The Highest Quality Telephone Answering Service in the United States

Centratel

Telephone Answering Service

A person browsing Centratel Answering Service new website featuring an industry-specific blog

Centratel Answering Service Unveils New Website

June 21, 2018
Answering Service
By Centratel

Centratel Answering Service has launched a new website with a new look, feel and a focus on a user experience optimized across desktop, tablet and mobile devices.

In short, Centratel.com will provide users all of the same content prospective clients need in order to compare TAS services, packaged for easier navigation and to be more conducive to our multi-device, socially-networked age.

It’s part of our goal to keep Centratel as the number one information source for the answering service industry across as many channels as possible, encompassing online, mobile, and social networks.

The most obvious change to the site is the look and feel, which we believe offers readers a cleaner and more engaging browsing experience – we’ve taken away some of the clutter and made it more esthetically pleasing, allowing you to get to what you want, quickly and easily.

Crucially, the site has been developed using a technique called ‘responsive’ design, which means it will adapt itself automatically depending on the device the reader is accessing it from – be it a desktop, tablet or mobile phone.

The Client Testimonials and Business Specialties are now the focal points, allowing the user to quickly view what is important to them and find out whether Centratel may be a good fit for their business.

But the changes aren’t just cosmetic – we’ve worked hard to build community and industry resources into the new Centratel.com site, including:

  • User friendly careers page and application functionality, enabling easier application for employment.
  • Comprehensive industry specific blogs allowing easier access to relevant information regarding industry trends and tips.
  • Easier access to our specialist team for customer service requests and easier navigation for our clients to login to their intellisite for scheduling and online message retrieval.

We’ve also revamped our homepage to prominently display our 30 day free trial offer and allow users one-click navigation when requesting pricing.

You can also follow Centratel on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn.

“The Telephone answering service industry is continually changing, and Centratel is changing with it,” said Centratel Director of Sales Jesse. “The website has been providing a lot of great information about the answering service industry for some time. Now with the new design we are taking things to the next level giving prospective and existing clients a better online experience. Look for more announcements from us as we continue to expand our digital presence.”

To find out how Centratel can help support your business, contact inquiry@centratel.com, or call their sales department at 1-800-664-7159.

Taking the Next Step

For more specifics on cost, to start the onboarding process, or if you have questions, fill out this form with your basic information and if it’s during regular working hours (M-F 8am to 8pm EST or 5am to 5pm PST), we’ll get back to you within minutes. Or, during the above hours, you can simply call us at 800-664-7159 or send us an email to inquiry@centratel.com.

(And note: for a quick orientation on how we operate, take a moment to review one or more of the key points listed below.)

For more specifics on cost, to start the onboarding process, or to just talk to us, fill out this form with your basic information and if it’s during regular working hours (M-F 8am to 8pm EST or 5am to 5pm PST), we’ll get back to you within minutes. Or, during the above hours, you can simply call us at 800-664-7159 or send us an email to inquiry@centratel.com.

(And note: for a quick orientation on how we operate, take a moment to review one or more of the key points listed on the right.)

 
Terms of Service

Why Choose Centratel

BY SAM CARPENTER
April 1, 2025

1.CENTRATEL’S UNIQUE 30-DAY FREE TRIAL

Why is this important? Because it will provide you a truly accurate estimate of cost (we bill monthly), it will demonstrate our quality, and it gives both sides of this brand new relationship—you and Centratel—plenty of time to refine and perfect operational details.

Here’s a testimonial from a new medical client that had just finished their 30-day trial: “Of course, I love the cost as it is close to the amount I was allowed by the president of the company. I told him that if we did not continue with Centratel, I would resign as the Director of Customer Service, and I meant it. It’s a great fit. We have had NOT ONE complaint from a patient or in-house which, as you know, we received daily with our former answering service. I love you, Centratel, and the price. I’m ready to sign whatever documents you require. Thanks for the great service, and the free month! To a great partnership! -KB, Phoenix“

2.STATISTICALLY, THE BEST IN THE U.S.?

Answering service quality is 100% dependent on human action and reaction, and in the course of a single day a multitude of human decisions are made by the people who process the calls: Telephone Service Representatives, or TSRs. (Some answering services refer to them as “agents.” Others, “operators.”)

Like any other answering service, at Centratel we’re dealing with real live human beings and so human errors can occur. But within this labor intensive service industry that is historically known for marginal quality, Centratel’s error rate is light years ahead of established standards. Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (January through December, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,161 message transactions processed. That statistic is unmatched.

There’s no artificial intelligence manipulation, we do not offshore calls, and we were founded and have always operated within the United States. (Note that since early 2020, the COVID six-foot social distancing mandate drove thousands of small-to-medium sized answering services out of business. Large, often foreign-owned multi-nationals, disguised by the name of the local answering services they acquired, now thoroughly dominate the industry. Hence, an even further decline in general service quality. See this analysis.)

3.CUSTOMER SERVICE EXTRAORDINAIRE

Your concerns will be instantly acted upon. It’s a work ethic that stands in stark contrast to the general quality decline in human-to-human business-customer communications nowadays. You’ve seen it yourself, all around. At Centratel you will know by name the customer service people you’re working with, appreciating their special listening abilities as well as their take-action-now comportment. i.e. see the testimonial in point #1 above. ‘Nuff said!

4.GETTING STARTED: IT’S SIMPLE AND FAST

Getting your new Centratel answering service 30-day free trial started is accomplished within 24-48 hours. From the start, your “onboarding” customer service representative will be with you every step of the way, listening carefully to your concerns, answering questions and offering suggestions.

5.NEW TO USING AN ANSWERING SERVICE?

A majority of our current answering service accounts switched to us from another service because of quality and/or cost problems. However, if you have not used a service before, you are not familiar with the options, benefits, and pitfalls. Our 30-day free trial provides you—and us—plenty of time to precisely refine your desired message-taking and delivery protocols; to get things exactly the way you want them to be without any financial risk, undue pressure, or obligation. 

6.PRICING

Starting at $150 per month, our rates lie in the mid-range of the industry. Note that we charge by the “transaction unit” rather than the duration of time spent handling calls. Large “mega-services” operating in the U.S. prefer time billing because it ensures the company is compensated for lower-paid/high-turnover — and thus slower — agents. No matter the quality or how long they keep your callers on hold, they still make a profit. And yes, it can also get expensive, especially if caller on-hold time is also billed.

In any answering service, it takes a long time for a new agent to become fast, efficient, and stable. At Centratel, we pamper and reward experienced agents (via higher pay and great benefits) and therefore have extremely low staff turnover. Needless to say, experienced agents make fewer errors than trainees who learn on-the-job. And, transaction-unit billing is easy to understand. There is no room for fraudulence as in time-billing. We can easily document and explain any monthly billing we send you.

7.ACCURATELY COMPARING ANSWERING SERVICE PRICING IS COMPLICATED

It’s apples and oranges. There isn’t an industry standard for billing, and each answering service has its own formula. Also, as noted above, some services charge by agent “time” while a few still charge by “transaction units. Some others combine the two. At Centratel, we charge for the work we do, not by the time we spend. The raw truth is that the only reliable way to determine monthly cost for a new service is to use that service for a solid month. Most answering services offer a 7-day free trial or no trial at all. With Centratel you get 30-days.

8.BEWARE: MONTHLY OR 28-DAY BILLING?

Important! At Centratel, we use a “monthly” billing cycle in which invoices are compiled from the first day of a month to the last day of that month. When soliciting quotes from other services, be sure to ask if the base-rate charges are billed monthly or on a “28-day billing cycle.” There is no good reason for a 28-day billing cycle! It’s bait-and-switch: customers billed on a 28-day cycle actually receive thirteen billings per year and therefore the overall cost is higher.

9.NO CONTRACT AND SIMPLE TERMS OF SERVICE

We don’t ask for a term contract for service because you should be able to evaluate us real-time, without restraint. Our terms of service are simple and straight-forward.

10.VALUABLE FREE GIFT FOR CONTACTING US

If you take the time to discuss answering service with us, on the same day we will ship you a hardcover copy of Sam Carpenter’s bestselling book, Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, now just released in its 5th edition. We’ll send you a copy just for contacting us. (Sam is Centatel’s (very active) CEO. December 1st 2024 marked his fortieth year of ownership.)