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!
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.
Every 60 Seconds…
It is no wonder we all feel so busy. We can help you keep up using a combination of our professional staff and our up-to-date technology to ensure your customers and clients are well taken care of. Let us handle your calls, and you can get back to handling the rest of your busy day.
Outstanding Service Earns National Award: Direct Line TeleResponse wins ATSI Award of Excellence
Direct Line TeleResponse of Berkeley, CA has been honored with the exclusive ATSI 2011 Award of Excellence for thetenth consecutive year. This award is presented annually by the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI), 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 TeleResponse was presented with the award at ATSI’s 2011 Annual Convention held at the Grand Hyatt, SanAntonio, TX.
- The ATSI Diamond Award
Independent judges are contracted by ATSI 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 ATSI Award of Excellence. We scored in the t0p 10% of all participants (Top 15 participants of 154).
“ATSI prides itself in agent training through many mediums. The AWARD OF EXCELLENCE is one of the most rewarding. This ‘secret caller’ program is an intense program extending throughout the year with test calls being made to registered participants and handled by random agents’, says ATSI President Michael Fultz. ”If a company qualifies for the AWARD OF EXCELLENCE they have set the bar for quality in the Telephone Answering Service Industry.”
Now a consecutive ten-time winner, Direct Line TeleResponse has earned the highly coveted Diamond Award. ATSI has extended its congratulations to the staff of Direct Line TeleResponse on their proven quality service to their customers.
About ATSI
The Association of TeleServices International was founded in 1942 as a national trade association representing live answering services. ATSI now encompasses companies across North America and the UK offering specialized and enhanced operator based services including: call centers, contact centers, inbound telemarketing (order entry), paging, voice messaging, emergency dispatch, fax, and internet services among others.
Certified Agents? But of course! You deserve the best!
As a part of our process to ensure excellent customer service, Direct Line Tele Response (http://www.directlineanswers.com) utilizes an agent certification process through ATSI (the Association of TeleServices International), our national trade association. The ATSI Agent Certification consists of two parts; a written exam and a verbal test administered by a representative of ATSI. It is required to get a 90% on both parts to pass and become certified.
All Direct Line Teleresponse employees participate in this process, which occurs after their first 6 months of training. All eligible Direct Line employees have passed this certification, except those who are currently in training and in the process of testing. The ATSI Agent Certification program allows us to assess all of our employees to ensure they meet nationally determined standards of excellence.
We do not have a product to sell, and we cannot hide poor customer service behind a shiny product. Our product IS our service – answering the calls of our highly prized clients; pleasantly and professionally; obtaining information accurately; determining our clients specific instructions on how to process their important information; and when called for, reaching our clients in a timely manner. That’s what our business is all about, excellent – outstanding – remarkable service!
From the ATSI Website: ATSI CSR Certification – The CSR Certification Program is designed and written for the Telephone Answering Service industry to certify and accredit their staff of Customer Service Representatives / Telephone Service Representatives. The goal of the CSR Certification Program is for your TAS / Call Center to offer your staff of CSRs a professionally prepared program where they can be tested and accredited in TAS and Customer Service skill sets using the features of the accredited TAS Platform. Successful candidates will have demonstrated excellence in three areas: completion and testing under the Interactive Training Program, successfully passing a comprehensive written examination of Call Handling skill sets, and an oral interview testing customer service issues and problem calls with a certified examiner.