa Rica's Call Center, Richard Blank. Richard shares his journey of building a call center in Costa Rica, highlighting the importance of human connection, positive workplace culture, and adapting to technological change.

Richard covers industry trends, the impact of remote work, and Richard’s unique approach to employee engagement through gamification and creativity.

In this insightful episode of Bridging Success, host Bo Jakins sits down with Richard Blank, CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center, to discuss how human connection drives success in the call center industry. With his journey from a Spanish major seeking adventure to building a thriving call center, Richard shares his valuable insights on creating a people-first business that leverages both technology and culture. This episode is packed with actionable strategies for business leaders, customer service professionals, and anyone interested in building a customer-centric organization in today’s evolving landscape.
Transcript
00:00Welcome to Bridging Success, the podcast where top B2B CEOs and executives share their insights, challenges, and game-changing strategies that drive innovation and business growth.
00:10I'm your host, Beau Jacobs, founder and CEO of BridgeNet Technology Consultants.
00:15Each episode, we spotlight visionary leaders shaping the future, diving into critical decisions, leadership philosophies, and breakthrough moments that have propelled them to success.
00:25On this episode, I'm excited to welcome Richard Blank, president and CEO of Costa Rica's Call Center.
00:32Richard, welcome to the show.
00:34Very happy to be with you and your audience today.
00:37Great. So, let's jump in. Can you just share your story with me behind what inspired you to move to Costa Rica so many years ago and start this venture?
00:46Didn't you ever see Gilligan's Island? We all wanted to live there at one time, so I had the one-in-a-million opportunity to move to paradise.
00:53Moved here 25 years ago, and 18 years ago is when I threw my hat in the ring and started this business, so it's been a good run.
01:01But I tell you, it was built on momentum. Spanish was my major in college, so I was at an advanced level.
01:08So, when I came here, it really, instead of being, it became more of a home court advantage, in a sense.
01:14That's great. A history of Spanish and a love of Gilligan's Island is what I heard, right?
01:20Pretty much. It gives you some bold moves.
01:22But I'll tell you what, when I did come down here, Bo, I did work at my friend's center for a number of years.
01:27I learned the business from the inside out, not at sea level.
01:30And when you spend time with the people, as much you and I can crack some codes with AI technology visionaries, sometimes it's about the foundation.
01:41And I still believe in the art of speech, and I think call centers are environments for individuals, especially English second language, to really have some breakthroughs and grow.
01:53And so, today, yes, things are filled out by chat and email and other forms of omni-channel non-voice and texting.
02:02But I tell you what, somebody like yourself and me, who take their time to listen and give a proper delivery and make friends the old-fashioned way, those are the ones that have staying power.
02:12Those are the ones that can go the distance.
02:14That's great. So, I'm doing some research for this podcast.
02:18I can't help but ask you about the gamification culture at Costa Rica Call Center and how that led you to have the largest collection of pinball machines and jukeboxes, you said.
02:28My brother, I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and the arcade was the coolest place to be.
02:33Now, I don't know about you, Asteroids, I could play a game for 45 minutes on a quarter, but a pinball machine, which was sometimes 50 cents, it's the luck of the machine.
02:43That game could be done in a minute. It was just a beautiful piece of artwork that a lot of times you'd watch the older people play.
02:50And I tell you what, Ricky Schroeder had a great arcade in Silver Spoons, and we all dreamed about having something like that.
02:58And when you have disposable income, you have the space, and you're willing to die on that hill with your wife, you start going and collect.
03:05But here's the thing, my man, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
03:09I'm not picking every game up. I was very selective. And so air hockey tables and certain fighting and gun machines, but the pinball, these people are giving them away.
03:19They're 40 years old. So naturally behind the marquee, some of the CPUs and circuits and some of them are corroded or burnt out.
03:27And there's specialist shops that you can order replacement parts.
03:31So for up to $500 to $1,000, the machine's working again. And so you start collecting these classic beauties, you restore them.
03:39And just for your audience, my favorite decade is the 1970s.
03:44I love the electromechanical machines. They're easiest to work on because there's just contacts.
03:49But, oh, the play field. It was the last decade of the painted wood.
03:53After that, it was the laminates and the stickers. And remember the old marquee and the side art?
03:58Plus you get the bells and easier targets to hit.
04:02So for me, I'm a super old retro pinball machine collector.
04:07So do you work on any of those yourself or do you farm out all of the repairs and upkeep to them?
04:12It's an excellent question, but I tell you what, it's like people that can change a tire or maybe their oil.
04:17I learned that. And there's certain replacement parts I know what to get and then putting it in.
04:22But when it comes to the heavy lifting, I have a couple people here that are just experts at electronics and even in these games themselves.
04:29And yes, most of the time I'll call them in. I'll be watching them, not to grill, to learn.
04:33I got to know what to do.
04:35But what a passion. How fun.
04:37And it's remember Archie Bunker and all the family and people would get around the piano and sing.
04:42When you have friends come over, they're hanging around the pinball machines and laughing and having a good time.
04:47And there's nothing better, Beau, than playing with your friends.
04:49It's the best times you can have.
04:51Absolutely. Yeah. So if I heard you right, you can change the tires, but you leave the transmission and the engine work up to the experts, right?
04:58That's true. Or unless if it's just something that is totaled, you just buy it for 300 bucks and just put it in and get a new one.
05:05It doesn't sound to me from 1977. Seriously, what's wrong with you?
05:09And so...
05:10It's a lot like computer repair.
05:11Yeah. So let's just be smart.
05:14But it is a passion. And when you meet another collector, I got a buddy of mine out in Tempe, Arizona, Mike, that owns Starfighters Arcade with his wife, Kathy.
05:22And he's an incredible collector.
05:24And he has the passion.
05:25And God bless him.
05:26The fact that he continues to purchase these machines and loves them so much.
05:31And I tell you what, when people visit Costa Rica, I'm all over the place.
05:35So I'll get phone calls from people that want to come to the call center and play a few games.
05:38Absolutely. Definitely come by.
05:40And so I make a lot of friends that way, too.
05:43Yeah, let's do it.
05:43So do you have an Adams family unit?
05:45That's one of my favorites.
05:48It's funny that you mentioned that.
05:49I played it a bunch of times.
05:50There's one up for sale.
05:51Well, they're asking six grand for it.
05:53But a friend of mine has one, too.
05:55But what a wonderful.
05:57And it's a fun machine.
05:59Yeah.
06:00Not the old painted board style, but it's super fun.
06:03So let's move on from pinballs.
06:05Tell me, you've been in the industry a while.
06:07And I was looking on your website.
06:09I saw the list of technologies that you all use in the call centers.
06:12How has technology shifted from when you first moved there, working with your friend's call center to now?
06:19What does it take to support a call center?
06:21What kind of exciting technologies are you all using?
06:24Depends on what side you're looking at.
06:26If you're the owner of the company, it's very exciting.
06:29I get to monitor the work.
06:30If you're on the flip side, it almost feels like walking down the street and there's a thousand cameras on you.
06:36And so it's very difficult for the agent to shave time.
06:41On the flip side, it makes you better if you are a professional and you want to work hard.
06:46And so what it's done was it definitely increased productivity, but it forces people to go 15 rounds.
06:55A lot of people would coast during a day where they just slide in every hour and make minimum amounts to hit the metrics.
07:02But that's not the point.
07:05It's like a batting cage now.
07:07And so when someone logs into a predictive dialer, if they're in ready status, there's multiple lines dialing.
07:12It's coming in.
07:13So there's no fatigue, missed dial, or waiting in between making your phone calls like you did when you first got here.
07:20And that's changed.
07:21Secondly, you have a QA department, especially AI now.
07:24It's going to break down people's soft skills, especially their empathy, regardless if they're asking the right questions, Bo, to qualify you in your account.
07:34They want to make sure that people are still having that sort of connection because most people just check through lists, don't listen.
07:41They hedge.
07:42They'll give answers like, okay, or wonderful when it's really not that great.
07:45And for me, Bo, I like to teach the 30-second checkpoints.
07:52I like when people take breaths and bites and sips and let you digest it for a minute.
07:58And then there's also like a boxer.
07:59You can't always just punch the whole time.
08:01There is size, strength, and strategy of the people that are speaking with you.
08:05And so if you put something out there, you may get a positive or a negative reinforcement, which makes you adjust your tone accordingly.
08:13What a beautiful art of speech.
08:14And so people practice their rhetoric, and we look at certain words to change, like help.
08:20We'll put in assist guide and lend a hand.
08:22Never say I'm sorry.
08:24It's both for my clarification.
08:26We always use the military alphabet because a lot of people have served them.
08:30It sounds really good.
08:31And emails don't bounce back.
08:33And my favorite tip for the audience, which I don't think AI can ever do because you can't really mask empathy, is the positive escalation.
08:41If there's somebody that's the gatekeeper that you get past and you're able to speak to Beau, make sure you mention this individual.
08:47Let them know verbally and also in writing.
08:49So when you call the company back, you get a hero's welcome.
08:52And you need to jump clouds and see this industry and telemarketing almost like romantic deaths.
08:57I mean, you're retaining clients.
08:58You're trying to assist with customer support.
09:01You're prospecting for new business.
09:03Sometimes you have the skill set to do sales.
09:06So it's not for the faint of heart.
09:08But I tell you, if you increase on these characteristics, you'll become one of the greatest listeners and communicators out there.
09:16You'll make a thousand friends.
09:18And so I always believe the best jobs are the things that you can take outside of the office, not taking your work home.
09:23But I'm saying if you love it so much, there's dedicated practice.
09:26So you become a master at it.
09:28You become an expert.
09:29And so for me, it's easy.
09:31It's like the face man from the A-team.
09:32All I did was watch really cool things on TV and use some of those lines on the phone.
09:36My job is at least very interesting for me.
09:39You've mentioned AI a couple of times.
09:41What do you think is next for the industry?
09:42How do you see it evolving over the next few years?
09:45Oh, the uncanny valley.
09:48It's amazing how people would get catfished with really good emails.
09:51Wait till you start getting catfished with voices.
09:53And what's happening is the timing, the integrated voice response, they're good.
09:57But sometimes I got to keep repeating my airport I'm going to.
10:00They're still not getting it.
10:01People get frustrated and hit zero.
10:04So allow them to do the 90% of gathering, almost like these beautiful farmers that really broke
10:09their backs back in the day.
10:11Now they have machines that can work as 100 men.
10:14So you and I should really woo away it.
10:18In essence, we really should.
10:19I don't think we should carry anything.
10:21We should go with where we go.
10:23And then at the end, on the 10-yard line, when it takes the handshake, the smile, and the
10:28backslap to make sure that you guys are connected, that's when the human connection comes in.
10:33Because the moment that these computers try to replace an individual that is so happy that
10:43you are a client or can understand because you've passed a class, failed a class, had a
10:48divorce, bought a new house, lost it.
10:51And it's the kind of thing you really still need that human connection.
10:56And so my industry, yes, will become much more convenient.
11:00Entry-level jobs will be eliminated.
11:03But some people will be willing to pay an extra dollar to press zero and actually speak with
11:09somebody.
11:10And it's going to have a comeback, kind of like bell bottoms.
11:14People are going to be very sick of non-voice.
11:16Some people are always liking that.
11:18But some people are going to want to talk to somebody if they're going to spend their
11:20hard-earned money.
11:22And so a lot of the clients that I have are going to use some of it.
11:26But they always want to have a dedicated department of people that will always be there for their
11:30clientele.
11:32Yeah, sometimes I would pay much more than a dollar to press zero and speak to a human.
11:38Yes, I would too.
11:38You know that that's all you need to cut to the chase.
11:41How do you see your team adapting and better meeting your clients' needs?
11:46How are they changing?
11:47What are they doing to stay up to speed?
11:51They're virtual.
11:53Oh, the brick and mortar.
11:55You were mentioning the arcade.
11:56And thank you.
11:57You're talking about the old days.
12:00Everyone works from home now.
12:02Is it a great thing?
12:03It's a wonderful thing.
12:04I can stay in business, expand, hire anybody.
12:06And the labor pool that they demanded.
12:09And they can put up the numbers to back it up.
12:12And once again, we have the technology to see that they're working, not being invasive.
12:19But we can see if they're logged in and answering their emails, phone calls.
12:24They're not missing a beat.
12:25The only thing that we're missing is the camaraderie and the synergy.
12:29I was talking about pinball, Pac-Man, and air hockey.
12:32Yeah, that's how you build a team.
12:34But that was before COVID.
12:38Today, people just don't want that anymore.
12:40Some do.
12:41But the majority do not.
12:43And instead of trying to force a fit on somebody or promising a client that the labor pool's huge
12:49if people don't want to drive 45 minutes in traffic and come to my office, I'm not going to do it.
12:54I need to adapt.
12:55But I tell you, when I used to walk the Rose Bowl, I'd know everybody's name.
13:04I would have these amazing training soft skill classes where we'd all get in a circle.
13:10It was like an open forum.
13:11I knew that they were getting stronger and better.
13:15People would fall in love and get married.
13:17Some women work through their pregnancies, so there's actually C-babies.
13:21We celebrated 18 years, man.
13:23The anniversary T-shirts, the pizza parties, the bowling parties at Christmas.
13:29Seeing the kid that was wet behind his ears and green, freshman, having amazing breakthroughs
13:36and shedding skin and becoming one of the top producers.
13:39And just, I think we've lost that.
13:44But CC babies, imagine meeting someone, getting pregnant, working throughout your entire time.
13:49You're pregnant besides the last month.
13:51I walk by every day.
13:52I'm like, good morning, baby.
13:53I don't know me.
13:54You know what's cool, too?
13:56I'd be the first one to go down and tell their parents how great their kids are doing
13:59because the average age is 24.
14:02Felt like 13th grade.
14:04And so a lot of times they're getting picked up by their significant numbers of parents.
14:07And of course, I would go downstairs and compliment Bo to his mother and father and jealous
14:12older brother.
14:13Just let him know he's the man.
14:15But I just wouldn't say that you're an ace.
14:17I would surprise you.
14:19I'd say, do you know he did 44 deals last week?
14:21And you look at me like, how do you know that?
14:23You realize he's the top of his crew.
14:25Last Wednesday, he crushed him.
14:27And also, he's been with us for nine months already.
14:30He's a great kid.
14:31And that's when, Bo, you'll get the knock on your office the next day.
14:37And the kid that always said hi to you and was always attentive actually had the guts
14:40to knock on the door, not to complain.
14:43But to feel comfortable enough with their boss to get to that level of relationship,
14:49to give feedback, to let them know that you paid it forward, or just to say, you're the
14:54first boss to ever do something like that.
14:57So you get a certain sort of fidelity out of people that you can only get by getting
15:01raw, not by just throwing dollars out of you can do that to anybody.
15:06But I've noticed that through the years, my brother, but things have changed a little
15:10bit, but I have adapted with it.
15:12I still have my smile, but it's, once again, it's not the same as it used to be.
15:16Yeah.
15:16It's a long road to walk when people are working remotely.
15:19You miss them.
15:22Yeah.
15:22I break bread with them every day.
15:23Let's shift a little bit to business strategy.
15:25What trends are you noticing in your field that are shaping the way you approach the business
15:30these days?
15:31What are you keeping your ear to the track to listening from a call center's perspective?
15:36The technology was the biggest challenge for me.
15:39That server room was the engine.
15:43And so you needed to have the big batteries and the three AC units and the rack and the
15:50investment in that equipment.
15:53So it doesn't look like spaghetti.
15:55But I tell you, we've moved everything into the cloud, which I was very hesitant and I
16:02waited and I just want to make sure they not only got all the bugs out, but it was a couple
16:06of years past, all the bugs were out.
16:07And by doing so is allowing me once again to be completely remote and using the building
16:14for other opportunities, of course, while still having a business or let's say a satellite
16:18office.
16:19That's a great thing.
16:21People don't have to schlep there anymore.
16:22And I don't have to worry about servers, switches, dialers, batteries, spikes, you name
16:29it going wrong.
16:31Or the internet guy handling it, but needing to call in a specialist and the downtime, no
16:40more.
16:41That's done.
16:42And that to me is a huge sigh of relief.
16:46And so once again, it's going to make companies a thousand more times proficient.
16:51You lose clients on downtime, you lose money on it.
16:54The morale, just the whole rhythm of a company gets crushed.
16:58And then you start second guessing people in their departments and you should eliminate
17:02any sort of things like that.
17:04A lot of the agents have their own equipment.
17:07Naturally, we have to put in certain, they may have to take one of our computers or have
17:11something in the system through a VPN or another sort of program to allow them to use
17:16their laptops or computers to make sure it's PCI or other sort of compliant.
17:22And, but I tell you, the English is fantastic.
17:25The skillset, the typing speed is increased.
17:28I've noticed that people from my generation are still looking for work, but they need
17:32to catch up, not on the technology.
17:34It's really just in regards to speed.
17:36They need to click things a little quicker, but with the gray hairs, they have the experience.
17:40So if you can give them something cool, like a right field picking daisy sort of account,
17:44they're the greatest.
17:45No, they're the greatest.
17:46They're not going anywhere.
17:48And, and that's it, my man.
17:50That's the kind of things I see, but we do complete compete globally.
17:53So of course, India and the Philippines, they would crush me in their rates.
17:59And then why Costa Rica had an advantage, but because of our proxemics to the United States.
18:04I'm just a couple hours from Miami.
18:06We're on mountain time zone, huge expat community.
18:09A lot of people lived in the States or no people, neutral English accent, only democratic
18:15society, great infrastructure.
18:17And it was all there.
18:18The potion was there.
18:21It's just the need to be put together to do this, but what a fun run.
18:25That's great.
18:25I'm glad you realized the cost of downtime.
18:29I sometimes think I'm speaking until I'm blue in the face about how much downtime can you afford
18:35to my clients and future clients?
18:37It's a, it's a delicate balance between downtime and budget.
18:41That's for sure.
18:42Yeah.
18:43I really appreciate your time today, Richard, for listeners who are inspired by your journey.
18:46What's one key takeaway you'd like them to remember about Costa Rica call center, about
18:50Richard Blank?
18:52Just to let you know, I went slow and steady.
18:54I paid for everything in cash.
18:55I started out by renting a turnkey station at a blended call center.
19:00And I did that for two years.
19:02So I had a little bit of cash in the book of business and I rented space.
19:06And since my industry has an attrition with not only personnel, but companies, I was picking
19:11up used equipment and furniture for a fraction of the import and costs.
19:19So I did that for six years.
19:21Then we purchased a building right near the universities and the aduanas and the hospital
19:26and put on a third floor and made it art deco with neon lights and vaulted ceilings.
19:31I made it nice and cool.
19:32And we've been there.
19:34And if you're in it for the long game, take your time.
19:38Be proud of your first downs.
19:39Doesn't always have to be touchdowns.
19:41And the last bit of advice, and it's easier said than done, Bo, is just not to be hard
19:46on yourself.
19:48At the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, you have to look at yourself in the
19:52mirror and have that respect.
19:53If you have the discipline, make your bed in the morning.
19:55But those that walk in silence, it's not a death march.
20:01It's sometimes a force march.
20:03You know what it takes to train for a boxing match or 80 hours a week to start a business.
20:09And with every single naysayer and great believer out there saying, what are you doing?
20:15No one's been a Spanish major and no one's going to move abroad.
20:18Who starts call centers?
20:20Come on, man.
20:21You got to walk across the dance floor and ask your princess to dance.
20:25That's how you become a champ.
20:26That's how you live a good life.
20:27And so these aren't selfish decisions.
20:30These are destiny decisions.
20:32These are things that I had backed up my passion in life.
20:37And the worst thing you could ever do, Bo, is to extinguish and put out any spark that
20:42somebody has.
20:43And so to me, I guess it was more of just a shiny object.
20:47People thought it was interesting and said, go, Richard, go.
20:49But most people didn't have a blueprint or any sort of guidance and what got me to where
20:55I am today.
20:56So sometimes my amazing audience, you should just carve your own path.
21:01You use examples from others.
21:03Be a pioneer.
21:04Have the guts.
21:05You die in a hundred years.
21:07What are you going to do?
21:08Besides being on my man, Bo's show.
21:10That's right.
21:11You got to do something to get on the show.
21:13Get out there and make it happen.
21:15And I can't wait to hear your, your stories and adventures from your, your audience.
21:18That's a great book that, that you hearing what you just said reminds me, it's called
21:22The Gap and the Gain.
21:23Have you ever read that book?
21:25No, but I'm definitely going to check it out.
21:27Pick that one up.
21:28It talks about living in the gain instead of the gap.
21:30Everybody likes to live in the gap and see, reflect on, on the goals that we set and how
21:36far we are from them instead of realizing all of the accomplishments that we've been through
21:41when we first set that goal.
21:43Yeah.
21:43Really great stuff.
21:44Really appreciate that.
21:45So wrap it up here.
21:47How can our audience learn more about Costa Rica's call center?
21:50How can they stay updated on your latest projects?
21:53Check out Costa Rica's call center.com.
21:55Some of the latest projects.
21:56I hired the bassist Gary beers from NXS to play on a song that I produced here in Costa
22:01Rica.
22:02Shine like the sun.
22:02Check it out.
22:03And I also produced a rap freestyle breakdance video at the call center too, because as once
22:10again, I grew up in the eighties.
22:11So you got to have things like that.
22:13That's great.
22:13Those are all up on the website.
22:15On YouTube.
22:16Yeah.
22:17YouTube.
22:17All right, great.
22:18I'm going to go pull.
22:18I missed those in my research, but I'm definitely going to go pull those up.
22:21Look, Richard, I really enjoyed having you on the show.
22:23Appreciate your time.
22:24I'm going to go pull those up.
22:25I'm going to go pull those up.
22:25I'm going to go pull those up.
22:26I'm going to go pull those up.
22:26I'm going to go pull those up.
22:27I'm going to go pull those up.
22:28I'm going to go pull those up.
22:29I'm going to go pull those up.
22:30I'm going to go pull those up.
22:31I'm going to go pull those up.
22:32I'm going to go pull those up.
22:33I'm going to go pull those up.
22:34I'm going to go pull those up.
22:35I'm going to go pull those up.
22:36I'm going to go pull those up.
22:37I'm going to go pull those up.
22:38I'm going to go pull those up.
22:39I'm going to go pull those up.
22:40I'm going to go pull those up.
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