Answering Service Blog | American Inbound

Answer Indiana/ American Inbound is an inbound call center CURRENTLY looking for new employees to work in-house. I must say, I like working here and love the group of people with whom I work! Above all, we are not telemarketers. We actually help people which makes this quite a rewarding job.

If you are interested in an operator position (full or part time, day or evening), come down to 1111 North Walnut in Bloomington, Indiana between 9am and 4pm to fill out an application. Questions about where we’re located? Call us at 812-322-6445.

I just wanted to give everyone fair warning that the next registration deadline for the state of Indiana’s Telephone Privacy List will be August 19. That’s a little over a month away!

 By registering on or before this date, you can ensure that your registration will take effect on October 1, 2008. Registering after this date will mean that your registration will not take effect until January 1st, 2009-the next quarterly update.

There is no need to reregister for the Indiana Telephone Privacy List once you have registered UNLESS you change the way your telephone is billed or get a new number. Keep in mind this list is for residential telephones only (no business or cell phone numbers).

To register yourself online or verify that you are registered, CLICK HERE.

Dear Fellow Operator, 
The other day I was investigating how much answering service employers typically pay their dutiful operators. What I found was quite surprising! According to the United States Department of Labor, operators in the 10th percentile make $7.97 on average. Those in the 90th percentile make a whopping $16.40 an hour! What does an operator make on average? $11.28. Want a high paying operator job? I’d recommend moving to Washington D.C., Hawaii, Alaska, New York, and Connecticut–they have the highest paid operators in the country!
<3Jennifer

For more statistics on operator pay as well as the ones listed above, see the United States Department of Labor Statistics website.

A recent study, the Trends in Global Contact Center Outsourcing Pricing and Attrition Report, has found that the cost of providing call centers varies nationally. Among the most expensive places to run a call center (and, in turn, hire a call center) are France, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Among the cheapest-Columbia, India, and the Phillipines. The United States stands somewhere in the middle.

To read the blogpost about the report, Click here!

Although many different types of businesses can benefit from using inbound call centers, I was very surprised when I came across an article on the El Paso Times website. According to the article, even McDonald’s is using call centers…and not for what you might think! In order to improve order accuracy, 31 out of 50 McDonald’s in Hawaii use a call center to take drive through orders. One of the most difficult parts for the call center is understanding native Hawaians’ pidgin language. This just goes to show that the role of call centers is ever-evolving!

To read the full article, click here!

Scientists in Europe and the United States have found a new way to track humans comparable to the way they track animals and their movements in the wild! By looking at which towers carry an individual’s cell phone calls, scientists are able to look at the traveling habits of homo sapiens. Not surprisingly, we are a fairly boring species. The research suggests that most humans do not often roam far from home. We go to work, to the same stores, and back home again a majority of the time.

 To read more about the European research, Click Here.

To read more about Boston scientists’ research, Click Here.

A recent article at callcentrehelper.com cites a study conducted by Dimension Data. The recent study has found that customers calling an agent now wait on hold longer than they did ten years ago. The reason according to the article: human operators are being replaced by machines or the internet for simpler tasks. On the other hand, companies who have more complex customer service needs elect to use live, human operators. These more complex customer service calls take longer on average.

The study revealed that the average hold time is 39 seconds. After 45 seconds of holding, people normally end their call. That’s why its important to choose a call center that has a low hold time.

Direct link to “Ten years on, and still not listening”

Do you find that your telephone voice is not understood? I stumbled upon a linguistic student’s observations about this problem. She explains that the first two syllables in a telephone conversation are never registered, at least until the listener is aided by context. She then explains that just by saying “Hello” your voice will be recognized more easily and understood better.

Here is a link to her interesting discussion.

Working from home is a dream for many.  Not only does it free up more of an employees personal time, but it helps them and the company save money.   However, there are downsides to having remote operators.

Remote operators can have a problem with motivation as they do not have a boss directly breathing down their neck.  It is essential when hiring a remote operator, that you select someone who can be trusted to work on their own. 

Call Center Cafe has posted a great article called 7 Tips To Help You Maintain Your Discipline While Working At Home.  The suggestions offered are worthwhile to keep in mind if you answer phones from home.

The CRM Buyer has come through with another great article. They have interviewed several prominent executives in contact center solutions and service provider companies. The issue is that during an economic slump service-oriented businesses must concentrate on two things: lowering costs, and keeping customers.

If you’re interested in how the experts are dealing the slump, check out the posts here:

Software to Save the Contact Center, Part 1

Software to Save the Contact Center, Part 2