Transcript
Speaker: Made on Zencastr. Because Zencastr is the all-in-one podcasting platform that really does make every stage of the podcast production process so easy.
Speaker: Use the link to zencastr.com in the description. It has a built-in discount. Hello and welcome to Rest and Recreation, the work-life balance podcast from Abysida.
Speaker: I'm your host, Michael Millward. Today i am talking to Richard Blank from Costa Rica about how you can dance to your own rhythm. If you fancy going to Costa Rica, one of the best ways to get there is by making your travel arrangements with the Ultimate Travel Club. Because at the Ultimate Travel Club, you get all sorts of different travel-related purchases at trade prices.
Speaker: Use the link in the description. It has a built-in discount on your membership fees. Now that I've paid some bills, it is time to make an episode of Rest and Recreation that will be well worth listening to, liking, downloading and subscribing to.
Speaker: As with every episode of Rest and Recreation, we will not be telling you what to think, but we are hoping to make you think. Hello, how are you doing Richard? I'm doing great Michael, so happy to be with you.
Speaker: Let's start with you explaining about, you know, why are you in Costa Rica? When I was growing up in Philadelphia, my favourite class was Spanish. So I was going above and beyond school, watching the movies, reading the books, hanging out and talking. If you do anything above and beyond school, your dedicated practice, you're probably going to get better at it, almost like hitting the gym. You can't take a spark out of somebody.
Speaker: I get to feel this way and do this every day. And people treat me like this. Why don't I try to make a living from it? I just got to figure it out. And so post-grad, I had a few jobs that I could sell in Spanish. At 27, was given a one in a million opportunity to teach English at a friend's call center here.
Speaker: And two months turned into four years where i learned the business from the inside out. Mid thirties, I threw my hat in the ring and tried the business. And here we are close to 19 years later. So, uh,
Speaker: Yeah, man, the stars were aligned. Cool. There is an awful lot of sense in that idea. Find something that your child enjoys. They're more likely to excel at it if they enjoy it.
Speaker: And then with that knowledge, that that skill, the confidence that comes from excelling at something that you enjoy, the world does really become your oyster, doesn't it? It does. But just unfortunately, people put unnecessary weight on you.
Speaker: I believe in wu-wei. I believe in no resistance. I just wanted to live a life where it wasn't forced. And a lot of the times you need to get through either guilt or naysayers.
Speaker: A lot of the times you have to believe in yourself. You got to think of the long game and keep telling yourself that you're doing the right thing so you can still do this in ah and a way that's raw and pure because the moment that you hate it,
Speaker: then it's it's like a chore. then Then you're in that box. And so in the fact that I could still feel this way, where every day feels like a Saturday, i think I'm kind of winning the game of life. My health is good. i always have a smile on my face. And so I just don't, unfortunately, when I see other people that have that lifestyle, they never chose or were forced upon them.
Speaker: They just don't seem fulfilled. And that's just a shame to have that sort of life It is. You're reminding me of the talk that I do in schools where young people are embarking on their post-16 education and talks about the sorts of things that I know now, which i wish I had known when I was their age.
Speaker: Although when we're young, it all feels a little bit about we're trying to be ourselves. When you look back, a lot of what you were doing was trying to fit in with other people who were just occupying the same space that you were. But it was so important to fit in. Whereas what you really need to do is to work out what rhythm you want in your life and then work out how you're going to dance to that rhythm. It really depends on your options. Yes. And what your responsibilities are. How about this? Every movie has the group of guys or girls that hang out and there's always the one eccentric one, like in Animal House, it was Belushi. Yeah. You got to have the crazy friend.
Speaker: I'm not saying that I was different, but when I was accepted, I was accepted because it was it was Richard. And I think you can have a balance of being yourself and also fitting in with people because, you know, we're social creatures and and there's social grace and and certain behaviors. But since I was good at athletics, I was able to cross over and earn respect to people I probably would have never met before. And then I just had other people that I knew because of the language department.
Speaker: They get to see somebody that has structure and discipline, especially at a young age. There's nothing better than seeing someone excelling in anything at a young age. It's because you're not supposed to, you're supposed to just walk in lockstep and and follow along and another brick in the walls, they say. But when when somebody has shed skin or cracks a code or or breaks out, they, they seem to be the crazy one. But in essence, everyone knows partly they're the genius. They're the one that's drinking life and and they're trying. And so people weren't expected or surprised of, my story in a sense, because they knew that I would always dip my toe into something or explore in a cave. You know i was adventurous. I was willing to take that chance. and And also, my man, I was the kind of person that could go out by himself.
Speaker: I could always have a good time hanging out by myself or going out to a bar if I had to, or just traveling or something. I don't i didn't always need a group. And so I wasn't that dependent. So I could bounce in and out of certain social situations. And it's all good because I'm good.
Speaker: And so that made it where you become a lot more self-reliant and self-confident. You're not as vulnerable as some people that always need to have their person there. you That's why I like personal sports, like ah being a boxer or let's say a wrestler, for an example, you might have your support and your coach and everything, but when you're going on the ring, that's all you. yes And I think anyone that can experience that sort of thing where everyone lets go of the line,
Speaker: and you're free falling by yourself, that's it's not liberating, it's a chance for you to step up and to increase your life by giving yourself a memory of a time where either you won or you got your butt kicked, but you showed such heart that you earned the respect of the people seeing you losing, you know because they they realized someone had size, strength and strategy over you, but man, you wouldn't give up.
Speaker: The world light loves a plucky underdog who almost goes into into battle knowing that the chances are against them, the odds are against them, but they're going to give it their best shot anyway. Michael, you can live with yourself afterwards. You can look at it 30 years later and maybe buy the guy a drink at the bar and go, hey, thanks for kicking my ass. You know, you taught me great life lesson. But no, man, some of my my greatest failures, without sounding cliche-ish, were the things that ignited other things. and Yes,
Speaker: I respected that, the the opponent that was more prepared than I. Was there a day or a time when you realized, eureka moment when you realized, yeah, you weren't going to follow the conventional route or was it something that just evolved over time?
Speaker: So many different stages of life, but I think the real one where I could put my chips down was when I was in Costa Rica. You know, you're 27 years old, but you still have to convince mommy and daddy you want to stay. like, really? Come on, got hair on your chest. What's wrong with you? And, um but they, it's the kind of thing where I had such generous, beautiful parents that were more than supportive over anything.
Speaker: And I was very fortunate how I grew up and and it, I didn't want to become humble, but i also wanted to start from scratch. I did not want my parents or friends' influence or connections to give me a one-up. I wanted to see if I flat out started with just my feet in the grass somewhere, can I build a life? It's like a real story.
Speaker: Could I have done differently in Philadelphia or Arizona if I stayed in the States? Absolutely. But... Looking back at it, gold and jewels, they do lose its luster. You can only eat so many dinners and how many watches do you want? And it's a lot of times people just look for passion in life or look for something that they really accomplished in a goal. and unfortunately for me, my God, to create my own goal, it just wasn't set out for me. I had to build this. And so, but it happened when I was here at 27. I knew that I was willing to die with my boots on. I fell in love with
Speaker: a beautiful Costa Rican girl, Atika, who's my wife. We've been together 25 years. Congratulations. And I realized, well, thank you, my man. Yeah, I married an exotic girl. You have to. You know what I mean? It's like bringing home beach, sand from the beach. You bring it home. But no, I wanted to, um what did I want to do at 27 years old? I wanted to, I guess, shed my last life of the United States and be reborn again.
Speaker: and I wanted to do it from scratch with the Spanish that I knew. and I was on cloud nine and I didn't want to go home and I didn't want to go send out my resumes via fax machine to get a job in Phoenix somewhere. I just didn't want to do it.
Speaker: And um I worked my tail off here to make a life. And, um but I tell you, When you look back at decisions in your life, you must pat yourself on the back certain times when you decided to do something against all odds, because you would regret it for the rest of your days if you don't.
Speaker: And I can't believe my 27 year old Richard or my 18 year old Richard, I did these things and I'm like, yeah, Rock on. Thank you for doing that. Really, thank you for pushing me when I needed to be pushed to where I am today. And now you run a successful business in Costa Rica.
Speaker: It's a call center type business and you're operating mainly with clients in the United States, I believe. That's right. It's a smaller center. We're only 150. Yeah. but it packs a punch. I see it as a luxury trade, Michael.
Speaker: because we get paid to speak on the phone. How nice. yes And got them since English is their second language, and I wish I spoke your English, Queen's English is the best. The King's English.
Speaker: ah The King's, correct, excuse me. That's correct. The King's English. and um But at least when I see somebody on the phone conversing and they can extend conversations, they can clarify, they know how to dance around verbal tell signs to give tie down questions, clarification questions and wrap it all up. So it's an incredible art and AI will be taking over.
Speaker: They gather. They'll be able to take it in football terms, American football down to the 10 yard line. And then usually through empathy or just reassurance, people are going to want to speak to somebody before you know finalizing.
Speaker: And, um, and that's just how it is, but there's also an uncanny Valley. The more a mannequin looks like a human, it freaks you out a little bit. And the more that a machine does this and imitates, emulates it's, there will be that one thing in there that humans do have that can still figure out something wrong in nature.
Speaker: And even if they completely replicate who we are, as I say before, that empathy is a, electromagnetic transfer of energy between two human beings, that can't be done.
Speaker: hug still wouldn't feel like a hug from a human. And so I still believe that there's a chance that ah a section of my industry or even humanity will still be needed because people are going to want that human contact. And so I stress extending empathy, taking copious notes, really good listening skills.
Speaker: walking people through processes. And a lot of clients today still see it as a value, a means to an end, and almost a luxury now because most people send out emails or do chats and texting. And so to speak to somebody, I see as a concierge or almost a first-class service. And so a lot of companies need this to offset their time or to allow our infrastructure and our labor pool to guide them into more business. And so what an interesting trade, but everyone's working from home now, Michael. Yes.
Speaker: So I, I, I lost that sort of synergy, that people have when you have a couple hundred people in a building. It was a lot of fun. Yes, I know what you mean. There's an energy of working alongside other people doing the same thing that you are doing, but doing it in their way.
Speaker: And know there was a few years ago an attitude that call centers were the production lines, the the factory production lines of the 21st century. Never really ever agreed with that because on a production line, you have a product coming along to you. You're going to do the same thing to each product that comes to you and pass it on to the next person. right Whereas in a call center, whether it's an inbound call center or an outbound call center, the only thing that you know that you are definitely going to say is hello.
Speaker: After that, anything can happen depending upon what the other person says. True, isn't it? Yes, and sometimes no There are multiple departments. There could be a billing department, a sales department, customer support, IT department. So it's not the same conversation. Secondly, a lot of the times, if you can pull up the client's information, existing client, you can review with them so they don't have to repeat it, which will lower temperatures.
Speaker: And sometimes my man like a cartoon, people just want steam to come out of their ears. That's true. As long as you're not cursing at me, you can curse left and right, just not directly at me. And so once you're done cursing, I'm going to go, Michael, you done any more F-bombs or give me some English jokes or bad words. And it's it's the kind of thing where, as I say, if somebody gets passed around or they're latent when they submit a ticket,
Speaker: Or at the end of the day, if there's just no end, but they extended, I don't blame people for getting very upset. It's their hard earned money. And most places today have you in long queue times waiting.
Speaker: That's not fair. no So when you have to repeat yourself. And so obviously you've had good and bad experiences, but my goal is to get a positive escalation where i do such a good job, Michael, that you asked to speak to my supervisor to let them know Richard did great.
Speaker: We strive for that or for prospecting a company before being transferred to you. I'll let you know how nice Judy was on the phone and how professional she was. I'll do it verbally. And then when I send you an email, I'll also do it in writing.
Speaker: So when I happen to call your company back for the appointment that we set the following week, I get hero's welcome. And so people ask me, how do you become successful in business? Well,
Speaker: You could be glib and have an angle and push your way in there where you can just be respectful and you make the cut and you get on Michael's podcast because he gets thousands of people writing in, but I must've done something right. And so you play good odds.
Speaker: And I believe in romantic deaths, you don't bat a thousand. No one, no one hits the bullseye every time, but if you can do a beautiful introduction for 30 seconds and where you do a company name spike, say the name of the company. Hey, rest and recreation podcast. How are you today?
Speaker: Why not? At least I'm going to say that. And then usually someone will give you a positive reinforcement. They'll say, who is this compared to, is this a sales call? Take me off your list. Don't call again.
Speaker: or the infamous F you. Yeah. So, we Usually they'll ask who I am. And I go, that's a great question. My name is Richard Blank. Who is Richard Blank? I'm the CEO of Costa Rica's call center. Love to speak with Michael. hey And then you play your own ads. And so if you can jump clouds a hundred times a day and you adjust a tone so it's empathetic and confident. And if you catch on to people's names and you use it,
Speaker: here's a good chance you might be able to pitch Michael and you get a fair shot at it. And then you play those odds. And yeahp that's just the way it works, my friend. I just got to sometimes put people into good habits when they're making and receiving calls.
Speaker: That sounds great. That sounds great. You are the CEO of Costa Rica call center and you've been doing that since well, 20 years, 25 years.
Speaker: Been here for 25. We started the business in 2008. So i was doing a couple of things prior to starting. 2008. So we're coming up for 20 years. Yeah. right Cool.
Speaker: Congratulations. yes And it's been successful. Most of the time. Well, the entire time. Yes. We never touched down the zero, but yeah some businesses have setbacks.
Speaker: Every business has a setback at some time or another, but you have been successful and you're enjoying a good life. And it's enabled you to explore some of your interests to build your own rest and recreation and build collections of things that you like and have some fantastic experiences. And you have a... um A record in many different ways because you have a record collection. Yes. You have machines to play those records. Yes. And you have the largest collection of machines to play those records in South America.
Speaker: As one person told me, you're the only person who wants them, Richard. and That's not true. What are you talking about? They're old and they're broken and they don't work.
Speaker: Those are the naysayers. Yes. You are a collector of vinyl records and of jukeboxes to play them on. Oh, I'm a treasure hunter. You and I, prior to the podcast, talked about growing up back in the day where you would see jukeboxes and pinball machines, they were a luxury item. This is true. How did you get into jukeboxes?
Speaker: Just like you did. yep You saw the beauty. And when you're 10 years old, you can't afford it That is so true. You know, they're works of art. And you see... You learn how to negotiate with your parents when you're that age and you want to play your favorite record. You find a record you love on a jukebox at 10 years old and you want to play it and you have to learn negotiation skills with your parents in order to get the the little coin that will allow you to play that record.
Speaker: It's 100% correct. If you ask a 10-year-old, what is your greatest fantasy? They'd be like, I'd like to have all-you-can-eat chocolate, like Willy Wonka or something. I'm like, okay, cool. For me, when I started my business,
Speaker: And we started doing well. i had the space and arcades were going out of business and you'd see things on these Craigslist MercadoLibre market sites. They're giving them away.
Speaker: And what am what, since I'm 30 years old, I should be thinking Rolexes and Ferraris and stuff. i could think about that, but I'm still like a kid. I'm like, yo, Michael, come on, man, let's go buy three pit ball machines. So I get my boys, we get the truck.
Speaker: We bring some cash, we drive a couple hours to either the beach or the mountains, and some guy opens up a bodega, just like you see in the TV shows. And he's got tons of stuff in there. And you see these gorgeous Bally's, Daddy East, Williams, you name it, Gottlieb's.
Speaker: The only thing is that the the boards that they had, the circuits are all rusted out, obviously, even with the humidity, and they've 30, 40 years old So let's say you and I buy them for a couple hundred bucks. We bring them back, spend about 500 to a thousand to replace all the circuits in the back of the marquee.
Speaker: Next thing you know, she works. So you're sitting on a $5,000 machine. You just picked up for a couple hundred and fixed her up. One turned into three, then turned into five. Right now I'm sitting on 12 pinball machines, six jukeboxes.
Speaker: But here's here's the thing. i I've got a buddy at the beach who owns a a movie theater. So I moved the air hockey table. the Mortal Kombat, the Killer Instinct, and the ski machine down there, and Alpine Racer 2.
Speaker: And um it got out of hand. it's um It was too much too fast. And I had the room, so I just kept buying. And with my wife, that was the one hill I was willing to die on. She knew that these machines give me joy.
Speaker: And I could have a place where people could hang out at work with me, with each other, a little steam. And um just like you said, They were out of reach as a child. You were begging your mother, like I used to, for a coin.
Speaker: And the fact that I could have my own, that's my all-you-can-eat chocolate. And I just didn't want one. I wanted as many as I could get. And the jukeboxes are beautiful.
Speaker: They're very expensive to fix if the motor's not working. And so I fixed them, but when you get them, if the outside and the glass and the keys and everything look nice, just put an MP3 or a Bluetooth in there.
Speaker: Then you have unlimited sound and just put in some extra lights or something. And so rescue these beautiful machines, put them in your living rooms. ah You were mentioning people just hang around that stuff. it It really is a centerpiece for people and all they want to do is enjoy them. And yes, my friend,
Speaker: I have the largest collection. As the wise person once said, I'm the only one who wants them and the only one who buys them. And so be I'm that guy. You're the only person that wants them when they're wrecked, but you're not the only person that wants them when you've restored them.
Speaker: And then when you say wrecked, it's just like a spark plug for a car. they're They're really not broken, as I mentioned, just the condition of them. But termites are the worst thing here. It it destroys cabinets of these beautiful machines. Yeah, because you're a tropical country, so you're going to have these things. It's one of the ah things you have to take into account, I suppose.
Speaker: Well, that's why on my property, I have a bodega. I have my man cave. I put in the the doors and the windows I could seal up. I got a humidifier in there.
Speaker: And the girls are very comfortable. Choose your battles wisely. Yes. And I have my space that makes me happy. I work out in there. I got the games in there. And so, It's my happy space so I can have rest, I can recharge, and just, you know, that's that's my personal space. That's brilliant.
Speaker: Thank you very much. You've given me an awful lot to think about. We must come back again and have another conversation because I have really enjoyed this and I want to find out more about how you run the Costa Rica Call Center Company.
Speaker: but What is the website address for your company? CostaRicasCallCenter.com. I think I pronounced Costa Rica as Costa Rica and it's Costa Rica. and No, no, no. Actually, the King's English is so much better. So choice, right? Hey, I got do a plug though for some of my favorite shows in your country. Do you remember Keeping Up Appearances? Oh, yes. Yes. I love that show. And my favorite actor or yeah is is Basil Rathbone. Yes. I loved when he was Sherlock Holmes with Nigel Bruce.
Speaker: Yeah, that's a long time ago, Basil Rathbone, Sherlock Holmes type movie. It's very, very English character actor. I was trying to imitate him. when I used a couple of his words on the phone, people were like, did go? I can't do this anymore. i had I had to then do the face man from the A-Team. It was more the Anglo-Saxon, North American way. So yeah, something like that.
Speaker: But thank you very much. Really do appreciate your time today. It's been great. Michael, pleasure was mine. Thank you, thank you. I am Michael Millward, the Managing Director of Abusida. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, I have been having a conversation with Richard Blank, the CEO of the Costa Rica call center company. You can find out more about both of us by using the links in the description.
Speaker: At Rest and Recreation, we believe in living healthy lives. An important part of staying healthy is knowing the risks early. That is why we recommend the Health Test from York Test, especially the Annual Health Test.
Speaker: The Annual Health Test from York Test provides an assessment of 39 different health markers. The Annual Health Test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist who will complete a full blood draw at your home or workplace.
Speaker: Hospital standard tests are carried out in a UK AS accredited and CQC compliant laboratory or similar accredited laboratories in other countries. You can access your easy to understand results and guidance to help you make effective lifestyle changes anytime via your secure personal wellness hub account. As you would expect, there is a link and a discount code in the description.
Speaker: I'm sure that you will have enjoyed listening to this episode of Rest and Recreation as much as Richard and I have enjoyed making it. So please give it a like and download it so you can listen anytime, anywhere. To make sure you don't miss out on future episodes, please subscribe.
Speaker: And perhaps you'll also want to share the link with your friends, your family and your work colleagues. Remember, the aim of all the podcasts produced by Abbasida is not to tell you what to think, but we do hope to have made you think.
Speaker: Until the next episode of Rest and Recreation, thank you for listening and goodbye.
