Success in the Information Age
If you haven’t figured it out yet, we are living in the age of information. Sometimes, it’s the age of “way too much information”. If you are anything like most of us out here in the business world, you start your day with a deluge of emails, a stack of mail, and (for many) a voicemail box overflowing with messages. Oh, but wait… if you use us, chances are you don’t have to have a voicemail box full of voicemails…. we’re here to help!
The thing is that yes, as the world of information moves faster and faster, it becomes necessary to have a plan with how to deal with all of this information. Take a peek at this great “infographic” from Mindjet.com. If you notice, several of the solutions are something that we can help you with!
Mindjet.com
- Thank you to Mindjet.com for this fabulous illustration!
Proud of the Pleasant Hill Baseball Association
Direct Line TeleResponse is proud to be a sponsor of the Pleasant Hill Baseball Association, an organization that thinks of others in their time of need. It was devastating news for the Union City Softball Association who discovered their equipment storage sheds were broken into and robbed over this past weekend. Because of this thoughtless act by thieves, the youth in Union City California almost didn’t have a season.
Fortunately the Pleasant Hill Baseball/Softball Association, (PHBA) when they heard stepped up to the plate, literally. The PHBA pulled together their resources and donated 15 teams worth of gear to the Union City Softball Association so that they may start their 2012 season without interruption. Great job PHBA, and we at Direct Line are very proud to be associated with such an amazing program who thinks of the kids and shares the wealth. Play Ball!
*Direct Line Teleresponse is sponsoring a boys baseball team this year! Stay tuned for updates on our little Pleasant Hill Cardinals!
Gearing Up For a Happy New Year
The holidays between Thanksgiving and New Years Day are always a buzz in our offices here at Direct Line TeleResponse.In addition to covering for holiday closures, we start a new campaign to keep us focused on our number one goal, excellent customer service. We are proud to participate in both the ATSI (Association of Tele Services International) and Cam-X (Canadian Call Management Association) Award of Excellence programs. It’s like the Academy Awards for the answering service industry.
This year, if you wander around our offices, you will see a theme of excellence. We go all out with decorations, contests, awards, and of course we like to keep it fun!
Of course (as always) the goal is excellent customer service for our customers. The result we treasure the most are the kudos we receive from you.
“‘You sound so professional, I really honor having a good admin” ~ Amy M.
“Thank you, again, for superior service” ~ Angela X.
“We have been pleased with Direct Line’s service to the point that I now refer them to others myself!” ~ Joanne L.
“I keep hearing about how ‘awesome’ my receptionist is, they are shocked when I tell them it’s my answering service” ~ Rachelle G.
The best compliment of all, is serving you!
Thank you so much for your business, and we wish you a Happy New Year!
Happy Thanksgiving
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~Melody Beattie
On this Thanksgiving Day, we thank each and every one of you, our clients, our staff, our partners, our friends…our Direct Line Family. Happy Thanksgiving to you all!
Travel For Business?
We know that many of our clients travel frequently for business, and want to be able to stay connected. Check out this great info graphic on the best airports for all of you tech-dependent business travelers, and thank you for using us to cover your phones while you are away.
Via: Online MBA News
Yes, You Can Forward Calls Remotely!
What do you do when the power goes out?
Imagine that you have an emergency situation and your power is out, your phone line is down, or maybe you just forget to forward your phone at the end of the day and don’t have enough time to head all the way back to the office. Never fear, RACF is here.
What is RACF?
RACF (Remote Access Call Forwarding) is a system that your phone company adds to your account. With the addition of this system you are able to forward your phones to any other phone (i.e. cell phone, pay phone, home phone, answering service, etc.) when your phone system or power is down. The benefit of this system is that it allows for you to keep your phone operating when it otherwise would be down. All you have to do is follow a few easy instructions and you would be able to forward your phone immediately.
Why RACF?
You never know when you will have a phone or power outage, therefore (especially for businesses) this feature is truly a “no-brainer”. When we at Direct Line TeleResponse make our current clients aware of this feature, it is amazing how many people say: ” Our power was out and we lost calls over several days. I cannot even tell you how much that outage must have cost us!” Because this feature has been so beneficial for our clients, especially in times of crisis (earthquake, flood, power outage) we have made it a point to alert all clients current and incoming about this amazing feature. It works whether you have an answering service or not, but we must say that adding on a professional, award-winning answering service can only help in these situations and of course on a daily basis to help you grow your business and keep your clients happier.
How do I get RACF?
Getting RACF is as simple as contacting your phone company and ordering the “Remote Access to Call Forwarding” feature.
Of course… if you are looking for an answering service, that is as simple as calling 888-365-2424 and asking for Greg. (He will take great care of you!)
Direct Line Wins the CAM-X Award of Excellence
Direct Line TeleResponse of Berkeley, CA has been honored with the exclusive CAM-X 2011 Award of Excellence (Pearl Award) for the sixth consecutive year. This award is presented annually by the Canadian Call Management Association, the Canadian counter-part to American TeleServices International (ATSI)
ATSI is the industry’s trade association for providers of telecommunications and call center services including telephone answering and message delivery across North America and the UK. Direct line has won the Award of Excellence through ATSI for the past 10 years.
Six years ago, Direct Line decided to seek year-round testing and monitoring of call quality and signed up for the CAM-X Award of Excellence program in addition to the US counterpart (ATSI’s Award of Excellence). Participating in these two programs allows us to have year round testing, of our agents to encourage them to consistently maintain their excellent call taking skills as they never know when they may get a graded call.
Independent judges are contracted by CAM-X to evaluate message services over a six month period. The criteria for scoring include: courtesy, response time, accuracy and overall service to their clients. If the company scores 80% or better in ALL categories, they are presented with the coveted CAM-X Award of Excellence. We scored in the t0p 15% of all participants.
About CAM-X
CAM-X is an industry trade Association representing Call Centres and Telephone Answering Service companies from coast to coast across North America who work together to share ideas, develop new technologies and network with their peers in order to continue the growth of their businesses as well as that of the industry. CAM-X members are leaders in the field offering the most progressive of solutions available in today’s call centre environment.
Celebrating 32 Years and Still Ringing: Serving You Since 1979
It was September 10, 1979 that we opened our doors as Direct Line Answering Service at Dwight and Fulton streets in Berkeley California. In the 32 years since, some things have changed (such as our location and our name), and others have remained the same (several of our long-standing customers and our owners). We are honored and privileged to have the opportunity to serve the greater San Francisco Bay Area community, as well as serving our clients around the world. Thank you for being a part of our business family, and we look forward to serving you for another 32 wonderful years and beyond.
Giving Back to the Community and the Industry
ATSI Logo
The values of being connected and participating in community are a core value at Direct Line TeleResponse. Whether performing community service or engaging in change within the telephone answering service industry, we pride ourselves in our life-long commitment to learning and sharing. As active members in ATSI (Association of Tele Services International) since our earliest days, we realize that sharing ideas and joining with other owners is a critical component to a successful business. As a matter of fact, “Learning and sharing” as a concept is so ingrained that Larry , our founder and Vice President, conceptualized the tag line which has been adopted and used by ATSI.
Industry Service
Decades long members and active participants in the industry’s association and user groups, our executive staff has an extensive history of service within the industry. From Larry’s recently completed presidency of ATSI to consistent executive staff participation in International, National, Regional, and User-Group committees, Direct Line gives back.
- Larry Goldenberg – Former President ATSI, Former President California Association, multiple ATSI and User Group committees and ATSI board service.
- Ruth Goldenberg – Active ATSI and User Group committee participation
- Ken Goldenberg – Former Pinnacle User Group President, ATSI board service, and multiple ATSI and User Group committees
All three are very well known in the industry community, and their contributions have helped many over the years. Direct Line TeleResponse as whole is a highly respected and award winning service, recognized for their willingness to contribute to the growth and future of the industry as a whole.
Photo Credit: Matt Kilgensmith
Community Service
While service within their industry is a part of what makes Direct Line TeleResponse successful, it is also a company core value to give back and do projects for the community. When opportunities present themselves to do service to their community, Direct Line TeleResponse goes into action.
Ruth actively works in a local school district to help elementary aged school children to read, and actively participates in several community organizations. Larry is a long standing member , former Assistant District Governor, and former president of the local Rotary Club. Through this association he has had many opportunities over the years to do philanthropic service such as giving dictionaries to local school children, construction projects in Chacala Mexico, and the refurbishment a high school in New Orleans after the Katrina disaster.
Coincidentally, during the horrible disaster of Katrina we were able to bring our community service and our industry participation together to accomplish a tremendous task for the American Red Cross.
Photo Credit: Publik 15
Answering The Call: A Special Opportunity To Give
As a proud answering service consortium member, we were tapped to assist the American Red Cross to accept donations from across the nation (and the world) after Hurricane Katrina. As you are well aware, the need was tremendous and the generosity of the community response was unprecidented. The call volume was going to be tremendous, resources were limited, and there really was no time to hire additional staff to take the calls. Knowing this, Larry called upon his Rotary club members to spring into action, and they responded. Rotarians contributed their time to take calls and accept donations. As a part of this effort, we in collaboration with the Rotary Club were able to donate an additional $2,500 to the American Red Cross.
A unique and rewarding experience for the Rotarian volunteers and Direct Line staff , all were humbled by the outpouring of donations of all sizes from across the nation. At a recent meeting of local Rotary past presidents, a retired cardiologist remembered a touching call he got from an 8 year old girl who called to donate $5. As the call with the 8 year old was coming to a close, the young girl said “I am going increase that donation to $8”. This treasured memory is just one of many from the Direct Line tradition of giving back.