How ABC Marketing Services is Upping the Bar on Quality Control in Belize Call Centers

The relationship a company has with its customers is often in the hands of a third-party call center. Therefore, companies want to ensure that their call center agents provide customer service that not only meets, but also exceeds, company’s standards.

At ABC Marketing Services, based in English-speaking Belize, Tony Arzu, Director of Operations, details the process his company takes to ensure great customer service. It’s clear that ABC is a prime example of a call center that has continuously hit the mark, and not only that but they’ve gone on to set the bar in a place that is now teeming with brand name giants.

Yet, even as Mr. Arzu and his team forge the path with impressive standards, quality control is still one area that is often forgotten by the companies who seek out third-party services. In many instances, Mr. Arzu has helped his company partners understand the value of high standards, and this, in turn, has helped his clients become more informed and vested in the projects, ultimately ensuring project goals are met.

Training for Quality Control

As part of the process to ensure that agents are chosen from the best and prepared to high standards, they undergo training both offered through the government of Belize and within the call center before they begin working alongside their prospective companies.

Belize Government Training

Belize has declared that it will support the call center career path and offer national training for its citizens.

ABC Marketing Services is proud to admit that they’ve helped implement this national change. In addition, Mr. Arzu has future goals to encourage call center education as a viable career path within the secondary education schools. While this someday dream is still very much in the discussion phase, it’s clear that his team has a strong understanding of what it takes to train and work in the industry.

As part of Belize’s national training program, future call center agents will learn the basics of the position and will be given the chance to decide whether the career path is right for them. As a result of this program, disinterested individuals are weeded out and the future employer companies enjoy a low turnover rate.

Once the government program has been completed, those who have passed and continue to show great interest will undergo training at the center prior to beginning their positions.

ABC Call Center Training

Even in locations where the country mandates training prior to working in a career field, a good call center will have their own rigorous program in place for new hires.

At ABC Marketing Services, agents go through a 3-stage training process which covers:

  1. customer service
  2. product knowledge and navigating the future employer’s website
  3. product presentation

Even after the three stages have been completed, “training is followed by expectations,“ according to Mr. Arzu. He expects his agents “to believe in the product or they go.”

At ABC Marketing Services there’s no room for agents who don’t truly like the company and products they represent, and there’s especially no room for agents who only show up for the paycheck. Companies expect the best, and Mr. Arzu works hard to meet and exceed those expectations.

After the full training is complete, agents will not only be excited to work for their new employer but they’ll know all about the company, the products, and the website. They’ll be ready to service the company’s customers to the best extent possible.

Regular Reports and Meetings

As part of the ongoing relationship with a partner company, Mr. Arzu states that he holds weekly or bi-weekly meetings so that both the center and the company are up-to-date on what’s happening. There might be more meetings as projects get started, but those eventually slow down and turn into update meetings.

Even more frequent than the meetings are the reports on the agents. Every day before 10am MST the partner company will receive a report detailing the previous day’s events which will include written information as well as graphs and charts.

At the regularly scheduled meetings, they’ll go over the previous reports to ensure everyone is on the same page about agent performance, agent direction, and company direction. This is the perfect time to inform the center about new company products, etc., which will help ensure that the remote team is always prepared to serve its customers well.

Related Article: Fundamentals of a Call Center Partnership

Correcting for Errors

In the event that an agent is not meeting expectations at ABC Marketing Services, all issues will be promptly addressed and updates will be given to the agent’s employer company at regularly scheduled meetings unless requested sooner.

As part of the effort to correct for errors, Mr. Arzu takes steps to ensure that mistakes aren’t repeated by other agents by not only training the agent who has errored but by also including this training as part of an ongoing center-wide training effort.

“Our training program is consistently being updated and expanded as things come to our attention. I hold myself, my staff, and my agents to a high level of expectation,” says Mr. Arzu, “because we are delivering a service.” That’s why ABC Marketing Services has a 98% customer service rating; that’s about as perfect as it gets!

Taking the Next Step

In a country where English is the official language and Spanish is widely spoken, and also where call centers are a coveted career path and name brand giants are vying for their own local agents, you’d hardly expect quality control to be an issue.

This is especially the case at ABC Marketing Services where training is rigorous, expectations are high, and customers are happy.

If you’re ready to get started with the company who forever changed the call center industry in Belize, then look no further than ABC Marking Services.

Contact ABC Marketing Services today to discuss your company’s goals!

Related Article: Fundamentals of a Call Center Partnership
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