People have been communicating over the phone since it was created in 1876. Call centers have continued to evolve over the years and have slowly become more modernized and digitized as technology has advanced. Here’s the brief history of call centers and where they are headed in our digital age.
1960s: The Birth of the First Call Center
The first technical call center agents were housewives. Crazy right? Housewives would dial up the neighborhood and sell baked goods to bring in extra income for their households. In the 1960s, Private Automated Business Exchanges (PBX) were created, which allowed for more businesses to have telephones. Eventually, AT&T introduced the 1-800 toll-free number.
1990s: Call Centers Boom
In the ‘90s, with the boom of the internet came the boom of the call center industry. Online companies needed a way to contact customers. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) was enacted to protect consumers and restrict telemarketing due to the rise in the call center industry, which we know is still an issue today and even more so with cell phones.
2000’s and Beyond:
Call centers are starting to become more and more digitized and modernized. SMS and customer service chatbots are already becoming extremely popular, and this automated response will only continue to dominate human interaction and calls. Here are a few call center trends that our team is predicting for this year.
With our DirectDrop Voicemail, your outbound queue can easily be turned into inbound calls from consumers who want to talk. It can also keep your call center business modernized and with the times. Curious how it works? Reach out to us here.
