Many inbound call centers handle customer service calls coming from, well, customers. But not every inbound call center is solely outward-facing in this way, nor are the agents in every call center the ones offering solutions. One such example of an inbound call center that would not be considered customer service is one that offers dispatch services. Here, we’re taking a closer look at the types of dispatch services an inbound call center might offer.

While the word dispatch has many definitions, for our purposes we are focused on the first one: to send off or away with promptness or speed, especially to send off on official business. This is essentially what a dispatch call center does, though what is being sent off on the official business can vary.

A dispatch call center can act as an intermediary between customers and the agents or representatives at the business they are trying to reach. In this case, they would receive calls, collect information, and then transfer the caller as needed to the team or department best equipped to handle the inquiry. This type of dispatch call center is often outsourced, since they are simply acting as the go-between for the caller and the business.

One of the most common types of dispatch call centers, and the one most people think of when considering the role of a “dispatcher”, is one that handles emergency or on-call services. A person would call 911 (for example), explain the nature of their emergency, then the call center agent/dispatcher would contact the appropriate person to handle that emergency and dispatch them to the correct location. In this case, the call center is acting as an intermediary between the caller and the people who will physically go out and help them. That means they need to know all the information that the second party needs in order to best respond to the situation at hand and must be able to send or communicate it in a succinct and efficient manner.

Yet another type of dispatch call center is one that works directly with the employees of the company who are out in the field. These exist in industries such as home services who employ plumbers and electricians and telecom companies who send out technicians. Technicians typically don’t go into the office at the beginning of the day to retrieve their schedule; instead, they might call into their dispatch center to receive the details on their first appointment, and so on and so forth throughout the day. Just like with emergency services, these dispatchers need to be organized and have access to all the information the technician needs, including the address and contact information for the appointment, as well as some basic information about the services they are expected to provide.

Finally, a dispatch call center may be responsible for dispatching things. These are the folks who are managing and monitoring shipments and deliveries of goods. While there are elements of this process that are automated and information that is accessible online, there are always people with questions about shipments and deliveries and there need to be agents equipped to answer those questions. Shipping and delivery can be a complicated dance and the people working in said dispatch call center must be able to break it all down.

The agents working in dispatch call centers are constantly transferring information and instructions from one party to another. To do so, it is critical that they are working in a call center platform that allows them to easily collect, organize and send this information—and CallShaper can be that platform. To learn more, request a demo today.