Virtual-Agent Services Earns National Call Center Award

July 13, 2006 (SCHAUMBURG, ILLINOIS) - Virtual Agent Services, high quality customer care service provider, has been honored with the prestigious 2006 Call Center Award of Distinction by the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI). ATSI, the industry’s Trade Association for providers of Call Center services including Inbound Order Desk/Help Desk and Web Enabled customer assistance, recognized Virtual-Agent Services at their 2006 Annual Convention held in Portland, ME.

The Call Center Award of Distinction was created in response to overwhelming requests by Call Centers across North America for a tool which could be used to measure the skills of their professional Call Center Agents. After six months of testing, an independent panel of judges scored call-handling skills for “enhanced service” applications, focusing attention on customer relationship management (CRM), courtesy, etiquette, and the use of proper call techniques, as well as response time and accuracy, the cornerstones of the Call Management Industry.

“VAS is very proud to receive recognition from a highly esteemed industry group such as ATSI,” said Evan Blanco, President of VAS.

VAS’ unique operating model, the Distributed Workforce Concept, allows the company to network together a series of fully functional transaction centers using an advanced technical infrastructure. This allows VAS unlimited capacity and reach to an abundant supply of high quality labor while still maintaining the economies of scale associated with having one large center. This capability allows VAS to bring the work to skilled local people without requiring them to travel long distances to obtain work. Creating a wonderful opportunity for those in the area with limited career prospects leads to a dedicated workforce assuring VAS' clients that they are receiving superior service from experienced employees. In an industry where attrition rates average higher than 60%, VAS posts agent turnover rates of less than 15%.

“Our dedicated agents have a reputation of consistently exceptional call handling and this honor supports that reputation,” continued Blanco. “Because of our low turnover, pride in excellence, and loyal employees, our clients are confident they are receiving the best service in the industry.”

"Participating in the Award of Distinction is an award in itself,” states ATSI’s President Lori Jenkins. “But earning the Award of Distinction shows excellent leadership of excellent employees with impeccable customer service skills.”

VAS currently provides inbound voice services to a number of high profile clients including CenterPoint Energy Minnesota Gas, LXR Luxury Resorts, Admiral Insurance, Concorde Hotels, Roadside Protect, TravelCLICK, Passkey International, Morgans Hotel Group, Dolce International, and Luxe Worldwide Hotels.

About ATSI
The Association of TeleServices International was founded in 1942 as a national trade association representing live answering services. ATSI now encompasses companies across the United States offering specialized and enhanced operator based services including: call centers, contact centers, inbound telemarketing (order entry), paging, voice messaging, emergency dispatch, fax, and internet services among others.

About Virtual-Agent Services
Virtual-Agent Services (www.vagent.com), a privately held company headquartered in Schaumburg, IL, is a unique provider of contact center solutions for today's demanding customer care industry. VAS services a wide range of industries including logistics, banking, retail and catalog sales, travel and hospitality, insurance, and utility services. VAS provides a variety of support options that include inbound sales and customer service, customer account maintenance, credit management, and reservation services. VAS’ efforts have earned the company numerous accolades, including recognition from both Entrepreneur and Inc. magazines and a number of prestigious awards.