 What is Call Center?

Telephone service facility set up to handle a large number of (usually)

both inbound and outbound calls. Some firms, however, specialize only in calls that
are inbound (for assistance, help, or ordering) or outbound (for salespromotion or
other messages). Most telephone orders are handled by call centers and not by
the manufacturers orsuppliers of goods or services.

 Kinds of Call Center & Explanation

Virtual Call Centers - also known as home call centers, these call centers are one-person operations inside someone's
home. Learn more on starting a virtual call center.
Inbound Call Centers - Some call centers only take inbound calls; these call centers tend to focus on customer service.
Outbound Call Centers - Some call centers (sometimes called telemarketing centers) make outgoing calls only; these
tend to be sales-oriented operations.

There are different types of call centers, namely, inbound call centers, outbound
call centers, web enabled call centers, CRM call centers, telemarketing call centers
and telephone call centers.

Inbound call centers aid to handle calls coming from outside, mostly through toll free
numbers. The services of inbound call centers are designed to handle catalog orders,
and desk queries. They also incorporate customer care services, predict customer
behavior and take action while the customers are still on the line. Inbound call
centers employ teams of live operators, account representatives and program
managers.

The success of outbound call centers depends on their extensive experience,

technological solutions, quality assurance programs and commitment to customer
service excellence. They ensure maximum results from direct marketing efforts. The
integrated call management systems in outbound call centers systematically direct
calls to consumers and transfer successful connections to a selected marketing
representative (MR).

The use of web-enabled call centers are also on the increase these days. Web
enabled call centers can fetch answers to questions or resolve customer service
issues without having to disconnect from the Internet. A web enabled call center
improves e-commerce initiatives by offering high quality customer service.

Telephone call centers offer flexible call routing and predictive dialing systems.
Utilizing advanced telephony and Internet technology, the customer service
representatives (CSR's) at the phone call centers provide accurate and timely
information for the most complex inbound or outbound programs. Phone call centers
offer personalized call management by a team of professional operators who
personally know about the client and his business.
  Advantages & Disadvantages of transacting business thru phone.

Advantages: We are able to contact any person at any time because of this it is much faster than
the older methods of writing a letter. As it is electronic it wont take your much of money nor will it
waste your time and message will get across in time. Talking of cell phone its far too better than a
telephone or rather call a landline because you can carry a cell phone you can call and receive
phone calls wherever you are irrespective of time , place and so on.

The main advantages of telephone communication within a business is improved communication

with both fellow employees and customers or potential customers. The telephone is a vital tool for
sales orginizations and is invaluable.

Disadvantages: Disadvantages

1. Scams - There are many disadvantages associated with . And scam is one of the biggest
case. If you have not been duped by a phone fraudster before you must have heard about it
either from neighbor, colleagues, T.V, posters or internet. A recent survey reveals that over
40% of the victims of phone fraud prefer to lick their wounds rather than report to the
necessary security agencies.

2. Information Overload - Is another disadvantage of the phone. There is lots of information

that could be misleading. The best way to identify if you have the right information is to
compare and contrast the information you have at hand. If you find that all the information
you have tallies then you could be at the right source.

3. Over Hyped Product - Many products you find on the internet today are over hyped, all in
the name of trying to sell their products. The best way to handle this is to ask for a review
from the merchant you are planning on dealing with.

Another difficulty, although it is certainly not exactly the fault of telephone technology, is that
different time zones across many countries and around the world complicate long-distance
conversations. Today, very few organizations are strictly local. Suppliers, customers or clients,
and business partners can be virtually anywhere on the planet these days, so those placing calls
need to be familiar with differences in time between the place where the call originates and the
location of its destination.

Another disadvantage of the telephone is that, unless the individuals have previously made
arrangements to converse at a specific time, the receiver may find the timing of the call
awkward. Telephone calls are often inconvenient for the receivers, who were probably already
busy doing something when their phones ring.

An additional problem is that receivers may not always be easy to reach, which can result in
what has become known as telephone tag. In telephone tag, Person A calls Person B, who is
not in or otherwise not able to take the call. Person A leaves a message (with a secretary, on
an answering machine, or by voice mail). Person B eventually returns the call, but Person A is
not available. Person B leaves a message. Person A calls back, but Person B is no longer
available. Telephone tag can be inconvenient, time consuming, and expensive. Recently, a
variety of technologies, including voice mailand pagers have been developed to help improve
telephone-based communication.
Voice mail has not eliminated the problem of telephone tag, however. While it permits leaving
longer messages than are possible with typical home answering machines, most voice mail
messages still require additional communication, so individuals may end up exchanging a series
of recorded messages which could have been handled more quickly and with less effort by
email.