Part 4/5
Last week we looked at some of the challenges brought up with access to your international conference call when using a mobile phone service provider outside of the US & Canada. Today we are going to advocate choosing a service that has the right support team behind it.
Don’t Overlook Support
Support only matters when someone needs it. Did you know that some conference call service providers only offer support by email? (How that helps you on a conference call is beyond us.) Worse yet, they may not offer any support at all. This is especially true of free services. You can read more about our advice on free services at our first “Advice From An Insider” post.
Live Operator support that is accessible from within a conference call could save you from a failed conference. A failed conference wastes everyone’s time and creates a profoundly negative impression of you and your company. Conference call support should be available to your participants and not just to the chairperson of a call. A good support team can help get your participants into the conference call if they are experiencing any kind of access issue.
You should also ask if the support staff are available all hours. If you are hosting an international conference call all of the participants will not be in the same timezone. If you select a company with “business hours” support, they may not be there when you need them.
Lastly ask about the languages your support team speaks. Multilingual support is important if you have a multilingual company or organization. It may be less important on an international conference call when all participants are speaking the same language.
For onConference customers, remember you can always press *0 (private) or 00 (public) to request live Operator assistance during a conference call. Anyone can contact our Conference Call Support Center (all hours) at 1.800.804.8608 or +1.514.282.4047. International conference call participants can contact toll-free support telephone numbers located in many of the 70+ countries were we have access phone numbers.
Questions to ask:
How many people comprise the support team and are they available all hours?
Is your support team dedicated exclusively to supporting our conferences?
How will support be available to my international conference call participants?
Watch for the next blog post: Timezones and Transciption.
