call center

A central office staffed by agents dedicated to handling large volumes of customer contacts by telephone. Call centers generally focus on processing incoming calls, but may handle outgoing calls, as well. Incoming calls generally are processed by a standalone automatic call distributor (ACD), although a small call center might make use of a PBX with ACD software or perhaps more primitive uniform call distributor (UCD) software. A call center that handles both incoming and outgoing calls generally does so through the use of a predictive dialer that facilitates call blending. Call centers increasingly are located offshore, in consideration of lower labor costs. Call centers also increasingly are virtual in nature, as ISDN and especially IP networks have enabled agents to telework, i.e., work from home. See also ACD, call blending, IP, ISDN, PBX, predictive dialer, and UCD.