It Only Takes ONE to Make a Call Center

It was a nice on-site visit. We'd been graciously invited, by a Senior Vice-President, to come for a tour and discuss what our group might be able to do to help this fledgling company as they experienced a period of explosive growth. As the tour wound up we retreated to the V.P.'s office.

"You have a very nice call center here," I observed.

"Oh, we're NOT a call center!" was the sharp, vehement response.

Hmmmmm. Forty people in a network of cubes primarily employed to sit, answer the phone and take anywhere between 50 and 100 orders a day. Another team of people employed to sit and answer 40-80 customer service calls each day. "You're NOT a call center?"

Believe it or not, this is actually a common response. People hear "call center" and they envision a cavernous, dark call floor with huddled masses crammed into sweat shop conditions cranking out calls 24/7/365. If that's your definition of a call center, no wonder you have no desire to link your little operation to such a term. Yet, I would argue the definition of "call center" is more expansive. In fact, if you've got one person whose primary function is to answer the phone, talk to customers, take orders or provide service/support - you're running a call center.

Currently, our "largest" client operates upwards of 25 call centers across the country (more internationally), employing hundreds and hundreds of CSRs. Our "smallest" client has two people in one rural office office taking phone orders (We used to have a client with two CSRs, but they experienced 100% growth - they now have four!).

My point is, call centers of all shapes and sizes deal with surprisingly similar challenges when it comes to keeping up with incoming calls, satisfying customers, and measuring the quality of service that's being delivered.

Related Post: The Secret of This Team's Success

Photo on Flickr by americanlibraries

Comments

[Outsource Call Center]

Using a call center or an answering service provides stress relief and helps your business deal with your clients and business partners in a more professional manner.