Centratel HQ building, Bend, Oregon
4/28/2025
(Here’s something you might find refreshing: There is not a single AI generated word in this website -SC)
We’re 100% U.S.-owned and operated, with a 40-year one-owner history. If you are experiencing high cost and low quality with your current answering service (or if you have never used a service before and you’re shopping), you will find the following information more than interesting. It’s in Q&A format:
How has the answering service industry changed in the last five years? It’s been a wipe-out. In early 2020, due to government-mandated COVID 6-foot-distancing rules that made agent cubicles illegal, most small to medium size services were instantly forced out of business at fire-sale prices, selling their customers like commodities to a handful of gigantic “mega-services” (with at least two of them foreign owned multinationals). These operations now serve 90% of the market. Yes, in a typical buy-out, call traffic was routed out of the bought-out answering services’s local area, even overseas. In 2019 there were approximately 2,500 independent services in the U.S. Now? Something less than 200.
My current answering service’s quality is not good and it seems expensive…Most mega-service subsidiaries charge clients via “time-billing.” This is the elapsed time that agents spend processing calls (and also, sometimes, on-hold time). This encourages the employment of low-paid/short-tenured agents because the longer an agent takes to process a call, the more the client is billed for that call. 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 they had bad experiences with their mega-answering service subsidiary (that still advertises the historical name of the original service). Yes, high cost and poor quality are inextricably connected.
So, how is Centratel different? We bill our clients by the tasks we accomplish, not the time spent processing calls. (Note our trademarked CLEAN-SCREEN℠ offering.) Our monthly billing statements are simple and understandable, with no room for price-gouging. We pay our agents for handling incoming calls efficiently and accurately, and up to 40% of their individual wages are performance-based. They are mature, drug-free,* long-term, highly paid, super-efficient professionals,** many with tenures of over ten years, some twenty, and others approaching thirty. When we do occasionally hire new agents, they must have extensive previous call center experience in order to qualify. Quality of the service they provide? We are statistically the highest quality answering service in the U.S.***
Cost? Because of our efficiencies, and despite paying high compensation, we are in the mid-range on the answering service client-cost spectrum. Go to “Why Choose Centratel” for more information.
Does Centratel use artificial intelligence or “offshore” calls? Do I have to sign a long-term contract? No, no, and no…
To test our quality and get an estimate of monthly cost, we’ll give you a unique-within-the-industry, no-obligation, no deposit, 30-day free trial. You can keep your current answering service while you give us a try! Go here to get started.
-Sam Carpenter, CEO and owner
*Here in early 2025, across a whole spectrum of industries, chronic drug us, particularly cannabis, is a major factor in less-than-satisfactory employee performance. Here’s a recent statement by Elton John. And here’s a medical abstract.
** Centratel is a pure meritocracy. From the beginning, no Woke/DEI nonsense…and regarding ethnicity, our staff composition closely reflects the general population
***Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (January through December, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,161 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 a philosophical issue. 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 40 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!”
