The July 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

Amtelco

2012 ATSI Convention

The 2012 ATSI Convention was held in Orlando, Florida, on June 13-15 at the Omni ChampionsGate. More than 200 telephone answering service professionals attended the three-day event, which featured six general sessions and twenty-four breakout sessions, along with more than twenty-seven hours of exhibit hall time, breakfast roundtable discussion groups, and the much anticipated awards ceremony. A flamingo fundraiser generated $1,200 for the NAEO Foundation and the ATSI Educational Foundation.

Vendors

There were twenty-four vendors present, several of them first-timers.

•    Alpha Omega Telecom, Inc.
•    Alston Tascom Inc.
•    Amtelco
•    Axiom Voice
•    Burton Insurance Agency, Inc.
•    CAM-X
•    Connect First
•    Creative Voice Solutions Inc
•    EasyChoice Time & Attendance
•    Hays Affinity
•    injixo, inc.
•    Interior Concepts
•    notifymd
•    Optimal Phone Interpreters
•    Professional Teledata
•    SkyStream Broadband & Voice Integration, LLC
•    Startel Corporation
•    Szeto Technologies Inc.
•    TAS Marketing
•    TAS Scheduler
•    TASbiller
•    Telescan
•    TelStrat
•    XLScheduler

Presentations and Awards

•    Beth Cooper presented the President’s Award to Dave Wenhold of Miller/Wenhold Capitol Strategies, LLC, and Tim Neville of StatCall.
•    Larry Goldenberg presented the LBA Sharing Award to Wil Porter of Ansaphone Service, Inc.
•    Beth Cooper presented the Hall of Fame Award to Doug Gregg of AnswerPro Limited and Chris Bell of MedCom Professional Services.
•    Chris Bell presented site certifications to Carolyn’s Communications and Main Line Telecommunications. Call centers earning recertification were A Better Answer, Advanced Answering by Mid-State Communications, Telelink Call Center, and Towne Answering Service.

ATSI Call Center Award of Distinction Winners

The ATSI (Association of TeleServices International) Call Center Award of Distinction program focuses on and evaluates customer relationship management (CRM), courtesy, etiquette, and proper call techniques of teleservice call center agents.

•    Alert Communications, Ventura, CA, USA
•    Answer 1 Communications, Phoenix, AZ, USA
•    Answer Quick, Louisville, TN, USA
•    Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Anaheim, CA, USA
•    Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA
•    Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Portland, ME, USA
•    Appletree Answering Service, Inc., St. Louis, MO, USA
•    Contact One Call Center, Inc., Tucson, AZ, USA
•    Focus Telecommunications, Inc., Eldersburg, MD, USA
•    Spectrum Communication Services, Inc., Brookfield, WI, USA
•    TigerTel, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
•    TigerTel, Vancouver, BC, Canada
•    Time Communications, White Bear Lake, MN, USA

ATSI Award of Excellence Winners 2012

The ATSI Award of Excellence program provides a quality control assessment of telephone answering services. Those call centers achieving an overall score of 80 percent or greater earned the ATSI Award of Excellence. The Award of Excellence is a cumulative program, with many call centers earning recognition for multiple years. In 2012, 121 telemessaging companies earned the ATSI Award of Excellence. The top ten Award of Excellence Winners for 2012 are:

•    Connections Call Center, Squamish, BC
•    Santa Cruz Answering Service, Santa Cruz, CA
•    Allgood Communications, Pueblo, CO
•    Communications Network, Inc., Muncie, IN
•    Finger Lakes Answering Service, Auburn, NY
•    Answer 1 Communications, Phoenix, AZ
•    Corporate Message Services, Inc., Savannah, GA
•    Anser Services, Green Bay, WI
•    Omni Communications, Carrollton, GA
•    Rochester Telemessaging Center, Rochester Hills, MI

This year’s 121 Award of Excellence recipients are:

One Year
Answer Plus, Inc., Clive, IA
Anserve, Inc., Butler, NJ
A Message Connection, Chattanooga, TN
AnswerPro Limited, Mission, KS
Carolyn’s Communications, Snellville, GA
Communication Business Services, Inc., Marietta, GA
Edwards Answering Service Enterprises, Inc., Vernon, CT
Network One Communications, Inc., Tampa, FL
The Perfect Answer, Inc., Madison, WI

Two Years
Alliance Communications, Orlando, FL
Advantage TeleMessaging, Inc., West Reading, PA
Bennett Telephone Answering Service, Flint, MI
TigerTel, Montreal, QC
Professional Answering Service, Inc., Mentor, OH
Range Call Center, Marquette, MI
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Houston, TX
Answer Plus, Las Vegas, NV
Answer California, El Cajon, CA
Ambs Call Center, Jackson, MI

Three Years
TigerTel, Nanaimo, BC
Business Service Center, Inc., Wausau, WI
Advanced Answering by Mid State Communications, Manchester, TN
AnswerAll, Macon, GA
QTAS, Quincy, MA
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Boston, MA
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Sacramento, CA
Answer Bay Area, Tampa, FL
Commercial Telephone Exchange, Inc., Reno, NV

Four Years
Monroe Telephone, Beaumont, TX
A-B Communications, Novato, CA
Central Communications Corp., Riverside, CA
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., San Juan, PR
Pronto Connections, Chicago, IL
Answering Service Care, Margate, FL
Secretariats, Inc., Norfolk, VA
MASCO Services, Inc., Boston, MA
Time Communications, White Bear Lake, MN
The Legacy Connection, Tuscaloosa, AL

Five Years
A Quality Answering Service, Inc., Hudson, FL
Crocker Communications, Inc., Greenfield, MA
TigerTel, London, ON
Quick Connections, Greenbelt, MD
Labell Exchange, Santa Ana, CA
Nationwide Inbound, Inc., Freeport, IL
Tel-Excel, Inc., San Diego, CA
Tele-Page, Montreal, QC
Always On Call Answering Service, LLC, Concord, NH
MedCom Professional Services Inc., New Holland, PA
The Answer Network, Roanoke, VA
Connections Call Center, Squamish, BC

Six Years
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Anaheim, CA
AnswerOne, Brooklyn, NY
Cosmopolitan Medical Communications, Phoenix, AZ
Keener Communications, Glen Allen, VA
Action Telephone Exchange, Rochester, NY
AnswerNow, Phoenix, AZ
TigerTel, Vancouver, BC
TigerTel, Oshawa, ON
IPN Messaging Center, La Porte, IN

Seven Years
Information Communications Group, Leawood, KS
Holy Redeemer Medical Messaging, Meadowbrook, PA
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., St. Louis, MO
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Pensacola, FL
Business & Professional Exchange, Inc., Beverly, MA
King Communications, Saginaw, MI
MedConnectUSA, Las Vegas, NV
The Message Center, San Antonio, TX
Santa Cruz Answering Service, Santa Cruz, CA
Allgood Communications, Pueblo, CO
All Call Communications, Georgetown, ON
Answering Advantage, Memphis, TN
Call Experts, Charleston, SC
Main Line TeleCommunications, Aston, PA
MedCom Professional Services Inc., Allentown, PA
A Better Connection Inc., Gilbert, AZ
Alphapage LLC, Denver, CO

Eight Years
AnswerTel, Athens, AL
Messages & more, Inc., Flagstaff, AZ
StatCall, Alexandria, VA
Central Communications Inc., Norwalk, CT
Extend Communications Inc., Cambridge, ON
Focus Telecommunications, Inc., Eldersburg, MD
Spectrum Communication Services, Brookfield, WI
Alert Communications, Ventura, CA
Answer Center, Virginia Beach, VA
Answer Excellence, Clearwater, FL
Communications Group, Syracuse, NY
Communications Network, Inc., Muncie, IN
Call Star, St. Petersburg, FL
Finger Lakes Answering Service, Auburn, NY

Nine Years
Personalized Communications Inc., Duncanville, TX
Port City Communications, Inc., Port Huron, MI
Contact One Call Center, Tucson, AZ
Appletree Answering Service, Inc., Portland, ME
Antietam Call Center, Hagerstown, MD
Alliance Wireless Communications, Kingston, ON
A Better Answer, Hurst, TX
Dexcomm, Carencro, LA
Extend Communications Inc., Brantford, ON
CallNet Call Center Services, Bloomington, IN
Answer 1 Communications, Phoenix, AZ

Ten Years
Berkshire Communicators, Inc., Pittsfield, MA
Corporate Message Services, Inc., Savannah, GA
TAB AnswerNetwork, Santa Ana, CA
A Better Answer, Houston, TX
Answer Quick, Louisville, TN

Eleven Years
A-Team, Newington, CT
Answer Midwest, Inc., Alton, IL
Anser Services, Green Bay, WI
Omni Communications, Carrollton, GA
Direct Line TeleResponse, Berkeley, CA

Twelve Years
Tel-Us Call Center, Beverly Hills, CA
Answer-All Secretarial Svc. Inc., Westminster, CO

Thirteen Years
T.A.S. Communications, Madison, WI

Fourteen Years
On Call Centre, Inc., Ottawa, ON
A Better Answer, Plano, TX

Fifteen Years
Hastings Communication Services, Inc., Austin, TX
Business Connections, Inc., Salem, OR
AnswerNet Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ
MedCom Professional Services Inc., Levittown, PA

Sixteen Years
Rochester Telemessaging Center, Rochester Hills, MI

TAS Trader congratulates these fine telephone answering services and all those who participated, who are striving to improve quality standards in the TAS industry.

News

Video Chat Moderation Service
AnswerNet now includes video chat moderation in their list of products and services. AnswerNet is hiring fifty agents in Santa Rosa, California, to staff its first video chat moderation offering. Video chat agents will act as moderators in video rooms where groups of users can talk to one another. The goal of the moderator is to ensure that there is no cyberbullying or inappropriate behavior. Gary Pudles, CEO and president of AnswerNet, said, “Our video chat moderators can provide a sense of security and an extra level of protection to anyone who wants to participate in social media but feels some hesitation about talking with new people online.”

Pat Dye Awarded Employee of the Year by NAEO
Amtelco sales engineer Pat Dye received the Amtelco Employee of the Year Award from the National Amtelco Equipment Owners (NAEO) at the 2012 NAEO Annual Conference. The award recognizes Pat for his contributions to the organization and the call center industry. As a sales engineer, Pat works with Amtelco sales representatives and customers, answering questions and advising on upgrades and new installations. Pat joined Amtelco in 1999 as an installer. He worked as a field service engineer, customer care project manager, and field service support team leader before taking on his current duties.

Amtelco Website Redesign
Amtelco has redesigned their TAS and call center website, callcenter.amtelco.com. The changes make the site more helpful to those looking for regularly updated sources of articles, newsletters, new product releases, demos, and call center solutions. Users can quickly find what they need by typing keywords into the site-wide search tool and the site’s features list (callcenter.amtelco.com/features-list). The events section on the site’s home page provides links to industry conferences and seminars. Users can communicate with other call centers by signing up as an Amtelco Facebook fan to post recommendations, exchange ideas, share success stories, and keep informed of latest news and information.

AnswerNet Honored as One of the Best-Run Companies in Philly Area
AnswerNet has been selected as one of the “100 Best-Run Companies” by SmartCEO magazine. The winners of this award are selected by editors and writers who deal with hundreds of companies along the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern corridor. “This honor celebrates the dedication of the entire AnswerNet family to building AnswerNet into a company that is sustainable, profitable, and a great place to work,” said Gary Pudles, president and CEO of AnswerNet. “With each challenge, we’ve learned and grown together to become stronger leaders and better managers.”

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[Posted by Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD for TAS Trader.]