TAS Trader
for the Telephone Answering Service Industry
Updates from TAS Trader

ASTAA Fall Conference: October 8-10, 2012

October 8-10, 2012
ASTAA Fall Conference
The Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, The Poconos, PA   
For more info: dan@callconsult.net or www.astaa.org

TeamSNUG Annual Meeting: March 3-7, 2013

March 3-7, 2013
TeamSNUG Annual Meeting
Hyatt Newport Beach, Newport Beach, CA
For more information: dan@callconsult.net or www.teamsnug.com 

Mid-State Communications Earns Certification

Mid-State Communications, LLC (dba Advanced Answering Service) has re-qualified for the Gold 24/7 Call Center Certification Award from ATSI. They originally qualified in 2008. Advanced Answering based in Manchester and Nashville, TN provides premiere telephone answering and call center services for medical, commercial and professional clients throughout the United States.

The Certification indicates that Advanced Answering 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. This certification has been awarded to less than 1% of the industry.

Read the May 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

The May issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The articles in this issue are:

Stuck Like Glue – Part Three

The Family Business: Three Deadly Sins

Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.


(TAS Trader is proudly published by Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, Peter DeHaan, editor.)

Read the April 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

The April issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The articles in this issue are:

Stuck Like Glue – Part Two
Donna West: From Industry Startup to Industry Leader
Tom Reandeau Receives the Don Berry Award of Excellence
Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.


(TAS Trader is proudly published by Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, Peter DeHaan, editor.)

Peter DeHaan Publishing Named a Constant Contact 2011 All-Star

Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, publisher of TAS Trader, received the 2011 All Star Award from Constant Contact®, providers of an email marketing platform to half a million organizations worldwide. Each year, a select group of Constant Contact customers are honored with the All Star Award for their exemplary marketing results. Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc’s results ranked them among the top ten percent of Constant Contact’s customer base.

"We are truly honored to have been recognized as an email marketing All Star for 2011. This is our second year in a row, which makes this award doubly exciting," stated Peter DeHaan, publisher of TAS Trader. "We work hard to follow and exceed industry standards and expectations with our email messages to subscribers. We strive to keep our bounce rate low and increase our open and click rates. Offering messages that are relevant, valuable, and appreciated by our subscribers helps with this. Once again, Constant Contact has seen our efforts and rewarded us as a result."

Peter DeHaan Publishing, which publishes TAS Trader, Connections Magazine, AnswerStat, and Medical Call Center News, uses email to connect with subscribers and share important information.

Read the March 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

The March issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The articles in this issue are:
Stuck Like Glue
How to Survive as a Couple in Business
2012 NAEO Conference Recap
Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.



(TAS Trader is proudly published by Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, Peter DeHaan, editor.)

STA Annual Meeting: November 4-7, 2012

November 4-7, 2012
STA Annual Meeting
Hotel Swan & Dolphin - Disney, Orlando
For more information: dan@callconsult.net or www.dexcomm.com/sta.

STA Supervisor Educational Cruise: September 13-17, 2012

September 13-17, 2012
STA Supervisor Educational Cruise
Carnival, departing New Orleans
For more information: dan@callconsult.net or www.dexcomm.com/sta.

TUNe Annual Meeting: September 9-12, 2012

September 9-12, 2012
TUNe Annual Meeting
AmeriStar Hotel & Casino ~ St Charles, MO
For more information: dan@callconsult.net or www.tunegroup.net.

GLSTA Annual Sales & Marketing Meeting: October 22-24, 2012

October 22-24, 2012
GLSTA Annual Sales & Marketing Meeting
Greektown Hotel & Casino, Detroit MI
For more information: dan@callconsult.net or www.gltsa.org.

Read the February 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

The February issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The article in this issue is "Certification 10 Years Later.
"

Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.



(TAS Trader is proudly published by Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, Peter DeHaan, editor.)

PInnacle Analytic Reports

Professional Teledata added PInnacle Analytics reporting to its PInnacle system. Developed by their technical support department, along with close customer involvement, the reports address many areas, including monitoring key metrics such as payroll validation of agent hours, agent adherence, abandonment rate, average speed of answer, agent utilization, and over- or understaffing.

The reports can be viewed on-screen or exported as PDF or Excel files. PInnacle and PInnacle Freedom customers can download these reports from Professional Teledata’s online forum.

Pat Kalik, president of Professional Teledata, noted, “PInnacle Analytics is an important tool to develop an efficient agent schedule based on past performance.”

FCC Mandates Paging Migration to Narrowbanding

For years, answering services have provided paging to healthcare providers and clients, but many paging systems may soon be out of compliance with the FCC’s narrowband mandate.

On January 1, 2013, all public safety and business industrial land mobile radio systems using the 150-174 and 421-512 MHz bands must cease operating with 25 kHz efficiency technology and must use at least 12.5 kHz efficiency technology.

Many hospitals use these frequencies for in-house paging. Violators will be subject to FCC enforcement action. This FCC mandate is a great opportunity for telephone answering services to introduce alternatives, such as miSecureMessages from Amtelco.

STA Webinar Series to Address Customer Service

Southern Telemessaging Association (STA) is hosting a webinar series entitled "Eight Steps to Building a Customer Service Juggernaut" presented by Jamey Hopper. The webinar series focuses on building and implementing a best-practice module for customer service. The series will air as follows:
  • Introductory: The Most Important Lesson of Customer Service, 2/28
  • Establish the Goal: Commit to Customer Service Excellence, 3/27
  • Identify the Values, 4/17
  • Build the Culture, 5/22
  • Craft the Plan, 6/26
  • Design the Systems, 7/24
  • Train for Superiority, 8/21
  • Coaching for Success, 9/18
  • Evaluate and Start Over, 10/23
All webinars will start at 2:00 p.m. CST and will last one hour.

STA members may purchase individual webinars for $20 or $149 for the series. For non-members, individual webinars are $69 each or $549 of the series. Non-members are encouraged to join STA and take advantage of the discounted rates. The introductory webinar "The Most Important Lesson of Customer Service" will be presented free of charge. Registration by February 20 will guarantee a discounted rate for the November STA conference; a single $50 credit will be awarded for registration of the series.

Contact Dan L’Heureux at dan@callconsult.net or 800-475-0857 for more information.

Answer Midwest, Inc. Voted Best Customer Service in St. Louis Metro

Answer Midwest was selected as one of the top 20 customer service providers in St. Louis by St. Louis Small Business Monthly magazine.

"Our staff earned this ranking. As a company, we are continuously improving our customer services for small businesses located in the St. Louis metropolitan area," said Gary Tedrick, president of Answer Midwest, Inc. headquartered in Alton, Ill. "Our customers know that we improve their productivity and help their business enhance their customer service at the same time."

Answer Midwest provides 24/7 live operator call handling to small and large businesses nationwide.

A Better Answer Earns Gold Call Center Re-Certification

A Better Answer, Inc. of Plano, Texas has been awarded the gold 24/7 call center certification by the Association of Teleservices International (ATSI) for the second time originally qualifying in 2009, the first in Texas. A Better Answer Call Centers (ABA), founded in 1971 by Dee Hawkins and now in its fortieth year, is an award winning bilingual telephone answering service, earning the Award of Excellence annually for the past 14 years for excellence in response time, accuracy, and courtesy as well as customer service.  This certification indicates that ABA has met or exceeded high operational standards.

Read the January 2012 Issue of TAS Trader

The January issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The articles in this issue are:

The Comcepts Story

TAS Multiples Increase in 2011

Fire That Customer

Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.


(TAS Trader is proudly published by Peter DeHaan Publishing Inc, Peter DeHaan, editor.)

Read the December 2011 Issue of TAS Trader

The December issue of TAS Trader, for the Telephone Answering Service Industry, is available online as a PDF file.

The articles in this issue are:

Navigating the Family-Owned Business

Pagers in the TAS Industry

Please tell you coworkers about TAS Trader so that they can subscribe.  You can also follow TAS Trader on Twitter and like TAS Trader on Facebook,

This email distribution of TAS Trader is made possible by 1-800 We Answer.

CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show: October 16-19, 2012

October 16-19, 2012
CAM-X 48th Annual Convention & Trade Show
Delta Ocean Pointe Resort & Spa, Victoria, BC
For more info: 800-896-1054, www.camx.ca, or linda@camx.ca