Call Center Industry News

April 2006

Fraudsters Divert Toll-Free Calls

Businesses that use toll-free numbers are being targeted by fraudsters who illegally divert calls to other locations, which then captures inbound sales calls, revenues, and customer names and data.  The Association of TeleServices International ("ATSI") has issued a fraud warning to all organizations that use toll free numbers for advertising.  ATSI has also notified the FBI.

The perpetrator calls the organization's long distance carrier, pretending to be their representative.  They claim that due to an equipment failure or emergency, their toll-free number needs to be rerouted.  Then, when the phone number is called it is answered by the fraud participants.

Additionally, the perpetrators may be able to reroute the calls further so that they could pick times of the day and week to take calls.  During other times of day, they may route calls back to a company so that it doesn't know its lines are out of its control.

ATSI suggests checking toll-free numbers regularly but at random times and days.  Create passwords or other security measures with your carrier that limit how your lines can be rerouted but won't limit your ability to deal with real emergencies.

For more information, call 866-896-2874.

Professional Teledata Releases Audio Training Tutorial 

Professional Teledata released the PInnacle Audio Tutorial (PAT).  Designed and written by teleservices and teaching specialists, the interactive audio tutorial is synchronized with a live account file on the PInnacle system for self-instruction by new agents.

The professionally recorded, 100 minute program contains hundreds of exercises divided into 12 lessons covering all agent related aspects of the PInnacle system in a step-by-step manner.  The audio program and scripted starter account will be made available at no charge to all existing PInnacle users.

Professional Teledata provides systems and software products for the telemessaging and call center industries.  

Contact Karen Black at 800-344-9944 x112 for more information.

Telescan's Geanta Earns Certification

Telescan announced that Catalin Geanta, Product Development Programmer, has been recognized as a Microsoft Certified Application Developer.  The Microsoft Certified Application Developer (MCAD) credential provides industry recognition for professional developers who build powerful applications using Microsoft Visual Studio .NET and Web services on the Microsoft .NET Framework 1.0 and Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. 

"Telescan is proud of Catalin and the others at Telescan who are Microsoft Certified Professionals," said Robert Riggs, Jr., Telescan's Director.  "The process to become certified is very rigorous and the recognition is well deserved.  Increasing the skills of our people translates into better products for our customers, which is our first priority."

In another development, Telescan announced their largest VoIP installation to date at Contact Communications, based in Vermont and New York.  Contact provides telemessaging, fire/rescue dispatch, and wireless messaging. 

"VoIP is more than a popular buzz word at Telescan," said Roger Young, President of Telescan.  "Thanks to our customers and their feedback, we have successfully formulated a VoIP solution that works and meets expectations."

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662..

Amtelco Adds New Features to Infinity V5.4

Amtelco announced several new features for the Infinity Software Version 5.4 release.  Several enhancements have been made to allow agents to answer calls with a more accurate answer phrase for every situation.  Some of these highlights include:

• Enlarged answer phrase on a new call to focus agent attention on the answer phrase.

• Dynamic answer phrase can reflect the current time of day and other changing factors.  Supervisors can program command codes into answer phrases to have the answer phrases automatically adjust.

• Dynamic perfect answer to prerecord the answer greeting that a caller hears when an agent answers a call.

• Expanded bulletin board provides supervisors with a tool to provide more information to all agents.   

• Automatic agent setup updates allows supervisors to change agent call distribution on-the-fly, without requiring the agent to log out and back in.

• Client list eliminates the need for agents to remember client numbers.

For more information on the Infinity system, call 800-356-9148, or email info@amtelco.com.

Quintum New Tenor AF VoIP Gateway

Quintum Technologies, a provider VoIP technologies, announced their new Tenor AF switch, designed for eight analog lines in both station side and trunk side configurations.  It supports up to eight simultaneous VoIP calls, has a smaller footprint than the current Tenor AS, and offers up to twice the capacity.  It has a significantly smaller footprint than the Tenor AX model.

The Tenor AF can intelligently route calls between the VoIP, a traditional PBX/analog phone, or the PSTN.  With its universal dial plan, the Tenor AF can support both public and unique dialing requirements.  It includes a new feature set that can easily be remotely managed.

Tenor AF can also be deployed as an IP-PBX branch office solution and will assure survivability with the ability to backup to the PSTN should the IP PBX network be compromised.  It is currently available, with the gateway configuration listing for $1,000 and the termination configuration, $1,240.

Shamess Twardy Joins Startel

Startel Corporation announced the addition of Shamess Twardy to their technical support team.  "I am excited to call Startel my new home and even more so the Startel Family my new family," stated Shames Twardy.  "I have been pleasantly welcomed by both the Startel Family and the SNUG Family members that I have had the pleasure of sharing this opportunity with."

"It is wonderful having Shamess Twardy on Startel's technical support team," said Sheryl Denny, Vice President of Services.  "Shamess has a true understanding of our customers needs.  His technical expertise, as well as his understanding of the applications, allowed him to jump in with both feet.  CMC users already know that Shamess is responsible for the QA on the new Dispatch Server and has been instrumental in working with R&D to quickly find outstanding issues."

Amtelco Announces New Dispatching Features

Amtelco customers have reported that by using Infinity intelligent messaging, they have greatly decreased the number of errors in the message-taking process.  The same improvement is now possible in the dispatch process by using Infinity intelligent dispatching. To increase the labor savings and accuracy of dispatching, Amtelco has added new features, including:

• Dispatch scripting: The dispatch process can now be scripted.

• Dispatch groups: Dispatch jobs can be assigned to specific groups of agents.

• Dispatch window: Agents can monitor all pending and current dispatch jobs. 

• Dispatch agents working on a job are taken into a script that controls what dispatch steps should be performed and the order they should be performed.

• Dispatch reminders can be set to remind agents to follow up after some period of time.

• Client check in: Agents will see a list of the pending dispatch jobs for the client. 

• Dispatch supervision: Supervisors can monitor and interact with dispatch jobs using the intelligent series supervisor dispatch window.

For more information on the Infinity system, call 800-356-9148, or email info@amtelco.com.

Supervisor Excellence DVD is Available

SNUG (Startel Network Users Group) has completed production of its second in a series of training DVDs: Excellence Training for Supervisors - A Professional Development Series for the Teleservices Industry.  This DVD contains four sections focusing on various areas of necessary development for new or existing supervisors including Supervisor/Agent interaction; Controlling the Call Center; Serving the Client; and Legal, Safety and Financial considerations to help protect your company.  This DVD is available for purchase at the SNUG website.

For more information, contact Dan L'Heureux at 800-317-8529, Dan@CallConsult.net,

WSTA Announces Supervisor Seminar

The Western States Telemessaging Association (WSTA) announced its Spring Supervisors Seminar, May 2 and 3 in Las Vegas, NV.  The seminar will include presentations by Donna West, Caroline Price, and Lee McAteer.

The seminar will be held in conjunction with Randy Ripkey's TASBiller training session.  Topics will include basic computer skills, tips for optimizing the performance of your computer, and extensive training on the use of TASbiller.  Presentations will include ideas for increasing revenue.

For more information, contact WSTA's Dan L'Heureux at 877-754-4103 or Dan@CallConsult.net; contact Randy Ripkey at 706-860-0868 or Ripkey@aol.com.

The CAM-X 42nd Annual Convention and Trade Show

CAM-X, The Canadian Call Management Association, is hosting their 42nd Annual Convention in Cancun, Mexico, from November 14-17, 2006.  The convention will offer the opportunity to exchange ideas, network with other industry professionals, attend industry-relevant presentations, and interact with vendors.  The focus of the conference is "How you can improve your operations: Before, During, and After the Call." 

CAM-X has negotiated a special rate with the Omni Cancun Hotel & Villas, a world-class five star resort.  The room rates range from $120 to $184 U.S. per person per day.  This is an all-inclusive rate that includes all meals, drinks, taxes, tips, and water sports.

For additional information, contact Linda Osip , Executive Director at 800-896-1054 or linda@camx.ca.

ASTAA Announces Dental Plan

In conjunction with The Affinity Group Underwriters, Inc., ASTAA (Atlantic States Telephone Answering Association) has approved a plan for members and their employees.  For a monthly fee of only $5 per individual or $8 per family, subscribers will receive discounts on major dental work. 

The plan offers a selection of dentists who agreed to perform dental work for plan members at the rate charged to a major insurance company.  This means substantial savings for the plan member.

For more information about their dental plan, call 800-718-1712.

CAM-X Announces 2006 Coaching Clinics

CAM-X (Canadian Call Management Association), announced the program for the 2006 Call Centre Coaching Clinics.  The annual regional seminars will be held at the Quality Suites in Toronto, ON April 21-22 and at the Greenwood Inn in Calgary, AB May 5-6, 2006.

The CAM-X Continuing Education Committee is committed to hosting an inspiring, thought-provoking and extraordinary conference.  The conference is targeted to call center managers, supervisors and team leaders.  A partial list of topics include: finding staff in a competitive market; best practices in screening new hires; training, bonus and incentive programs; conflict resolution, and dealing with change.

For any additional information contact Linda Osip, Executive Director at 800-896-1054 or linda@camx.ca.

Aamcom Earns Gold Call Center Certification

Aamcom has earned ATSI's (Association of Teleservices International) Gold 24/7 Call Center Certification Award for the second time.  Aamcom was the first to be certified for the Amtelco Infinity platform and the NAEO Users Group in 2003.  The certification indicates that Aamcom has met or exceeded high standards in the following areas: business practices; life safety; operations, including normal and emergency procedures; personnel hiring; training and ongoing evaluations through a peer review program focusing on 99.9% annual run time.

InfoCision CEO and Employee of the Year Announced

InfoCision Management Corporation announced that Carl Albright is now the company's president and chief executive officer.  Albright was named company president in May 2004.  InfoCision Founder and Chairman Gary Taylor made the latest announcement to underscore his confidence in Albright.  Albright, who started with InfoCision in 1991, now has complete authority for the ongoing operational decision-making.  Under Albright's leadership, InfoCision revenues have climbed and six new call centers, which created about 750 new jobs, have been added.

Additionally, InfoCision's Senior Vice President Ken Dawson was named the company's employee of the year.  Dawson received the Carol J. Byrd Award, which is considered the company's highest employee honor.

AnswerNet Network Offers Chinese Languages Capability

Organizations can now effectively serve their Chinese-speaking customers by outsourcing their contact handling to The AnswerNet Network, whose member TelePartners has a team of Mandarin and Cantonese-speaking agents at its Toronto, ON, Canada contact center.  Toronto has one of the largest populations of Chinese speakers in North America.

The service enables organizations to serve Chinese communities worldwide.  "China is the world's most populous nation whose emigrants have admirably retained their culture and languages," said AnswerNet President and Chief Executive Officer Gary A. Pudles.

"Adding Chinese languages capability opens up new opportunities for clients," added TelePartners President and Chief Executive Officer W. Fletcher Keating.

Andrew Leung, TelePartners' operations and IT director is a Canadian of Chinese descent and is fluent in Cantonese.  TelePartners did not take long - less than three weeks - to recruit and train sufficient qualified Mandarin and Cantonese speaking agents to handle projected call volume.