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This month, the editors of Customer Inter@ction Solutions welcome to
the Executive Roundtable Steve Brubaker, senior vice president of
corporate affairs at InfoCision Management Corp. in Akron, Ohio.
CIS: What are your thoughts on the trend of
outsourcing offshore? There are a variety of mixed opinions being
expressed. Do you think that many companies are bringing their
teleservices back to the U.S., and if so, which services and why?
 Steve Brubaker: I feel that in most cases
companies are making this decision solely because of the labor cost
differential which ultimately discriminates against the American worker. I
am in favor of promoting Congressional action to protect the jobs of
American workers by implementing some form of tariff which would level the
playing field for American companies. This is not a new form of action by
our government. We have seen many industries over the years protected in
this manner.
CIS: What advice do you have for call centers that
need to quickly build their inbound services to make up for the potential
loss of outbound services? Is there any advice about technologies, hiring
new agents and management concerns you can offer?
Steve Brubaker: This is not as easy as it sounds. There are significant
technological and infrastructure requirements that many companies like
ours are investing heavily in to achieve a diversified balance in our
lines of business. We are not going to walk away from the outbound
marketplace but understand we will need to adapt our operational
strategies should the regulatory schemes ultimately go into effect as they
are currently proposed.
CIS: On a scale of 1 to 10, how misunderstood is the
teleservices industry by members of Congress, the FTC and the FCC? Do they
really believe teleservices is all about selling aluminum siding during
dinner time?
Steve Brubaker: We are very misunderstood. That is why the action the
American Teleservices Association is taking is so important. We must state
who we are more clearly. We are call center employees and we are 6 million
strong here in America. Let's be proud of that fact. Every family in
America certainly knows someone in the industry whose livelihood depends
on call centers. If people look at this issue reasonably, most will agree
they don't mind phone calls from organizations they support or companies
they normally do business with. People generally don't want calls from
groups they have no interest in. That is why a 'one-size-fits-all'
national list will not work effectively. Consumers need to retain the
right to choose which calls they want and which calls they don't want. But
let's face the facts. When I need new aluminum siding for my house, I
welcome a call from a company that offers me an excellent product at a
competitive price. That is why telemarketing works!
CIS: Who are the teleservices industry's allies in
the Federal Government? We have a few, right?
Steve Brubaker: Of course. Unfortunately they have not been very
comfortable standing up publicly for us. And some of those who have taken
a stand took a bath in the press. We need to be more united as an industry
to be able to provide a larger representation to our politicians so they
know we represent six million voters.
CIS: Do you agree with the assertion that the
teleservices industry needs to do a better job of policing itself to
prevent even harsher restrictions in the future?
Steve Brubaker: I have heard this argument but really think the government
should have also done a better job of enforcing the TCPA and TSR all
along. There have been very few actual enforcements for infractions to the
company-specific do-not-call lists. Those companies like ours who have
spent heavily on compliance efforts over the years are now penalized
because of a few bad apples.
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