Self Storage Call Center Veterans Join OpenTech Alliance
PHOENIX, Arizona – Aug 17th, 2009 – OpenTech Alliance, Inc. announced today that their new INSOMNIAC Live! call center located in Phoenix, Arizona started assisting self storage customers on August 1st and will be serving over 350 self storage facilities by the end of the year. The new business unit already employs 12 people and expects to hire an additional 20 to 30 agents over the next 12 months. The call center will ensure every time a phone rings at a self storage facility it will be answered promptly, professionally and consistently. OpenTech is backing the INSOMNIAC Live! services with the industry’s only 100% satisfaction guarantee.
INSOMNIAC Live! offers several services including Live! TotalCalls, Live! Rollover, and Live! AfterHours. For kiosk customers, Live! Megan is included at no extra cost. Live! Megan can also be purchased independent of other services for kiosk owners that want a real person to assist their kiosk users. Live! Megan includes the ability for the call center agent to remotely control the kiosk application for the user, have a two-way conversation, and see the user at the kiosk. Future development of the service will include two-way video conferencing between the person at the kiosk and the agent, providing face-to-face customer service for kiosk users.
OpenTech has also developed LiveAgent! – the industry’s only call center software application designed specifically for the self storage industry. LiveAgent! will not only operate the INSOMNIAC Live! call center, soon it will be available to self storage operators that want to run their own internal call center. LiveAgent! is integrated with the INSOMNIAC Self Storage Network (ISSN) and leverages the connectivity technology of the network to supply its agents with real-time unit inventory, pricing, and facility information allowing them to process a rental, reservation or payment in real-time directly into the property management system at each facility on the network.
Self storage operators are quickly learning self service kiosks and INSOMNIAC Live! can reduce their staffing costs and allow them to invest more time in local marketing activities. Frank Cutter, Regional Manager for Infinite Self Storage, has over 20 kiosks in operation and is one of the first companies to use the INSOMNIAC Live! service. Frank stated, “We explored several call center options and found that INSOMNIAC Live! was the best fit for our needs. INSOMNIAC Live! is a key piece of our customer service initiative. We are now able to rent units when it’s convenient for our customers, and when our competitors are closed, while also decreasing costs.”
“We are very excited to have recruited Cynthia Abraham to lead our INSOMNIAC Live! call center. She and I think a lot alike when it comes to company culture and “Doing It Right”. Her experience in setting up and managing call centers in the self storage industry is what makes our service so uniquely valuable to self storage owners who are feeling the pressure to rent more units.” said Robert A. Chiti, President and CEO of OpenTech.
“Our intention is not to be the biggest call center in the country; it is to be the best call center in the self storage industry. Because our agents only answer self storage calls they develop a real understanding of how to best service self storage consumers. The list of services we have in development will put even the smallest self storage operator on a level playing field with the largest ones. The self storage business is changing and we plan to be the company self storage owners turn to for proven solutions. It is truly an exciting time to be with OpenTech”, stated Cynthia Abraham.
Cynthia has already recruited a team of experienced people including Nathan Fleischer to oversee agent recruiting, training and management of the call center staff as well as two experienced call center supervisors Sue Hurt and Carrie Valadez.
Cynthia has served as a valuable leader of several high-profile teams for companies including: AuntMinnie.com, RightFax and Online Self Storage (CallMaximizer). As an executive manager with CallMaximizer, Cynthia led the company to profitability in contact center operations, and spearheaded the company’s transition to a cutting-edge self storage services provider.
Nathan has over 12 years of progressive experience in adult-education, training, quality, and management. He is a specialist in call center employee recruitment, development, retention, and management. As a leader in employee training for AOL (America Online), and Director of Training and Quality for CallMaximizer, Nate brings tremendous experience that will play a key role in developing the operational processes critical to the long term success of a call center.
OpenTech Alliance, Inc. is the leading developer of innovative self storage solutions. Their solutions include 6 models of INSOMNIAC Kiosks ranging from $9,000 to $18,000, INSOMNIAC Live! call center services and the INSOMNIAC Self Storage Network for real-time storage reservations. OpenTech products and services improve customer convenience, reduce operating costs and increase revenues for self storage operators. For more information please visit www.opentechalliance.com or call (602) 749-9370.
Press Contact:
OpenTech Alliance, Inc.
(602) 749-9370
marketing@opentechalliance.com
NOTE TO EDITORS: OpenTech Alliance, the OpenTech logo and INSOMNIAC are trademarks of OpenTech Alliance, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. INSOMNIAC is protected by U.S. patent number 5,946,660.
