A Better Answer Blog

Award of Excellence by the Association of TeleService International (ATSI)

Introduction

The telephone answering service industry has matured in communications technology and sophisticated consumers. Bureaus now must face the realization that they are already in a niche market for the consumer who requires live operator services. With competition from virtually every angle, only the best service will keep the consumer happy and loyal. While most bureaus in the industry most certainly provide good service, we are searching for that which goes beyond. The cut above will be rewarded with our coveted Award of Excellence.

The program was started in Canada in 1989 and has been slightly modified every year since to remain relevant to our changing industry. ATSI adopted the program as a member service in 1995 with great success. Over 20,000 calls have been made to many participating companies yielding many winners.

Our Description of Excellent Service

Excellence requires a level of service that considers the caller first in every aspect of the call. Excellence makes a caller believe they are the most important person (or their problem is the most important consideration) to your operator/telereceptionist. How the operator handles every call, from beginning to end determines the success of your client relationship an the level of repeat business. No matter what is happening at your bureau on any given day, the caller should never feel your operator is too busy to give them the best service.

Levels of Accomplishment

Since the program is geared toward individual accomplishment on an ongoing basis, the following categories were developed to show continuity of consistently high quality service, thereby encouraging repeat participation:

Year One Award of Excellence
Year Two Bronze Award of Excellence
Year Three Silver Award of Excellence
Year Four Silver Plus Award of Excellence
Year Five Gold Award of Excellence
Year Six Pearl Award of Excellence
Year Seven Emerald Award of Excellence
Year Eight Ruby Award of Excellence
Year Nine Sapphire Award of Excellence
Year Ten Diamond Award of Excellence

Diamond is the ultimate goal at ten years and up. When diamond is reached, the year of accomplishment is prominently displayed to indicate the current status of the award in years eleven and up.

It is important to note that the first five years must be won consecutively to achieve gold status as this shows the ability to maintain the consistent level of service. If, however, the company is unsuccessful once between years six and ten, they can simply try for the next level the following year rather than start again at year one. As part of the terms of this proviso, the company must participate each year and remain a member of the organization during each year.