Instant Answering Service Integrates New iPhone with Call Center Software

King of Prussia, PA, June 04, 2008 --(PR.com)-- Like many Americans, T. Andrews of Instant Answering Service, is anxiously awaiting the rumored release of the new Apple iPhone. Many experts believe the new iPhone will be solar powered, others feel it will allow geo-tagging. The new iPhone, which has been called the 3g iPhone, the iPhone 2, and the new Apple iPhone, could be chock full of new features, or it could just come in a new variety of colors. Yet, Andrews’s interest in the new product is what bearing it will have on his company, Instant Answering Service. The advent of the iPhone not only has changed the way that all of us communicate with each other and access information, but also how answering services and call centers communicate with their customers. Andrews stated that the versatility of the iPhone has forced his company to be more creative in message delivery methods. While some people prefer text messaging, instant messaging, others prefer a fully integrated web based way of communicating. "The more options that our customers have, the more they develop their own preferences." Andrews said "This is no longer an industry where we dictate to the client how we handle their phone calls, they are calling the shots." Not only are the consumers calling the shots, technology is dictating the changes as well.

Instant Answering Service was one of the first services to adapt to these changes. When instant messaging became popular, Instant Answering Service was one of the first call centers to integrate AIM (America Online Instant Messenger) and Yahoo! Messenger into their day to day communication needs. Live chat services were integrated with Instant Answering Service’s state of the art web based messaging. Instant was one of the first answering services to integrate answering email as well as phone calls. As more and more offices communicate through email during the business day, the need to have someone handle these emails after hours became a reality that most answering services still have yet to adapt. While most of the competition in the call center world is struggling to keep up with the technology, Instant Answering Service is one of the first to integrate popular social networks into their call center. Instant actually communicates with some of their clientele through both Facebook and My Space.

Communication is the key component to the success of an answering service or call center. In the past, communication was centered on the telephone. Today, communication means so much more; email, instant messaging, text messaging, live chat and social networking. In order to accommodate the ever changing business environment, the call center industry must be on the cutting edge of technology. While most answering services use generally the same phone equipment, what sets Instant Answering Service apart is their ability to adapt. Andrews stated that part of the battle is keeping up with the times. Andrews as well as the entire Instant Answering Service team educate themselves on a daily basis by staying on top of these technologies. Every employee is well versed on the tools that are needed to keep up with the times. While other offices limit computer and internet access, Andrews encourages it. In fact some of the communication methods that Instant Answering Service utilizes were developed from the ideas of their employees.

While skeptics have been eulogizing the answering service industry since the advent of the answering machine, it continues to be a more vital part of everyday business. Yet, there is a change in the way that we communicate with each other. As a result answering services and call centers will have to adapt to survive. In the past 25 years, Andrews has seen his office change from answering calls on a chord board and taking messages on pink slips of paper to computerized terminals armed with the internet and leaving messages on iPhones, Facebook and MySpace. Yet, the philosophy still remains the same, a friendly voice to represent your company at the end of every phone call, or for that matter, instant message or internet inquiry.

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