The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

By Henry Bury THE INTELLIGENCER highest score in Canada of all the call centres tested during 2004 and I want to congratulate our A Belleville call centre has been honoured nationally for the eighth consecutive year for the service it provides clients. T.A.S. Communications received the 2004 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Call Management Association (CAM-X), the industry's trade association for providers of call centre services including telephone answering and message delivery. The call centre at 1 Bridge St. West earned the "Ruby Award" for eight consecutive years of awardwinning service. "We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of our staff during a year of a lot of changes," said Kristin Crowe, vice-president and CEO of T.A.S. Communications. She said the company has invested in new software at its call centre and upgraded the services that it could offer to clients. The 19 tele-receptionists (TRs) also had to be re-educated on the new system. "To be recognized for our quality of service under these conditions is a testament to the team," said Crowe. The national Award of Excellence program has been operating for the past 15 years. Independent judges are contracted by CAM-X to evaluate message services throughout Canada over a six-month period. The criteria for scoring by the "mysterycallers" included courtesy, response time, accuracy and overall service to their clients. If the company scores 80 per cent or better in all categories, it receives the coveted Award of Excellence. "I know we achieved the 7th team for that remarkable accomplishment," Crowe said. T.A.S. Communications provides 24-hour, seven days a week, messaging service. The company has been operating in Belleville since 1955 and currently employs 60 people at its Belleville, Peterborough and Bancroft locations. The firm also provides everything from cellular and business phone systems to paging and security systems. Denise Williams, operations manager at the call centre, joined other staff members in receiving the award at the CAM-X's 40th annual convention and trade show held in Niagara Falls in late October. "Our staff has worked extremely hard to achieve this ruby award. It certainly wasn't something that was handed to them," she said. Lillian Lyle, CAM-X president, also singled out the local call centre for its achievement. "T.A.S. Communications' showcase of top-notch customer service serves as a benchmark for all message service companies," she said. "In an industry that relies on person-to-person communications, the value of efficient, accurate service cannot be underestimated. The Award of Excellence serves as a testament to their training methods and we congratulate their employees for their achievements." F o u n d e d in 1984, CAM-X encompasses companies across Canada that offer specialized and enhanced operator-based services including call centres, contact centres, inboard telemarketing, paging, voice messaging, emergency dispatch, fax and internet services. j MOV.