- A call center is a physical place where customer and other telephone calls are handled by an organization, usually with some amount of computer automation. Typically, a call center has the ability to handle a considerable volume of calls at the same time, to screen calls and forward them to someone qualified to handle them, and to log calls. Call centers are used by mail-order catalog organizations, telemarketing companies, computer product help desks, and any large organization that uses the telephone to sell or service products and services.
Two related terms are virtual call center and contact center.
Getting started with call centers
To explore how a call center is used in the enterprise, here are some additional resources:
The top 10 CRM terms and buzzwords of 2008 Browse our collection of the hottest CRM definitions and buzzwords of 2008 and get an overview of the past year's biggest CRM trends.
abandoned call(SearchCRM.com) An abandoned call is a call or other type of contact initiated to a call center that is ended before any conversation occurs... (Continued)
call center agent(SearchCRM.com) A call center agent is the person who handles incoming or outgoing customer calls for a business.
TechTarget provides enterprise IT professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective IT purchase decisions and managing their organizations' IT projects - with its network of technology-specific Web sites, events and magazines.