March 01, 2006

Family Dollar Finds Its IVR Angel

By DAVID SIMS

TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist

Angel.com, a provider of on-demand call center and Interactive Voice Response products and a division of MicroStrategy Incorporated, have announced that Family Dollar Stores, Inc., a national discount retailer, has selected Angel.com to "create and manage a new interactive information and registration system for new hires," according to Angel.com officials.

The application, which allows Family Dollar employees to provide information using speech recognition, is designed to capture and distribute this information in a more timely and accurate manner than a paper-based system. Family Dollar built the application internally through the use of Angel.com's Site Builder toolkit, which allows for development of IVR tools.

"Feedback from the field regarding our new Angel.com application has been positive," said Michael Lariosa, HRIS Manager, of Family Dollar.  "Many of our employees do not have Internet access.  Therefore, an IVR-based phone application will help us provide and collect information more efficiently."

"Family Dollar has an enormously challenging task of communicating effectively with thousands of new employees across the country, and we are thrilled that the company has selected Angel.com for a new IVR solution," said Michael Zirngibl, President and CEO of Angel.com. "As a national leader in its industry that truly understands the value of IVR, Family Dollar is an exceptional new customer and we look forward to a great relationship."

A couple weeks ago Angel.com announced that South49 Solutions, LLC, a vendor of business services, partnered with Angel.com to provide customized voice products as part of its communications offerings.

South49 Solutions has already used Angel.com's Voice Site technology to provide a voice interface within NaturalInsight, a workforce management product.

Family Dollar operates approximately 6,000 stores in a 44-state area ranging as far northwest as Idaho, northeast to Maine, southeast to Florida, and southwest to Arizona, and bills itself as "one of the fastest growing discount store chains in the United States."

David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims' columnist page.