The Qwest To End Short Calls
September 5, 2008
(4 votes, average: 4.75 out of 5)
Loading ...Call Centers beware. Customers and resellers of Qwest Communications have been receiving notices warning them about major changes regarding how the carrier handles short duration calls. The new policy 
punishes customers who have too many calls under 6 second duration or less with high penalties.
At first blush, it doesn’t seem like a very onerous change by Qwest. However, this is a bigger issue than what it may seem at first glance and will likely impact many customers. Perhaps even forcing some customers out of business or at least off of the Qwest network (if they can find another carrier to handle their calls).
The customers most impacted will be those who do outbound telemarketing or any high volume outbound calling. Most automated dialers will hang up as soon an answering machine is detected, thus ensuring too many calls less than 6 seconds. Many dialers also continue to call a line repeatedly, even if the number is disconnected, the line is busy, or the customer does not answer. This is also likely to upset Qwest.
Imagine the number of times every day that you reach someone’s voice mail. If you hang up, rather than leaving a message, one time too many, you too could run afoul of Qwest’s new policy. As a result, customers who are at risk of violating Qwest’s policy changes will need to change the way they dial. Which in turn will raise the cost per call for those customers?
Why would Qwest risk losing so many of its customers? We can’t be certain, but it certainly looks like Qwest is trying to free up space on their crowded network or may need to increase the average revenue per call. A decision must have been made that telemarketers aren’t as profitable as other customers and would be the best group to target.
And that may make some valid business sense. If a telemarketer is completing too many short duration calls, they are costing quest far more than they are worth on those 6 second calls and lowering the overall margin an the network as a whole.
While it is too soon to guess the impact this new policy will have on the telecom industry and its customers, if all carriers who use or resell Qwest also adopt this policy and other carriers move in this direction as well, it could mark major changes in the way telemarketers and others do business - changes which could spell big trouble for the guys who call you in the middle of your dinner.
There has been a lot of rumbling in the industry among many of the big carriers about short duration calls, high cost area calling (calling numbers in expensive areas), and call competition rates. As customer equipment gets faster and more call centers are able to afford automated dialers, the carriers are obviously struggling to adapt.
Now, how would you like to receive a free vacation to Hawaii just for listening to a short presentation about a time share in the desert?
Cheers,
iTodd
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