In the fall of 2002 I opted to start selling baked goods at a local farmers market. Even though I was unsure about what to expect, it turned to be a huge hit. I began getting calls at home for cookies for school treats and cakes for all kinds of parties. Within three years I realized that I was getting in such a lot of business I was going to need my own store very soon.
I found an old restaurant which could easily be turned into a bakery and the grand opening came less than a month later. Business went very well in the new bakery and soon the phone was ringing off the hook. Things got so busy that at times I would take my phone off the hook just to get finished. At one point my sister in law saw me do this and immediately referred me to the call center she worked at.
I was naturally very skeptical of using a call center when I it was first suggested to me. We live in the Dallas area and there are several call centers close by; in and around the vicinity. I had heard a lot about the call centers and was not sure I wanted to involve them in my business. Whatever I had heard so far was not good. My sister in law on the other hand has been using call center services for a while now and insisted they were worth trying. According to her, I would not be disappointed in the services they could offer so I gave it a try. I have never been so glad to have listened to her.
It is funny how all you hear about some businesses is what is bad about them. When I contacted the call center I was greeted in a friendly manner. The management at the call center was quite friendly. I explained my business needs to them and asked what they would suggest. Immediately the call center manager knew how to help me.
The call center manager suggested a few wonderful call center services. They suggested that I use their customer service representatives as order takers. This would not only help me organize my projects, but also save a lot of time answering phones. Additionally the customer service representatives taking the calls could help provide feedback as to what requests were made that we did not offer. This was very helpful. Over the course of a few months I added four different items to our menu. One of these has become a best seller.
Another suggestion made was that I use the message services offered by the call center. With this feature my clients would be able to contact me even when my business was closed. If there was an emergency of any kind all that the customer must do is call the 800 number provided by the call center and leave a message. The representatives at the call center then contact me directly. This has saved an enormous amount of time and money.
In fact the services provided to me by the call center pay for them selves. I was a little intimidated when I first visited the call center and heard the charges. For my small project the initial cost was around $5000 and my hourly charge was an addition $50 per hour. This sounded like it could seriously damage my budget. I was wrong to worry. With in a month the calls I had been missing paid for the start up fee and most of the hourly fee. A month later I was making money off the service.
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