In many ways, the customer call center is the heart of any business. It is often the first contact customers have with the company, and must be run efficiently and with the utmost professionalism. Utilizing an outside call center can save you money, and allow you to focus on running your business. Call centers are as varied in function as the businesses that use them, and in order to choose the right center for your business, you must identify the needs specific to your company. Is your business large or small? What sort of call volume do you expect? Are the calls inbound and/or outbound? What customer service hours do you require? What types of clients do you serve - wholesale or retail? Whatever your requirements, there are a few questions to answer about a prospective call center’s service before signing an agreement to utilize their services.

When I was a teenager, I was a speed demon on the manual typewriter and took Pittman shorthand in high school. At that time I wanted to become a court reporter when I grew up. I majored in English in High School and Business in college. So, in early 1971, when my ex-husband needed a manufacturer’s representative office, I felt I had all the skills I needed to open a small secretarial and answering service with a small office in the back for him—my version of an executive suite. On August 1^st, 1971 that small dream became a reality when we opened Keystone Park Secretarial & Answering Service.

Dee Hawkins, ABA's CEO/President was surprised with a cake and champagne by members of her staff in our Dallas regional office. A Better Answer Call Centers, a telephone answering service, was celebrating its 40th Anniversary as an answering service.

We here at A Better Answer are so thrilled and proud to announce that all 3 of our offices have won the ATSI Award of Excellence for the 2011 year. This year marks the 13th year in a row our Dallas office has won, 9th year in a row for the Houston Regional Office and 8th year in a row for our Fort Worth Regional Office!

Our Founder, President and CEO of A Better Answer has just been announced as one of the 25 honorees in Dallas Business Journal's 2011 Women in Business! The Dallas Business Journal staff crunched down a list of over 150 women down
to just 25 and we are extremely proud to have our boss on the list!

Floods, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, oh my! Did you know that Slate Magazine has already labeled the 21^st Century, “The Century of Disasters”? From the half-mile twister that recently tore through Joplin, MO. to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the flooding of the Mississippi River, and the tsunamis that have ravaged various places around the globe, natural disasters have dominated the headlines of our news for the past few years.

Happy Earth Day! Today we are reminded of how great this planet we live on is, and that we need to do our part to take care of it. While making your office more environmentally friendly will obviously have a positive effect on the environment, a greener office can absolutely become profitable!

Dolores "Dee" Hawkins, president of A Better Answer, is awarded winner as "Women of Influence" by the Great Women of Texas, Professional & Business category. The event originated in 1989. The Fort Worth Business Press recognizes outstanding women as "Women of Influence."

A Better Answer Call Centers (ABA) was honored at the 8th annual Best Places to Work awards luncheon at the Intercontinental in Addison, Texas as one of the top 100 small businesses in Dallas & Fort Worth as A Best Place To Work for 2009 by its employees and the Dallas Business Journal. The employees of A Better Answer Call Centers completed on-line surveys from the Dallas Business Journal awarding ABA a ranking of 5.54 out of a maximum of 6.0 placing ABA in the top 100. A Better Answer Call Centers is an inbound bilingual telephone answering service with regional offices located in the metropolitan areas of Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. ABA has been 100% female owned and operated since Dee Hawkins established the business in 1971 – a Certified Minority Owned Business. Each of A Better Answer's offices has been and continues to serve their local communities with the latest technology and most creative professional call handling techniques.

ABA is the FIRST and ONLY recipient of ATSI’s International "Miss Emily’’ Trophy Award for courtesy and professionalism above and beyond.