Call Center Overview

Call Center Overview

In basic terms, a call center is a physical area that is staffed with operators and serves to answer or make phone calls on behalf of a business or other organization. An overview of how and where this may occur is either:

• As a part of a larger company, where the "in house" center provides services for the other departments.
• By a professional call center company focused exclusively on providing "outsource" service for a number of companies.

Although there are many successful companies that outsource these services as well as many companies that provide them on their own, a great number of businesses have chosen to use a third party provider. This is usually a result of a combination of factors – such as the lower startup costs, specialized expertise, extensive experience, and economies of scale inherent to a reliable call center company.

An Overview of our Advanced Call Center Technology

As telecommunications continues to advance, we equip our call centers with the latest in technology so you can enjoy the highest quality services at an affordable cost. Here is a brief overview of some of our additions over the years:

• Hardware upgrades: These result in quicker response times when accessing client databases and running software packages.
• Software support: We are constantly working to support a wider range of both proprietary and off-the-shelf software used by businesses.
• Backup power systems: Our investment in backup power systems has increased over the years to support our ever-growing client base.

Beyond these investments, we have made a great number of improvements to even more basic aspects of our operations – such as ergonomic seating for operators, better quality telephone headsets, and more desk space at each operator terminal.

Overview of our Call Center Services

We are proud to offer a number of useful services for companies of all industries. Some of the services frequently provided by our call center are:

• Order Taking: Whether callers are calling to order from a product catalog or in response to an infomercial, call centers can provide order entry.
• Live Dispatch: Locksmiths, HVAC technicians, towing companies, and many other companies use call centers to dispatch their staff around the clock.
• Outsource Receptionist: Operators can function as a receptionist, patching calls to the appropriate departments or taking messages for individuals unable to answer the phone.
• Lead Capturing: Law offices, financial companies, and other businesses that run radio advertisements or direct mail campaigns use call centers to answer incoming calls, record caller information, and even pre-qualify leads.
• Appointment Setting: Service companies such as mechanics or salons frequently use live operators to set appointments for customers over the phone.

No matter which services it provides, the cornerstone of any good call center is an adequately trained staff. At Specialty Answering, we ensure that all of our operators have excellent phone skills, take accurate notes, and understand how to use various pieces of software and equipment in our facilities. We feel that by empowering our staff with extensive training, they will provide the very best in service for our customers.

Call Center Overview - Technically Speaking

You know what our call centers capabilities are and what we can do for your business. If you still want to learn more about the call center process and how your telephone calls are routed, here is a brief overview. First, understand that a call center is a system of computer systems, telephone lines, VoIP lines, information lines, and other packet networks. Within the scope of our services, our call center is setup to manage most types of inbound and outbound traffic. So how does your telephone call route to one of the call center agents and how do they know how to answer the call? Consider the following overview:

• Step 1 - Your Customer Calls Your Number: When your customer calls your office, through call forwarding, you would have your office telephone line routed to our call center to a number we provide (called a DID number). Alternatively, if you are advertising our number directly, your toll free telephone number would be pointed to that same ring to number at our call center.
• Step 2 - The Call Is Routed: The telephone company that provides your phone service or the toll free provider routes the phone call through their public telephone network to the PBX at the call center (also called private automatic branch exchange).
• Step 3 - Call Center Software Identifies The Call: When your telephone call is connected to the PBX through the dedicated ring to number, the software tells the system how the call should be handled. For instance, if you require automated attendant, the call is routed to an IVR system, if you are a live operator customer, the call is routed to the ACD (automatic call distributor) which routed your call to the first available operator in the queue or the operators best equipped to handle your.
• Step 4 - Answering The Call: When the ACD routes your call to the operator, the operators screen shows all relevant information about the call including how to answer the phone, what information you need taken from the caller, your protocol, etc. The customer is identified and the call is managed through a series of screen pops and outlines that our operators are trained to handle.

Specialty Answering Service's call center services are a combination of advancements in call center technology and employees who care about this company and your company. We have developed a superior call center system for your business. If you have any other questions about our call center or would like a more in depth call center overview, please call us at 1-888-532-4794.