A quality call center or answering service can be a valuable part of your team.

Keep your call center informed just as you would any other member of your team. Let us know when employees change roles, update their contact information, or leave the company.

Consider the following questions when comparing answering services.

Monthly Billing vs. 28-Day Billing

We bill monthly, with 12 billing periods per year. A 28-day billing cycle creates 13 billing periods annually. Compare the total annual cost, rather than the cost of a single billing period.

Ask how a provider defines a message unit and how many units are charged for each call. One call may generate several billable units. For example, a business receiving 350–400 calls per month could be billed for more than 1,000 units if each call uses two to four units.

Ask how a provider rounds call time. Rounding to the next tenth of a minute uses six-second increments and adds an average of three seconds per timed operation. Rounding to the next full minute can produce a substantially different bill.

We require 30 days’ notice to cancel and do not require annual contracts or automatic renewals. Our clients can continue using our services based on their needs and the quality of the service they receive.

Training, compensation, benefits, working conditions, and staff retention all contribute to service quality. Our average full-time employee tenure exceeds 13 years, and our average client relationship exceeds 11 years. Clients may cancel with 30 days’ written notice, without a long-term contract.

Our equipment room is separated from the rest of the building by concrete walls. The operator area has a 10-foot ceiling, sound-absorbing ceiling tiles, and acoustic wall panels to reduce background noise and support clear communication.

Restrooms, kitchen facilities, and vending equipment are located near the operator area, helping staff remain close to their workstations.

Remote operator stations allow us to work independently of the rest of the building and respond to disruptions such as snow and ice storms.

Facility design and backup capabilities directly affect service reliability. During severe storms in 2006, we helped businesses maintain communications despite power outages lasting three to seven days.

Our office is approximately 600 feet from the substation serving Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital, with more than 400 feet of our power feed underground. Substation feeds use metal transmission towers and are less than a mile from a distribution station. A permanent automatic-transfer generator, a 1,000-gallon propane tank, and a double-conversion UPS provide backup power.