The Highest Quality Telephone Answering Service in the United States

Centratel

Telephone Answering Service

FAQ

Updated August, 2024

HOW IS CENTRATEL DIFFERENT?

The quality of service we offer is unmatched. Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (April through June, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,491 message transactions processed. Following are four reasons why we are able to maintain this level of service quality:

First: Whichever answering service you choose, the fact is that your calls will be handled by a human being and the quality of service will be 100% dependent on that individual’s training, attitude and comportment. At Centratel, Telephone Service Representative (TSR) wages/benefits are substantially higher than competing answering services nationwide, thus ensuring low turnover and top-quality performance from long-term, career employees. (And, intensely monitored and reviewed, individual TSRs earn up to an additional 40% bonus each month based on their individual performance).

Second: Centratel operates with a focused concentration on a limited number of special business categories. The classic telephone answering service caters to every business and professional category and the end result is lower quality answering service for all clients as TSRs attempt to meet the needs of an endless array of business and professional client demands. At Centratel, the goal is to meet the exact needs of a limited range of clients. One of the specialties is medical telephone answering service in which there is simply no room for error. The special protocols necessary to handle medical answering service emergencies are standard protocols for our other vertical specialties.

Third: At Centratel, the necessary 100% digital answering service computer/telephone answering systems are the most sophisticated and user-friendly available. A qualified IT engineer—one of several on our IT team—is on-call 24/7/365.

Fourth: Unusual for this industry, the operation of the company is intensely strategically driven, based on documented procedures for every facet of the operation (it is hard to believe, but within this industry, few answering services take the time to comprehensively document their internal procedures). This aspect of the business is fully detailed in Centratel President and owner Sam Carpenter’s book, Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less , now in its fifth edition (AUGUST 2024). Call us and we’ll send you a hardcover copy, gratis. (And note: in late August 2024 the thoroughly updated 5th edition will be released.)

THE HIGHEST QUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES? WHO SAYS?

There are four measures that can be used to surmise an answering service’s quality.

  1. The ultimate measure of quality: The “Client Reported Error Rate.” Remember that 24/7/365 answering service call processing is performed by humans and humans make errors! The question is, how many errors are made? The Client Reported Error Rate is simple to calculate. Every three months, we take the total number of messages processed and divide this total by the number of client reported errors reported in that same time period. Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (April through June, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,491 message transactions processed. For 99.9% of all answering services, this is a level of accuracy that is simply not obtainable.
  2. Average client longevity. We calculate this yearly. Examining our current client base, we find the average client has been with us six years and six months. This is significant when one considers that eighty percent of small businesses fail within any given five-year period.
  3. Average telephone service representative (TSR) longevity. TSRs (or “agents” or “operators”) are the people who answer and process incoming calls, and for this reason, they are the heart of any answering service. Elsewhere in the industry, TSR turnover is a very large problem and is why the industry suffers a reputation for less-than-optimal quality (long hold times, inaccurate messages, failure to follow client instructions, etc.). At Centratel we take over 100 applications for each TSR we hire. We don’t hire part-time people, and we drug test frequently. We only hire individuals with previous call center/Answering service experience. There are many “hoops” the Centratel TSR applicant must negotiate, and the end result is a staff of highly professional, highly-paid career TSRs. We have a tough time finding people who meet our requirements but once we find them, they stay a long time. Our current average longevity for tenured TSRs is over seven years with more than a few beyond the twenty-year mark. Our eight-person management staff has been with the company for an average of over 15 years, with none having a tenure under 12 years. Every single one of our managers, including the owner, Sam Carpenter, has had extensive “on-the-phone” answering experience.
  4. TSR compensation. At Centratel, TSR pay rate and benefits are significantly higher than the competition. Employee benefits such as health insurance, IRA, PTO, bonuses etc. are in addition to these hourly rates. Up to 40% of TSR pay is based on individual performance. Many answering services pay minimum wage and offer no benefits.

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF CENTRATEL?

The outgrowth of a traditional local “mom and pop” telephone answering service created in the early 60’s, Centratel has developed into an advanced-technology, vertical market-specific answering service with clients throughout the United States and Canada. Headquarters are in Bend, Oregon. The company has been under Sam Carpenter’s primary ownership since its incorporation in 1984. On December 1, 2024 Centratel celebrated its 40th anniversary. Despite the “slow and then sudden” decline in the answering service industry, we have consistently experienced dramatic growth, even through the COVID years. See the essay, “About The Industry.”

WHAT IS THE BASIS FOR CENTRATEL DEVELOPMENT?

With a history of industry innovation and leadership, our Strategic Objective is based on:

  1. A foundation hinged on impeccable staff performance through written documentation and procedures, intense training and testing, and a generous pay-by-performance employee compensation and benefits package.
  2. Cutting-edge technical answering service innovation and state-of-the-art digital equipment.
  3. Constant system improvement especially based on observed TSR performance and especially client feedback.

For comprehensive details on Centratel’s operation, read the book Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less , just released in its 5th edition (August 2024), written by Centratel founder, President, and majority shareholder Sam Carpenter. If you inquire about service with us, we’ll send you a hard copy of the book at no cost or obligation.

WHAT ARE MY BASIC CHOICES FOR ANSWERING SERVICE?

Ninety-five percent of our clients use “traditional live” answering service in which our TSRs (Telephone Service Representatives) directly answer each incoming call. Of course, this is critical for companies that are selling a product or service. The other 5% of Centratel customers use “Gold Service” in which the call is answered initially by an automated, voice mail greeting (this is NOT artificial intelligence). The greeting provides basic information (i.e. office hours or directions to the client’s office), and the caller is then given a chance to leave a message in his or her own voice. But the caller is also given the option of reaching a Centratel TSR for emergency on-call dispatching. Gold service is approximately 20-30% less expensive and is the usual choice for medical and veterinary offices. Whichever protocol you choose, your account will be customized exactly to fill your needs. Centratel telephone answering service is active 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, including holidays.

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT MY BUSINESS?

There is a good chance that we are intimately knowledgeable about your business or professional office, as we specialize in only a limited number of business categories. For these business operations, we are expert.

WHAT DETERMINES A HIGH QUALITY OF ANSWERING SERVICE FOR MY CALLERS?

A highly dedicated, paid-by-performance, drug-free, long-term staff that is constantly monitored is the simple, key element in providing superb quality telephone answering service. Each Telephone Service Representative is a career professional. They have to be: Much of their time is spent as emergency call support personnel, handling an enormous array of situations, including medical emergencies. (We serve hundreds of medical offices nationwide). Other times, our TSRs provide on-call dispatching service and sometimes we provide overflow answering service. And, many of our accounts use us as their “front office,” as we substitute for the client’s on-premise staff, often also acting as their after-hours receptionist. At Centratel, pay rates/benefits are higher than 98% of competing telephone answering services in the United States. As a result, staff turnover is low and dedication is high. The caller is treated in a courteous, professional manner and leaves the line confident that the message will be delivered. Names and numbers are correct, messages are complete. The caliber of service is “front office.” This is quality so high that, unless we inform them otherwise, callers assume we are not an answering service at all, but that our TSR is actually part of the account’s actual physical office staff.

ARE CENTRATEL TELEPHONE SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES QUALIFIED?

To ensure quality answering service, a stable staff is essential. For this industry, Centratel Telephone Service Representatives receive the highest rates of compensation in the United States. The average length of service for staff members is over six years which is a unique statistic for an industry traditionally plagued by employee turnover. Training and monitoring of the Telephone Service Representative is constant with the goal of near zero-defect performance. Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (April through June, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,491 message transactions processed. And becoming a Centratel TSR is not easy.

DOES CENTRATEL USE THE TOOLS AND PROCESSES THAT IT SELLS TO ITS CLIENTS?

Yes! Internally, we face the same business challenges as our clients, and we use the same tools and protocols to operate our own internal and external communications. Many of the products we offer were born out of our own internal necessity.

ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY: WHY IS THAT IMPORTANT?

Our technology is more advanced than the huge majority of answering services in the US and Canada. This means solid reliability, superior voice quality, numerous options for clients and a more flexible, user-friendly operating system for our Telephone Service Representatives. Our philosophy is this: In order to provide superior answering service to our clients, the people who handle your calls must come first. Therefore, it follows that we must provide them with the best answering service tools available.

I AM MANY MILES FROM CENTRATEL – WHAT ABOUT ANSWERING SERVICE RELIABILITY?

The switched telephone network in the United States and Canada is incredibly reliable. And, long-distance rates, absorbed by Centratel, are at historic lows. Since the year 2000 it has been common for a business or professional office in one state to use a telephone answering service located in a distant state. Telephone conversations and data travel at light speed. There are no delays: The distance between the client and the answering service simply does not matter. The highest quality telephone answering service available anywhere is right here at Centratel, at your doorstep.

IS THERE A LONG-TERM COMMITMENT FOR ANSWERING SERVICE?

Service is on a month-to-month basis. We don’t ask for long-term contracts. This is a philosophical issue. If your telephone answering service is a good value for you, you will choose to continue each month. If it doesn’t work for you, then you are free to cease using it. We have numerous clients who have worked with this month-to-month arrangement for nearly forty years.

HOW WILL MY BUSINESS CALLS REACH THE ANSWERING SERVICE?

Through various telephone company call-forwarding switching features. By dialing a special code on your keypad or simply by pressing a button on your internal telephone system, your incoming calls are routed to Centratel. When you are ready to take your own calls again, the system can be instantly de-programmed. Other options include routing your calls to the telephone answering service only after a given number of rings or if your lines are busy. Also, for some businesses, direct toll-free service which altogether bypasses the client’s office is a popular option.

WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE ANSWERING SERVICE?

Kendra is our Director of Operations and she is ready to talk to you about any operational questions or concerns you may have. Our regular office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm PST (5am to 2pm EST) You may call Kendra at our main office telephone number (1-800-639-1818) or email her at [email protected].

HOW DO I PICK UP MY ROUTINE MESSAGES?

Message delivery options include voice mail, fax, alpha-numeric page, text-to-cell phone, email , etc. Various combinations are possible. Electronic message delivery is at no-charge.

WHAT MAKES CENTRATEL URGENT MESSAGE DELIVERY “NEAR ZERO-DEFECT” RELIABLE?

Medical telephone answering service sets the standard for quality in all nine of our business specialties. If there is an emergency situation, our TSR (Telephone Service Representative) will choose the client’s “E relay” in which they will follow a series of 1-2-3 steps to reach on-call personell directly. The E-relay is custom-designed for the individual account. For instance, the first step might be send the on-call person a text message to his or her cell phone. If there is no response within 15 minutes, the second step may be to try that individual’s cell number directly, a third step might be to send a page to another member of your staff. The fourth step may be to call that person’s home number, etc. In any case, the relay sequence/protocol is up to you and can be adjusted any time. With E-relays, our TSRs will tenaciously follow client instructions until the g the message has been delivered. If there should ever be a glitch in delivering a message, we work with the client to instantly change the message relay format to one that works perfectly every time.

WHO DO I CALL IF I HAVE A QUESTION REGARDING MY ANSWERING SERVICE?

Operational questions are handled by an operations department supervisor, one of whom is always available. And, in order to keep your account information up to date, you will be contacted regularly by one of our customer service representatives.