[Publib] Centralized call center

[Burns, Jimmy]

I am a librarian with a 21-branch system and a member of a committee
investigating the implementation of a centralized call center, whereby
library calls to all branches will be received and answered at one
centralized site. I would be interested in hearing from anyone whose
system utilizes such a center, both about "nuts & bolts" aspects (Is it
staffed by clerks, librarians, specially trained customer service
representatives, etc.? Do library staff rotate in and out, or is there a
core group that is assigned specifically to the center? Do staff members
answer the phone their entire eight-hour work day, or is there on/off
time? Is burnout a problem? How are things like people calling for shelf
checks at specific branches handled? Etc.) and more philosophical
aspects (Is this another move toward the impersonal? Does it guarantee
as timely customer service as their being able to deal directly with
"home" branches does?). Thank you in advance.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/publib/attachments/20070128/fecbdde5/attachment.htm