Chapter 7: Better Phones; Quality Sound

Call Centers: Automatic Call Distributors

Virtually all of these call centers use the power of the telephone with some sort of system that answers incoming calls, plays an appropriate message, offers the caller a series of options, queues each call and forwards it intelligently to the next appropriate agent. Generically, these systems are known as automatic call distributors (ACDs), and today more and more of them are incorporating the exceptional responsiveness and control offered by ISDN.

Almost always, call center systems include a computer that contains appropriate sales, service or product records. ISDN opens the path to simple and almost seamless integration of this data into the call-center system. It offers:

Information about the caller. The D channel carries complete Call ID information for an incoming call, which can be sent directly to the computer to access the caller's record or other information - and deliver it automatically to the correct agent's screen. Several ISDN-equipped call centers report that Call ID cuts some 15 to 45 seconds from the typical call. The results: better service, more calls handled by each agent, lower phone bills, happier customers. When the Call ID is not available, the system can also prompt for an account number or similar data.

Greatly simplified wiring. A single ISDN connection can carry voice calls to two separate agents through its two B channels, while computer records travel to and from both agents through the D channel.

Better call routing. The power of the D channel also lets the call center system automatically forward calls to virtually any agent in any location, including those working at home.

The design of these ACD systems varies widely with the size and physical distribution of the call center itself, the maximum number of agents to be served at any given time, and the number of calls to be received.

On-site systems range from small PC systems designed to serve ten to twelve agents to large mainframe systems handling thousands of calls and hundreds of agents.

Intellipath-based systems use a NYNEX central office digital switch equipped for ACD applications. These systems tap the enormous power of today's digital telephone switches and offer exceptional flexibility for future growth.

Distributed Call Centers can literally direct and shape the nation's public switched telephone network through the D channel. In effect, they turn the network itself into a powerful worldwide virtual automatic call optimizer by forwarding calls directly to any agent, in any office, anywhere in the world.