A common question from people looking to hire a US Based Answering Service is “Where are you located?” Yet usually this isn’t the real question on their minds. They have a different concern, often several. But they don’t know how to ask it. Or they fear they might not be politically correct to voice what is on their mind.
When someone asks, “Where is your call center service located?” they actually want to find out one or more of these questions:
Do Your Agents Work From Home?
This question hints at concerns over background noise, distractions, and security. No one wants to have callers hear a barking dog or a crying baby when they call a business. Everyone who gives out his or her credit card number wants to know it is secure. People who give healthcare information over the phone want assurances it will stay confidential. Worries over these risks escalate when agents work from their homes.
Yet home-based agents are an industry trend. Some answering services work to ensure the quality and integrity of their work-at-home staff. But not all have. The safe solution is to avoid it.
Are You Based In the United States?
Many people have had bad experiences when they reach a call center in another country. One common frustration is a poor-quality connection. Calls can encounter serious delays or speech can cut out. Another issue is agents who don’t understand American culture or are hard to understand. When combined these two concerns result in acute frustration.
Does Your Staff Have Accents?
This is a hard question for many people to ask because it could imply an underlying bias. But at its core, this is a question about communication. They want to know “Will my callers be able to understand your staff?” and “Will your staff be able to understand my callers?” While everyone has an accent to some degree, for many people it is not noticeable. This is the standard that answering services should strive for, but not all do.
Do You Send Some Calls Overseas?
Some call centers have a mixture of US-based staff and overseas staff. For many their normal procedure is to send all calls overseas. If a caller requests it, the overseas agent sends the call to a US-based agent. This can also happen if severe miscommunication occurs. Other operations only have their sales team in the United States. All their agents are overseas. These scenarios result in concerns over quality service.
Ambs Call Center believes call center location matters and has 100 percent of its staff based in the United States of America. Ambs does not send calls overseas and makes every effort to hire accent neutral staff with clear diction.
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