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by Tony Zito, Answer Quick Telecommunications - January 27, 2010

Hiring the Right Call Center Is An Investment, Not An Expense by Tony Zito, Answer Quick Telecommunications

In today’s unstable economic times just about all business owners are looking for ways to increase profit. Even businesses that are still thriving, having the right business affiliations are critical.

But for those who are running slimmer profit margins than ever have a greater need for spending their dollars wisely.

This article highlights some features that a good call center will offer. And some common questions that business owners have as they inquire about call center services.

Studies have shown that up to 70% of first time callers who call a business for their first time who receive a voicemail or answering machine will hang up and call the competition. Therefore having a live person answer your phones 24-7-365 is essential to capture every new customer that you can and reduce the amount of hang ups!

As you will probably agree it isn’t cheap or easy to acquire new customers today, no matter what business you’re in! So having a cost effective system in place such as a call center will likely increase your bottom line.

Here are some things that managers and business owners want to know before they hire a call center.

How long have they been in business? This is important to know due to the complexity of managing a call center. Experience is one sure way to insure that your calls will be answered and your instructions will be followed to the tee!

What is the turnover rate? If the call center has a high turnover rate there is a good chance that your calls won’t be handled properly because the operators will have to be trained repeatedly!

What exactly are your charges? There two parts to the billing structure with call center pricing. 1. The set up fee, this fee ranges from call center to call center and is determined by the complexity of your needs. Things such as scripting, and call volume will determine the set up fee. The prices range from no set up fee to several thousands of dollars.

2. The calls are billed per minute based on the complexity of your account. There will usually be a different charge for simple message taking, compared to taking orders and performing customer service activities that a contact center would do.


How do you do your billing to the second or minute? Some call centers bill to the second and some round up to the next minute. Billing to the second is self explanatory; this means if a call lasts 2 minutes and 3 seconds that is exactly what you’re billed for. On the other hand if a call is 2 minutes and 3 seconds with billing that is rounded up you would be billed for a three minute call.

How do you handle power outages? If you take one of the most important reasons that most businesses use a call center, to have their calls answered 24-7-365. A four hour power outage could cost the business big bucks if the call center couldn’t take their calls. You will find that the more experienced call centers will have a generator system that can power their entire building for days without missing a single call!

Are your CSRs virtual or do they come to your office? There are a few different scenarios. The call center has a brick and mortar location her in the United States that the CSR’s have to come to in order to take calls. The CSR’s can work from home and log in from their computer to take calls and can be located anywhere. Or the call center call center can outsource the calls over seas!

These are some of the key questions that people are interested in knowing about hopefully these will help you in selecting the right call center for your business.


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Tony Zito
Sales and Marketing Manager
Answer Quick Telecommunications
888-766-1111 ext 160
tony.zito@AnswerQuick.com
www.AnswerQuick.com