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A
B C D E F
G H I J K L
M N O P Q
R S T U V
W X Y Z Other
This
glossary was written, complied, and edited by Peter DeHaan.
If you have a word you would like defined and see added, send an email
to Peter@PeterDeHaan.com
A
Abandoned
Calls: in outbound calling, a call that is made by a predictive dialer
but is subsequently disconnected if no agent is available. In inbound
teleservices, a call where the caller hangs up before an agent answers.
AC (Alternating Current): Standard household current,
available at wall plugs and used to power most electrical devices. The most
common AC Voltage is 120, although 220/240 and 440 also exist. AC is the
opposite of DC (Direct Current).
ACD
(Automatic Call Distributor): An ACD is commonly used to route and deliver
incoming calls in call centers to agents.
Compare to a PBX and switch.
Agent:
A generic name for call center employees, encompassing both CSRs
(Customer Service Representative for inbound calls) and TSRs
(Telephone Sales Representative for outbound work).
Analog:
A signal or voltage that can vary continuously between two values.
Contrast to digital which can possess only two
states or conditions. Speech is
analog, but with modern technology, it is often converted into a digital
signal to be transmitted and switched.
ANI
(Automatic Number Identification): A telephone company service
that provides the telephone number of the calling party (and sometimes their
name) electronically to the called party while the phone is ringing.
It is a more sophisticated version of caller ID.
Answering
Service:
See Telephone Answering Service and
Telemessaging.
Area
Code Overlay: When a new area
code is assigned to the same geographic region as the existing area code(s),
which is in jeopardy of depletion. With
an overlay, no one needs to change area codes.
However, if it is not already implemented, ten-digit dialing becomes
required for all calls, even local numbers.
All new number assignments are in the new area code.
As such, ordering a second line could result in a number with a
different area code. Overlays are
not popular with most consumers, as they do not want to dial ten digits on
every call, nor remember different area codes for friends and neighbors.
Contrast to an area code split.
Area
Code Split: When the
geographic region of the area code is divided in two.
One part will keep the same area code, while the other section must
switch to a new area code, but they will retain their seven-digit number.
There is a transition period for this, called permissive dialing, in
which either the old or new area code can be dialed for the affected section.
After a time, mandatory dialing goes into effect, when any call to the
new region using the old area code will not go through.
These numbers eventually become available for reuse.
Splits are not popular with most businesses because
it requires printing new stationary and other changes, as well as
reprogramming phone systems. To
avoid repeating this process in a few years, sometimes a three-way split is
made at the same time. Contrast to
an area code overlay.
ASP:
An acronym for Application Service Provider, it refers to a company that makes
software available via the Internet. The
ASP handles maintenance, upgrades, and backups.
End users pay a fee to use the software.
Auto
Attendant: see IVR.
Automated Dialer: a
program or device that will dial phone numbers for agents (compare to
Predictive Dialer).
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B
B
Channel: In ISDN service, the B channel
is also called the bearer channel and is used for voice transmission.
In BRI-ISDN, there are two B channels, whereas
in PRI-ISDN, there are 23 B channels; all B channels
use 64 kbps of bandwidth.
BA:
See Business Associate.
Benchmarking:
a statistical standard by which a call center can measure relative
performance.
Blended
Agent: a call center agent trained and capable of handling both inbound
and outbound calls.
Blended
Center: a call center that handles both inbound and outbound work.
BPO
(Business Process Outsourcer): a company that provides various business
services to other companies, including call center services (see Teleservice
Provider).
BRI-ISDN
(Basic-Rate Interface ISDN): The simple version of ISDN that
allows for two main channels for voice, fax, or data and one data channel
(primarily for control purposes). See
ISDN; compare to PRI-ISDN.
Bridge Clip: a
small conductive metal device used to electrically connect a phone line from
one point to another. Generally, the bridge clip is used on a “split block”
and is often the “demark point” between the phone company and call center.
Removing the bridge clip allows the telephone company and customer equipment
to be disconnected from each other and isolated for troubleshooting.
Bureau:
Another name for a teleservice company or outsourcing
call center.
Business
Associate (BA): Under HIPAA,
a person or organization that performs a function or activity on behalf of a covered
entity (CE).
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C
Call
Back: A website feature that
allows a user to submit a request for an agent to call them.
Compare to the “talk-to-me” feature, which uses VoIP
to establish a phone connection over the Internet.
Call Center:
Any centralized location to which calls can be directed, answered, and
processed. However, in common
usage it also encompasses operations that may be decentralized and that
process more than calls. Contact
center is a broader term that is often substituted for call center
Call Forward-Busy Line:
a variation of call forwarding where a call will be forwarded only when the
line is busy. This is a great way to get overflow calls to the call
center. It is often used in conjunction with call forward-don’t answer.
Call Forward-Don’t
Answer: a variation of call forwarding where a call will be forwarded
only when the line is not answered after a certain number of rings. In
actuality, this is done by timing, with six seconds equaling one ring.
Therefore, if it is ordered for three rings, it will forward after eighteen
seconds, regardless of where it is in the ring cycle. Call forward-don’t
answer is a great way to send overflow calls to a call center when the
client doesn’t or can’t answer them. Also, call forward-don’t answer is
often used in conjunction with call forward-busy line or as a backup to
regular call forwarding in case the client forgets to activate it. Call
forward-don’t answer can be overridden by regular call forwarding.
Call Forwarding: a
service provided by the telephone company that allows calls received at one
number to be automatically redirected to another number, whether local or
long distance. In either case, the line with the call forwarding is charged
for the cost (if any) of rerouting the calls to the other number. When a
phone is call-forwarded, it usually rings at the main location to indicate
that it is being forwarded, but it cannot be answered. When call forwarding
has been activated, calls can still be placed from that phone.
Caller ID: the caller’s phone number and possibly name (compare to
ANI).
CAP
(Competitve Access Provider): See CLEC
(Competitve Local Exchange Carrier).
Card:
a portion of a computer or switch containing circuits and components which
can be easily removed and replaced; also more commonly called a circuit card
or circuit card board.
CD-ROM
(Compact Disk – Read Only Memory): A high capacity medium to
store computer programs, data, and even music and video in digital format.
In common usage, it is shortened to CD.
Compare to DVD.
CE:
See Covered Entity.
Central
Office (CO):
A telephone company facility where customers' lines are connected to switching
equipment so that they can call other numbers, both locally and long distance.
Channel: relative to sales, a channel is the means by which agents
interact with consumers, including telephone, Web site, email, Web chat,
fax, and mail.
Churn Rate: can relate to call center clients or agents. In
reference to clients, churn is the percentage of clients that cancel service
within a period of time, typically measured per month or per year. In
regards to agents, the churn – or turnover – rate is the percentage of
agents who leave during the year (contrast with
Retention Rate).
CLEC
(Competitive Local Exchanged Carrier): A relatively new telephone
company, competing with the entrenched local telephone company (called ILECs)
who used to be a protected monopoly. CLECs
are believed to meet customer needs and drive innovation much better than the
traditional telephone company. CLECs
serve to push down prices for local telephone service.
They are also called CAPs (Competitive Access Providers); compare to LEC
and ILEC.
Client:
A customer of an outsource call center or
telephone answering service.
Co-browsing / Web-collaboration:
technology that enables an agent to assist someone using a Web site, whereby
the agent can temporarily manipulate the person’s Web browser to display
requested information or navigate to a specific page.
Coaching: the process by which a trainer or supervisor provides
feedback and support to call center agents so that they may improve their
skills and effectiveness.
Conference:
A procedure where three or more people are connected together on a telephone
call and can talk simultaneously to one another.
Confirmation: occurs at the completion of a sales call when the
agent confirms the item or service purchased, payment information, and key
customer details such as address. Often the confirmation is recorded or
made by another individual (compare to Third-Party Verification).
Contact
Center: A newer name for a call
center, reflecting that other forms of contact (email, fax, text
chat, Internet call back, VoIP,
and even regular mail) are handled in addition to phone calls.
Covered
Entity (CE):
Under HIPAA, in simplistic terms, an entity who transmits
health information. The exception
would be a Business Associate, who performs
such a function on behalf of a Covered Entity.
CPR:
An acronym for Computerized Patient Record.
See Electronic Medical Record.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management): the means (including
strategies, processes, people, technologies) by which companies maximize
customer interactions. Call centers are often in the forefront of CRM
initiatives.
CSR
(Customer Service Representative):
An employee of a call center tasked with providing phone support to customers
who call for assistance. See agent
and contrast to TSR.
CSU/DSU:
stands for Channel Services Unit/Digital Services Unit; a device that is the
demark point and interface used between call
center equipment and a digital circuit, typically a T-1
or ISDN line. It offers protection and serves as a
diagnostic point.
CTI
(Computer-Telephony Integration): Integrating a computer system
with a telephone switch to allow relevant computer
database information about the caller or account to be presented to the CSR
simultaneously with the call. The telemessaging
industry enjoyed basic CTI functions with its first
computerized systems in the mid 1980s, years before it was introduced to the
general business market. Now, more
sophisticated second-generation CTI platforms are common, representing the
leading edge of technology.
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D
D
Channel: In ISDN service, the D channel
is also called the delta channel and is used for control and signaling
functions. In BRI-ISDN,
the D-channel is 16 kHz of bandwidth; in PRI-ISDN, the
D-channel
is 64 KHz of bandwidth.
DC
(Direct Current): A steady flow of electricity in one direction; it is the opposite of
alternating current (AC).
Power supplies in equipment often run on AC, but convert it to DC.
Telephony switches, especially Central Offices, make extensive use of
48 Volts DC. The 48 Volts DC is
what provides the “talk battery” on a telephone.
Decision
Tree Software: A computer software program that presents a
series of predetermined questions, each based on the answer of the previous
question, allowing the user, or agent, to reach a correct
decision even though they do not personally have the expertise required to
make such a decision. See help
desk.
Dedicated
800 Service:
The opposite of switched 800 service
whereby the 800 numbers are permanently connected to the customer’s switch,
usually via T-1.
Demark Point: a point of demarcation ("demark") between the
telephone company and the call center equipment, allowing the telephone
company’s circuits and the call center’s equipment to be disconnected from
each other and isolated for troubleshooting and testing. For lines and
trunks, the demark is generally a bridge clip on a split block. More
sophisticated telephone services, such as ISDN,
DSL, and T-1, also have a demark
point, typically a CSU/DSU.
DID
(Direct-Inward-Dial): A special telephone service in which there is no
direct relationship between one line and a specific telephone number, but
where many different numbers can be served by the same trunk or group of
trunks. To specify which number
was called, identifying digits are dialed on the trunk and decoded by the
equipment. By definition, calls
can only be received with this type of service, however, many phone companies
have enhanced DID service so that calls can be made on DID
trunks as well. This allows
for greater efficiency (since they can be used for two purposes) and also a
higher quality patch (since it is switched and handled by the phone
company’s central office). This
is called two-way DID, but it is not available from all phone companies or
from all central offices.
DID
Numbers: A group of usually
consecutive numbers, often in multiples of 20 or 100 that are used for DID
service. The numbers have no
unique physical line and calls cannot be placed on a DID number.
DID
Trunks: The physical lines that DID
calls are received on. Many DID
numbers can be handled on a few DID trunks.
Although phone companies and telephony engineers often recommend ratios
as low as one trunk for each six numbers, the common reality for the
telemessaging industry is a much higher ratio, such as 1:25.
Digital:
The representation of information in a two state format, either “on” or
“off,” 1 or 0. Computer
programs, information, and instructions all exist in digital form.
Speech, although an analog waveform, is often
converted into a digital format for transmission or storage (such as in a
voice mail system). The electrical
transmission and switching of speech in digital form provides greater overall
quality and less noise than doing so in analog form.
Most modern switches are digital
switches and represent improved quality over older analog
switches.
Digital
Switch: The device that directs
or routes calls. As the name
implies, all phone calls are processed as digital
signals. A digital switch is more
advanced and produces higher quality connections that are less prone to noise.
Virtually all switches currently on the market
today are digital switches.
DIP
Switch: an acronym for Dual In-line Package, a series of miniature
switches, all housed in one component, commonly used in computer and
telephony systems to set options (compare to Jumper).
DNC (Do Not Call): lists of numbers that should not be called. From
a legal standpoint, there are federal and various state lists of consumers
who should not be called. Calling a number on one of these lists can result
in fines, penalties, and sanctions. Additionally, businesses and call
centers often keep their own lists of consumers who can legally be called
but have requested otherwise. (There are comparable efforts for “Do Not
Mail” and “Do Not Email”; unsolicited faxing is illegal.)
DS-1:
See T-1.
DS-3:
See T-3.
DSL
(Digital Subscriber Line):
A transmission protocol that allows data to be sent over standard copper wires
at high speeds. There are several
different types of DSL service, such as ADSL and VDSL, each providing
different transmission speeds. DSL
is often used for Internet access.
DTMF
(Dual-Tone, Multi-Frequency): Also known by the AT&T registered
trademark of Touch-toneâ.
It is a method of placing a call whereby a unique pair of tones are
used to represent each digit of the phone number.
DVD
(Digital Video Disk): A
high capacity data storage medium, designed to store multi-media programs and
adopted for computer program and data storage.
Compare to CD-ROM.
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E
E&M: a telephone signaling protocol that uses separate wires for
signaling and voice. There are several variations of E&M signaling. A
common use of E&M signaling is to connect voicemail and two-way systems to
other switches and devices.
E-1: a European counterpart to T-1, it is a designation for a
high-speed, four-wire data circuit that can accommodate up to thirty-two
separate audio channels.
Electronic
Medical Record:
Having a patient’s medical record in electronic form versus a paper
file. The trend is to move towards
electronic health records. This a
huge benefit for medical call centers and the medical community as a whole.
EHR:
An acronym for Electronic Health Record and another name for Electronic
Medical Record.
Email:
A text form of communication, analogous to voice mail.
Anything that can be stored on a computer can be sent from one email address to another.
Email that
has access to the Internet can send a message to any
other Internet email address anywhere in the world.
Generally, email messages are short, informal typed messages.
However, they can also be long or formal and can contain attached files
and pictures.
EMR:
An acronym for Electronic Medical Record.
EPROM:
Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (see Firmware).
Ergonomics: the art and
science of making a workplace, such as a call center, comfortable to work in
by minimizing physical strain or stress.
Firmware: a combination of software and hardware; specifically,
software that is contained on a chip (hardware). Generally, firmware is a
PROM or EPROM.
Fulfillment Services: processing mail, packaging products, or
performing other services for a marketer. Fulfillment services may also
include call center, database, list, or other marketing support services.
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F
Fax
Server: An external device that
accepts client messages from a telemessaging
platform, converts them into the format used by fax machines, and delivers
them to the client's fax machine. Many
fax delivery units have been expanded to send alphanumeric pages and email messages as well.
Flat
Rate Service: A phone company
designation indicating that an unlimited number of local and/or long distance
calls are included in the monthly service fee.
Compare to measured rate service.
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G
Generator:
A device to produce electricity to run equipment in the event that commercial
power is lost. Generators are
powered by gasoline, propane, or natural gas and produce the AC
power required to run electrical equipment.
Generators are sometimes used in conjunction with or as an adjunct to UPS
(Uninterruptible Power Supplies).
Gigabyte:
A measurement of computer memory capacity, a gigabyte is one billion bytes of
data or 1,000 megabytes.
Sometimes incorrectly shortened to “gig” or “gigs.”
Gigahertz:
A measurement of transmission frequency, either over the airwaves or through a
conduit such as a fiber optic or network cable.
One gigahertz is one billion times a second or 1,000 megahertz.
Ground
Start Lines: An alternative type of business line that
requires the circuit to be electrically grounded before answering or placing a
call. It is not common, but is
considered superior to its ubiquitous cousin, the loop
start line.
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H
Handsets: a standard telephone receiver used to communicate via
telephone. To increase efficiency and be ergonomically friendly, call
centers universally use headsets instead.
Headset:
A hands-free device allowing one to talk on the phone and yet keep both hands
available for typing. Headsets are
highly recommended for call center agents.
Headset
Box: A network interface box into
which a headset amplifier is plugged. A
headset box is connected to the phone system (be it a PBX, ACD,
or switch). Some
equipment allows a headset to be directly connected
without the need for a headset box.
Help
Desk:
A segment of the call center industry, whereby entry-level staff can use decision
tree software to answer questions and provide basic support functions for
technical applications.
HIPAA: An acronym for the Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which among other things addresses
the privacy of health information and has wide-ranging ramifications to the
medical community in general and medical call centers
specifically.
HIS:
An acronym for Hospital Information System.
HL7:
An acronym for Health Level 7, it is a standard for healthcare and is the
interface standard for communication between various systems employed in the
medical community.
Home-Based Agent: a call center agent working out of his or her
home. Home-based agents are connected to the call center through the
Internet or a telephony connection (see Remote Agent).
Hosted
Solutions: see ASP
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I
ILEC
(Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier): One of the original local
phone companies that resulted when the Bell System was broken up in 1984.
See LEC; compare to CLEC.
IM:
See Instant Messaging.
Inbound
Telemarketing: One of two aspects of telemarketing where
customers or prospects call a company for assistance when they want or need it
as opposed to outbound telemarketing
where the company calls customers or prospects.
Instant
Messaging (IM): Commercial versions of text
chat that allows Internet users to type messages to one another.
There are several competing instant messaging services, which have
varying degrees of compatibility with each other.
InterLATA:
Literally, between LATAs.
InterLATA traffic is generally the domain of
the long distance carriers (IXCs).
Internet:
A complex international network of networks, allowing email and information
to be readily sent from one computer to another.
Several different services are available on the Internet, including email
and the World Wide Web.
Internet Service Provider (ISP): a company that provides access to
the Internet, along with other related services.
Internet
Telephony: See VoIP
(Voice Over Internet Protocol).
IntraLATA:
Literally, inside the LATA.
IntraLATA traffic is generally the domain of the local telephone
companies (known as generally as LECs or specifically as ILECs
and CLECs). See
LATA and contrast to InterLATA.
IP
Telephony (Internet Protocol Telephony):
See VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol).
ISDN
(Integrated Services Digital Network): An international standard for
all digital telephony communication. There
are two types of ISDN: BRI-ISDN and PRI-ISDN.
IVR
(Interactive Voice Response): A computerized system that allows
callers to interact with and receive information from a database using
touch-tone signals. The
information is provided audibly using text-to-speech conversion.
Some IVR systems will also recognize basic speech instead of requiring
callers to press keys on their telephone.
IXC
(Inter eXchange Carrier): A telephone company that does not provide local
telephone service, but which does provide long distance service.
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J
Jumper: a device used on printed circuit cards
to provide basic operating settings for the card. Generally a jumper is a
small metal connector, covered with plastic and designed to slide over two
pins on the printed circuit card (compare to DIP
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L
LAN (Local Area Network): a local network of computers.
Last
Mile: A term referring to the
final leg in connecting a home or business to the public switched telephone
network (PSTN). Traditionally
this was and often still is done via a pair of copper wires, though it can
also be coaxial cable, fiber optics, or even wireless transmission.
Although new technologies are implemented in central offices and in
distribution networks, it is the last mile that is the last to be upgraded.
See local loop.
LATA
(Local Access and Transport Area): In most cases the LATA was
essentially the area code. However,
with area code splits and overlays
this simplification is losing clarity. A
LATA is the geographic area in which the local phone companies can generally
handle calls without assistance from long distance companies (IXCs).
A LATA serves as a legal limitation as opposed to a technical
constraint.
LDAP:
An acronym for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, which defines a standard
for organizing directory hierarchies and interfacing to directory servers.
Lead Generation: gathering information from a prospect or customer
in order to prequalify them for potential future follow-up. The follow-up
can occur face-to-face, over the phone, via email, using direct mail, or by
fax.
LEC
(Local Exchange Carrier): The local
phone company. LECs used to be a
protected monopoly (and some still are). See
CLEC (Competitve Local Exchange Carrier) and ILEC
(Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier) for two types of LECs.
List Brokers: companies that accumulate and provide contact lists
for sale and/or rental to marketing companies, businesses, and call centers.
List Conversion Rate: the ratio of successful calls (such as a sale
made or an appointment set) to the number of calls made from list.
List Managers: companies that compile, update, and manage consumer
or business information, including names, addresses, phone numbers, email
addresses, and other data that may be useful to a marketing company,
business, or call center.
List Seeding: a method of verifying delivery and/or detecting
unauthorized usage by adding false names to the mailing or calling list.
Live:
A somewhat inane term to indicate that a call will be processed by a real
person as opposed to automation from an IVR platform, voice
mail system, or an answering machine.
Although call automation is preferred in some circumstances, most
consumers prefer to interact with a person, presuming that that person is
trained and empowered to assist them.
Live Chat: real-time communications using
Internet “chat” technology, also called text chat and similar in concept to
IM (Instant Messaging).
Local
Loop:
The connection between the local phone company and a business or residence.
This is comparable to, but more encompassing then, the last
mile.
Long-Distance Reseller: a company that purchases long-distance
service in bulk at a reduced price to resell at a rate below what a
long-distance company would normally charge an end user.
Loop
Start Lines: A standard business line, in which a circuit
needs to be closed in order to get dial tone or answer a call.
Most individual phone lines are loop start.
Compare to the less common ground start
line.
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M
Measured
Rate Service: A phone company
designation indicating that each local call is counted (measured) and billed
to the calling party. Businesses
in many areas are on a measured rate, though some enjoy a flat
rate service where an unlimited number of calls can be placed without
incurring an additional charge.
Megabyte:
A measurement of computer memory capacity, it is one million bytes of data.
It is often incorrectly shortened to “meg” or “megs.”
Megahertz
(MHz): A measurement of transmission
frequency, either over the airwaves or through a copper wire; also, a measurement
of the clock speed on a computer. One
megahertz is one million times a second.
Modem:
Modems are used to send digital information, in analog
form, over regular (analog) phone lines. Technically, a modem is an
electronic device that MOdulates data into an analog signal and DEModulates it
back to digital. Common applications for modems
are alpha paging and dialing into the Internet.
Monitoring: a quality assurance (QA)
function used by call centers to assess quality, coach agents, and verify
call compliance.
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N
Nearshore Call Center: an offshore call center located near the
client’s country and therefore more easily accessible.
Nurse
Triage:
See Telephone Triage.
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O
ODBC:
An acronym for Open Database Connectivity and is a database standard.
Any database that is ODBC compliant can connect to any other database
that is ODBC compliant.
Offshore Call Center: a call center located in another country than
the client.
On-Hold Service: music or messages that is provided for callers who
are on hold, waiting for “the next available agent.” The recordings can be
purchased from on-hold service providers, most of who will ensure that the
music is royalty free and legal to use.
Operator:
A generic, but obsolete, term for someone employed by a telemessaging company
to answer calls, take messages, and distribute those messages.
Often a more descriptive and positive term is used to avoid
old-fashioned stereotypes. The
label of Customer Service Representative (CSR) or agent
is preferred. In other contexts,
an operator can refer to a telephone company employee.
OPX: Off-Premise
Extension; a service that functions identically to a residential extension,
but with the extension at a different location. Once a primary method of
connecting clients to telemessaging services, phone companies now charge a
substantial fee for OPX; therefore, call forwarding is generally the
connection method of choice.
Outbound
Telemarketing: One of two aspects of telemarketing whereby a
company proactively calls consumers or businesses in order to make sales.
Contrast to inbound telemarketing.
Outsource
Call Center:
A call center that provides various call answering and call processing
services to third parties for a fee. Sometimes
called Teleservice Companies or a Service Bureau.
This term is sometimes also used to encompass telephone
answering services or telemessaging services.
See Outsourcer.
Outsourcer:
A call center that processes calls for other companies.
Outsourcing:
The concept of taking internal company functions and paying an outside firm to
handle them. Outsourcing is done
to save money, improve quality, or free company resources for other
activities. Outsourcing was first
done in the data-processing industry and has spread to areas, including telemessaging
and call centers.
Outsourcing is the wave of the future.
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P
Patch
Cord: A short cable often used in a patch
panel, to easily and quickly connect two points together.
Patch
Panel: A junction or interface where telephone lines or
computer network cables can be easily and quickly connected or moved using
short patch cords.
A patch panel saves time and costs when installing or reconfiguring
telephone or computer access.
PBX:
A phone system that has many of the same capabilities as a phone company’s
central office. A PBX is sometimes
referred to as a switch.
Most larger businesses have a PBX.
Contrast to an ACD found in most call centers.
PHI:
An acronym for Personal Health Information.
PIC
(Primary InterLATA Carrier):
A designation for a main, or default, long distance company.
Although it is an oxymoron, some areas allow an IntraLATA
PIC to select a long distance carrier for calls made within the LATA.
Port:
A generic name for the portion of a card that connects with a line, trunk,
network, or computer peripheral.
POTS (Plain Old
Telephone Service): Traditional
phone service that is found in most homes and businesses.
POTS is in contrast to advanced services such as ISDN
and DSL, which are digital and provide greater bandwidth.
Power
Down: To turn off the power.
A system is normally powered down when replacing a card.
Powering up will generally cause the system to restart or reboot.
Power
Supply: A sub-component found in
most computers and switches, which converts 120 Volts AC
(alternating current) to the DC (direct current) voltages
required by the unit to operate. Note
that some computers or switches are designed to connect directly to DC power,
in which case an external DC power source is needed.
PRI-ISDN
(Primary-Rate Interface ISDN): A high capacity version of ISDN
that allows for twenty-three main channels (for voice, fax, or data) and one
data channel (primarily for control purposes).
Printed Circuit Board /
Printed Circuit Card: a card containing the electronic circuitry
required to perform a specific function. Printed circuit cards are used
throughout computers and switches (see Card).
PROM:
Programmable Read Only Memory (see Firmware).
Protocol: an
approved and time-tested tool used by telephone triage practitioners. It
can be paper-based or computer-based, depending on the application.
Predictive Dialer: a device that automatically calls a list of
telephone numbers, screens out disconnected numbers, answering machines, and
busy signals, then connects the called party to a call center agent. A
predictive dialer improves call center and agent efficiency, by increasing
the number of contacts per hour over other means.
Protocol:
An approved and time-tested tool used by telephone
triage practitioners. It can
be paper-based or computer-based, depending on the application.
PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone Network): The traditional international
telephone system in which phone calls are switched or routed from origin to
destination. This is in contrast to private networks and dedicated
point-to-point services.
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Q
Quality Assurance: a process to assure that calls follow established
guidelines and instructions, meet ethical expectations, and are in
compliance with legal requirements.
Queue:
A stack of calls on hold, or ringing, and waiting to be answered. Most call
centers make use of a queue for increased agent efficiency and
productivity.
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R
Remote Agent: a call center agent who works outside of the actual
call center, but is connected to it and available to process calls, just is
if on-site. Remote agents can work from home or from a strategically
located ancillary site (see Home-Based Agent).
Rep: short for
Representative; another name for Agent.
Restart:
To force a component to re-initialize itself by reloading software, clearing
memory, or some similar function. It
is the same as boot, re-boot, or reset.
Retention Rate: the percentage of a
call center’s agents who remain with the call center over the course of a
year (contrast with Turnover Rate).
Ribbon Cable: a
flat, ribbon-like cable used to connect different components or boards in a
system.
RJ-11 (Registered Jack
11): A standard modular jack used
for to connect a single phone line. In
alternate variations, it can also handle two or three lines.
RJ-45 (Registered Jack 45): A standard modular jack used for many computer
network connections. It can
accommodate eight wires, although all eight may not be used or needed in
certain network configurations.
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S
SaaS (Software as a
Service): see ASP
Screen
Pop:
In CTI (Computer-Telephony Integration) applications,
causing a computer to display information about the call at the same time as
the CSR answers the call.
Snail
Mail: A derogatory term for traditional mail service that
was spawned by the Internet age.
Given the speed at which email messages can be
sent and received, regular mail moves at a snail’s pace in comparison.
Speech Recognition: software capable of recognizing spoken language;
it may also be able to translate the spoken word into written text (compare
to Voice Recognition.)
SS7
(Signaling System 7):
A sophisticated telecommunications protocol that provides out-of-band
signaling and a data interface between phone company switches
for the express purpose of reducing congestion in the PSTN
(Public Switched Telephone Network). For
example, without SS7, a long distance call is routed through the network to
the called party to make their phone ring or before a busy signal can be
returned, thereby tying up circuits along the entire path.
With SS7, once the call is dialed, the data interface sends a message
to the end switch to ring the phone or to check if the called party is busy
before the call is routed. If the
call is answered, it is then immediately routed though the network, thereby
not using the circuits while the phone is ringing or in busy and no-answer
situations.
Surge
Suppressor: An electronic device that limits the damaging effect of surges on
electronic equipment from commercial power plants, generators, and electrical
storms. All important or expensive
equipment should be plugged into a surge suppressor.
Switch:
A generic name referring to any device that can connect lines or trunks and
route calls from port to another. It
can be analog or digital.
Digital is more advanced and produces higher quality connections that
are less prone to noise. See ACD
and PBX.
Switched
800 Service: In the past all 800 numbers required expensive
dedicated lines. With switched 800
service, the long distance company routes 800 calls to existing local
telephone lines. This is efficient
and cost-effective for low volume applications.
Also, since 800 numbers cannot have call forwarding on them, the
switched 800 service can effectively be rerouted by forwarding the local lines
they ring in on. Contrast to Dedicated
800 Service.
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T
T-1:
In common usage T-1 is a designation for a high speed, four-wire data circuit
that can accommodate up to 24 separate audio channels.
Technically, T-1 is the medium and DS-1 (not to be
confused with DSL) is the format, though in many instances
the terms are used interchangeably. A
T-1 circuit is also a common high-speed Internet connection.
T-3:
In common usage, a designation for a very high speed, four-wire data circuit
that can accommodate up to 28 T-1 circuits, which is 672
separate audio channels. Technically
T-3 is the medium and DS-3 is the format, though in many
instances the terms are used interchangeably.
A T-3 circuit is also used in connecting to the Internet backbone and
even for some Internet backbones.
Telco:
Short for Telephone Company.
Telecommunications:
Communications that take place using the telephone or telephone network.
Telecommuting: using telecommunication technology, such as the
Internet, to work outside of the traditional workplace; remote call center
agents are a growing class of telecommuters.
Telemarketing:
Sales and service conducted using the telephone.
It is classified as inbound or outbound.
See inbound telemarketing and outbound
telemarketing.
Telemessaging:
The act of answering a call, taking a message, processing that information,
and relaying it to the client.
Telephone
Answering Service: A business that handles calls for clients at a
central location, whereby a client's phone is answered, a message is taken or
information provided to the caller, and the results are documented and
provided to the client. Many
telephone answering services also provide voice mail service and enhanced
services, such as order taking.
Telephone
Triage:
The provision of basic medical assistance and preliminary diagnosis over the
phone by a trained medical practitioner using an approved resource, often
called a protocol.
Telephony:
A term used to refer to telephone lines, trunks, circuits, related equipment,
and the information (voice, fax, and data) that is transmitted over them.
Telephony
Switch: See switch.
Teleservice
Agency / Company
/ Provider: See Outsource
Call Center
Test
Set: Also called a butt-set or
butt-in; it is used to test telephone lines, trunks, and circuits.
Text
Chat: An Internet service that
allows two (or more) users to type messages and immediately send to each
other. Text chat is a real-time
communication; compare to email, which is not.
Instant Messaging (IM) is a subset of text chat.
Third-Party Verification: after an agent completes a transaction
(typically a sale), the caller is transferred to a third person, normally
outside the call center, to verify the veracity of the transaction.
Touch
Toneâ:
A dialing method that uses tones as opposed to dial-pulses.
Today most phone lines are designed for touch-tone dialing (which is
faster and more reliable). Many
touch-tone lines will also accept dial pulse signaling, but this is not always
the case. Touch-toneâ
is a trademark of AT&T; the generic name is DTMF.
TSR
(Telephone Sales Representative): A term commonly used in the telemarketing and call
center industries for employees who proactively place calls to customers or
prospects to obtain data, share information, or sell products and services.
See agent and contrast to CSR.
Some define TSR to stand for Telephone Service Representative, though
CSR is a more universally accepted term for that context.
Turnover Rate:
sometimes called the churn rate, the percentage of call center agents who
leave during the year (contrast to Retention Rate)
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U
Unified
Messaging: A system that allows voice
mail, email, and faxes to be received, stored, and
retrieved from a common system using various interfaces, including a phone,
fax machine, or computer.
UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply): A device that
supplies continuous power to computers and switches by converting energy
stored in batteries to 120 Volts AC.
Commercial power is used to charge the batteries.
In the event that commercial power is lost, a UPS will provide power
until the batteries run down, commercial power is restored, or a generator is
turned on. In many installations,
a UPS is used for short-term outages and gives time for the generator
to be started and stabilized to power equipment during prolonged power
outages.
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V
Virtual Agents: call center employees who work from their own homes
or decentralized locations as opposed to a centralized location (see
Virtual Call Centers). Virtual agent
does not imply the replacement of people with technology.
Virtual Call Centers: a call center
not bound by a physical location and able to be extended to practically
anyplace that is accessible via telecommunications or the Internet (see
Virtual Agents.
Virtual Hold: A call
center technology useful when the number of incoming calls exceeds the
number of available agents. Rather than wait on hold, callers can hang up
the phone – while maintaining their place in the queue – and then receive a
callback when it is their turn to talk to an agent. Some virtual hold
systems also provide callers with the “estimated wait time,” which provides
an accurate prediction of when they will receive their return call. Virtual
queuing increases customer satisfaction and agent efficiency, while reducing
Average Speed to Answer (ASA), abandon rate, and toll charges for the
contact center.
Virtual Queuing: see
Virtual Hold
Voice
Logging: Recording phone calls in a
call center. Voice logging systems
can be hardware based or software only. Most
systems record only agent phone calls, whereas others record all audio
continuously. Some systems can be
linked to call records and even screen displays to provide a complete picture
of the phone call. Voice logging
is useful for call verification, agent training, and customer service
resolution. In some industries
voice logging is required. Also,
laws regarding the legality of voice logging vary from state to state and
country to country.
Voice
Mail: A device that plays
announcements to callers, records messages, and allows the messages to be
retrieved. There are hundreds of
different voice mail systems, each with slightly different features and user
interfaces. Many newer voice mail
systems provide aspects of unified messaging,
which allow voice mail, email,
and faxes to be handled on a single platform.
Voice Recognition: software capable of recognizing a specific
person’s voice, thereby confirming identity (compare to Speech Recognition.)
Voicemail: a device
that plays announcements to callers, records messages, and allows the
messages to be retrieved. There are hundreds of different voicemail
systems, each with slightly different features and user interfaces. Many
newer voicemail systems provide aspects of unified messaging, which allow
voicemail, email, and faxes to be handled on a single platform.
VoIP (Voice Over IP or Voice Over
Internet Protocol): Using the Internet to send voice signals or phone
calls. Also referred to as Internet
Telephony or IP Telephony.
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W WAN (Wide Area Network): a network of computers dispersed
over a large geographical area and interconnected via the various telephone
or Internet connections.
Web Callback: a feature that enables a person visiting a Web site to
a phone call from that company. The request can be for an immediate
callback or scheduled for a later time.
Web-Enabled Center: a call center able to conduct business using
Internet features, such as email,
callback, co-browsing, and
live chat.
Workforce Management Software: software that allows call center
managers to more effectively balance optimal staff levels, anticipated call
traffic, campaign timetables, agent availability, and infrastructure
capacity. Most workforce management programs also generate agent schedules,
accommodating agent preferences, as well as track attendance, including
absences, late arrivals, early departures, and even schedule swaps.
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Other
24
x 7:
A notation to indicate continuous operations, twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week. Most teleservice
companies and outsourcing call centers operate 24 x 7.
66 Block: a passive device that provides a connection point for
telephone lines and trunks. Often it is divided in the middle and both
sides are connected with bridge clips. The bridge clips serve as the point
of demarcation ("demark") between the telephone
company and the customer’s equipment.
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