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SELECTING A PREMIUM RATE PHONE COMPANY
When it comes to selecting a premium rate telephone service bureau, you will probably make contact
by phone - after all this is the phone business - but you may want to visit the
facilities. Any service bureau should feel happy to meet you in person. If a service
bureau refuses your visit - you have cause for concern.
Reliability
Information Providers (I.P.) need a service bureau that has a good record of low down-time, reasonable
payouts per minute for the services they offer, good customer service with live
people to answer your questions, plus a long history of making payments to their
customers on time.
The number of years the service bureau has been providing Premium Rate
Services is important. If they’ve been around for a number of years and are
soundly financed, they are likely to provide a reliable and honest service in the
future.
Check the bureau’s in house expertise. Premium rate services require experienced staff to maintain the system and programme new services. Does the bureau currently offer services similar to those you wish to operate? Experience in the particular service will ensure that your service is up and running quickly, and without any bugs.
Call Volume Capabilities
If you choose to advertise on radio or television, you will need a service bureau
with the capacity to handle the volume - the surge of calls that may come in
after a television or radio spot is aired. If you exceed a service bureau’s capacity,
then some of your callers will get busy signals, resulting in lost revenue for
both you and the bureau.
Customer Service
Regardless of the service bureau’s size, you should expect a certain level of
service from them. Insist on getting the name of a contact person.
Call counts and other vital data should be available to you on a regular basis.
The best arrangement for call counts is daily access to your call statistics. Some
service bureaus provide daily emails containing this information. Find out if the
service bureau charges for this and how much. In addition to daily telephone
access to statistics, this information should be confirmed weekly/monthly with a
printed report.
Also ask about monthly revenue payment - the date monthly cheques are mailed and when will the first cheque be sent? Will you receive a cheque or will it be paid directly into my bank account?
Remote Updating
Remote updating facility is essential. If you operate a service which offers
information which must be updated frequently, you must be able to achieve this
remotely from your office or home over the phone. Check the bureau offers this
facility.
Turnkey Services
Some bureaus offer Information Providers (I.P.) the opportunity to use established services which they
are already operating for their customers. The most common services are Live
One-to-One, Dating, Psychics, Tarot, Adult and Sports Information. The initial cost of
programming these services is high, but so ultimately is the demand and
the revenue to be earned. Using an successful turnkey service can often be the
best way into the premium rate business for the newcomer.
BUREAU CHARGES
Service bureaus normally charge:
- A start-up fee - this can vary widely from few hundred pounds for a simple
programme to £10,000 plus for a complex programme which requires
interactive menus and voice storage. - Monthly service fee - these can vary from a £100 to over £1,000, depending upon call volume, programming and storage required.
- Per-minute charges - this is the amount which the bureau retains from the
call income due to you from the carrier. These can range from a few pence a
minute to 40p or 50p. depending on your call volume and any additional
services provided, such as live operators. The larger your monthly call
volume the lower your per minute charge. Take into consideration the call volumes you expect for your line. If a service bureau has high per-minute
charges, high call volumes could be expensive, even if the monthly fee is low.
When comparing premium rate telephone service bureau charges be sure to include all the relevant costs for your type of service. A bureau with low monthly charges, but high per minute charges, may suit a service with low call numbers, but will be costly if you achieve high call volume. You should also establish the cost of other services you may wish to use. These include, caller info capture and storage; downloading & transcription of information; special reports; and special programming.
System Security
Technology is not foolproof. Any business relying on technology can fall prey
to power or equipment failures. Check if the service bureau offers a 24-hour
generator and system back up in case of power and/or computer failure. Ask for this fact it writing, don't just take their word for it.
Contracts
It is important to have a written contract which states clearly what your commitments
are, what you are due to be paid, and when. There are short term
contracts, e.g., 30 days, and there are long term contracts for a year or more.
The advantage of a short term contract is that if your service doesn’t work,
you’re free to leave. The disadvantage is that if your service is successful, the
bureau can change the deal knowing that since you are bringing insignificant
profits, you wouldn’t want to risk switching service bureaus. More importantly,
as the bureau owns the numbers, to which there may be a substantial number of residual calls, an Information Provider (I.P.) will be reluctant to move and lose that revenue.
If you opt for a longer term deal with the bureau, be sure that you have a reasonable release clause in the contract.” Why continue to pay monthly fees when your service is dead? “The bureau should be your partner, and it should make money if you make money, so it is in its best interest to allow you to discontinue an unsuccessful service and quickly bring up another one that is going to be successful.
Questions to Ask Before You Sign-Up With a Bureau
The following is a list of questions an Information Provider (I.P.) should ask a prospective service
bureau.
- What kind of charges (per minute, per month, other) do I have to pay?
- What are the charges for each kind of service?
- What happens if there is power failure or equipment breakdown?
- What other companies do you service?
- What large telephone networks do you represent?
- What is the time frame to get my service operational?
- What kind of statistic reports do you provide?
- Who will be my contact person?
- Will I be able to update my programme remotely?
- Will you advise me on my advertising?
- Do you have turnkey services which I can use?
- What is your experience with my type of service?
- How many calls can your equipment/staff handle simultaneously?
- What in-house facilities do you offer (name capture, fulfillment, etc.)?
- Do you operate your own services as well as providing a service bureau?
- How often will I get my call statistics?
- How many years have you been in business?
- Who can I contact if there is a problem after hours or at weekends?
It’s crucial for you to choose a service bureau whose capabilities and expertise are a good match for your service. Rushing into the Premium Rate business is a recipe for disaster. Setting up and running a premium rate telephone service is a not a get rich quick scheme.