Centratel HQ building, Bend, Oregon
1/16/2026
(You might find this refreshing: there is not a single AI-generated word in this website -sc.)
We’re 100% U.S.-owned and operated, with a 41-year one-owner history. If you’re experiencing high costs and low quality with your current answering service (or if you’re thinking of using one for the first time), consider the following. It’s in a simple Q&A format.
Q: Am I losing business because the people who call my office are met with voicemail (and/or artificial intelligence)? A: Yes! From your own experience, you know it’s true: people prefer talking to people, not machines.
Q: How has the “human-first” * answering service industry changed in the last six years? A: It’s been a wipe-out. In early 2020, due to government-mandated COVID-6-foot distancing rules that suddenly made shoulder-to-shoulder agent cubicles illegal, most independent human-first telephone answering services were forced out of business, having no choice but to sell their customers at fire-sale prices to a handful of gigantic “mega-services,” several of which are foreign-owned. These operations now serve most of the U.S. answering service market…and virtually all of them offer AI, voicemail, and other automated services as primary offerings while “live answering” by a real person is ancillary. In the typical buy-out, call traffic was routed out of the purchased answering service’s local area for handling, sometimes overseas. In 2019 there were approximately 2,500 independent, local human-first answering services in the U.S. Now? Including Centratel, perhaps ten. Here’s how we survived the 2020 COVID-19 debacle that devastated the U.S. answering service industry.
Q: My current answering service’s quality is not good, and it seems expensive… A: There is a good reason for this. Most mega-service subsidiaries and every single one of the few surviving U.S. based independent services charge their clients via “time-billing. This is the elapsed time that agents spend processing calls (and sometimes includes customer on-hold time). This encourages the employment of low-paid agents because the longer it takes to process a call, the more the client is billed. And at any answering service, new inexperienced agents are not just agonizingly slow as they learn on the job, they make errors. Not only that, the expensive charge-by-the-minute billing method is ripe for overcharging customers, with at least one instance of customers winning a multi-million dollar class-action lawsuit against their own time-billing answering service! Note that here at Centratel, 95% of our new customers come to us because of quality and/or billing problems with their high-staff-turnover mega-answering service subsidiary (which continues to advertise the name of the purchased service even though calls are exported elsewhere for processing). Yes, with elapsed-time billing, high cost and poor quality are inextricably connected.
Q: So, how is Centratel different? A: We bill our clients by the number of transactions processed, NOT by the elapsed time to process those transactions. This is called “transaction unit billing.” (And somewhat inaccurately, within the industry, this method is also called “message count” billing.) Our monthly billing statements are simple and understandable with no room for price gouging. We incentivize our career agents to handle calls efficiently and accurately, with up to 40% of their individual wages performance-based. Our Centratel agents are mature, empathetic, drug-free,** long-term, highly paid (by far, the highest pay in the industry), super-efficient professionals,*** many with decades of tenure with the company. So, for the last 25 years, statistically, we’ve been the highest quality human-first answering service in the U.S.****
Q: Cost? A: Even with the high compensation we pay our agents, our billing strategy and sheer efficiency keep us in the low-to-mid level industry price range. See “Why Choose Centratel” for more details. (And note our federally trademarked CLEAN-SCREEN® service that further contributes to our low cost and high quality.)
Q: For call-processing, doesCentratel use AI or “offshore” calls? Is there a long-term contract? A: No, no, and no…
To test our quality and get an estimate of cost, you’ll get a unique-within-the-industry, no-obligation, no-deposit, 30-day free trial. Go here to get started.
-Sam Carpenter, CEO and owner
* “Human-first” indicates an answering service in which incoming calls are answered directly by a human, not by AI or voicemail.
** Here in 2026, across a whole spectrum of industries, chronic drug use, particularly cannabis, is a major factor in less-than-satisfactory employee performance. Here’s a medical abstract. (And here’s a statement from…Elton John.)
*** Centratel is a pure meritocracy. No Woke/DEI manipulations.
**** Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (October through December, 2025) was 1 customer-reported error for every 7,017 message transactions processed. That’s a statistic far superior to any other answering service in the United States.
100% Fail-Safe Service
Rare for an answering service, we have a fully redundant operation.
In these days of uncertainty, the reliability and continuity of service is bullet-proof.
No Long-term Contract
This is philosophical: If your telephone answering service is a good value, you will choose to continue each month.
Some of our clients have been with us for four decades.
100% U.S. Based Operations
All of Centratel’s Telephone Service Representatives (TSRs) are located in the U.S.
“For 41 years we’ve been delivering superb quality call-capture and message dispatch for select professions and businesses.”
— Sam Carpenter – Founder, President
Business Specialties
Medical
Nights, weekends, after-hours, holidays, or the middle of a busy weekday, Centratel’s professional agents will provide HIPAA-compliant call coverage for emergencies as well as administrative backup.
Home health and Hospice
For decades Centratel has provided highest quality, professional, and compassionate assistance to hospice patients and family members all across the U.S. Our service is 24/7/365 and fully HIPAA-compliant.
Veterinary
Centratel has a long history of servicing the veterinary industry, handling overflow, daytime, after-hours and weekend calls with the utmost compassion, professionalism, and accuracy.
HVAC
Heatwave or snowstorm, our agents will provide your HVAC business with the highest quality phone coverage, 24/7/365. In no time at all and at minimum cost, we’ll become a trusted part of your operation.
Property Management
With 24-hour support, Centratel agents will handle incoming calls with zero-defect, forwarding urgent calls to your on-call people while screening less important inquiries for later follow up by your office.
Trade Service
Centratel provides call-capture and emergency dispatch for trade service companies such as plumbers, electricians, emergency restoration businesses, and many more. Never again will an urgent call be missed!
24/7 Business
Give your callers the same quality of service they receive when speaking directly to your office staff. Centratel will be an extension of your office.
Disaster Restoration
For four decades Centatel has been processing urgent calls for the disaster restoration industry. We understand the critical importance of precisely accurate messages delivered instantly.
Plumbing
24/7 Centratel agents will process your calls with zero-defect, all the while enhancing your company image to customers and potential customers.
Public and Private Utilities
Our Telephone Service Representatives can expertly classify and coordinate each service call.
Testimonials
Dr. R.C., pathologist,
Portland, Or.
“Terrific. Every contact I have had with (Centratel) staff has been absolutely professional – a ‘ten’ in my book. I have used medical answering services for 15 years and this is the best experience I have ever had.”
Veterinarian, Manistee, Mi.
“I’m very impressed with your operation. Our last answering service (which was our second bad service) was such a disaster I thought I’d never again feel comfortable with an answering service. But with Centratel we feel very confident our rotation will be handled properly. Thanks so much.”
J.R., owner, property management company, Pepperpike, OH
“Fantastic! You have taken a huge weight off my shoulders. Thanks everyone!”
S.H., owner, HVAC company,
Gurnee, Il.
“Since switching to your answering service seven months ago, we have not encountered a single problem or complaint from even one customer. All operators are extremely polite and professional. It’s a pleasure working with you. Keep up the good work!”
