Comments on: Skip Phone Menus and Record Customer Service Calls with Fonolo http://techie-buzz.com/internet-tools/skip-phone-menus-record-customer-service-calls-fonolo.html Know your technology head on Fri, 25 May 2012 13:27:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Cathyhttp://techie-buzz.com/internet-tools/skip-phone-menus-record-customer-service-calls-fonolo.html/comment-page-1#comment-46586 Cathy Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:29:58 +0000 http://techie-buzz.com/?p=10721#comment-46586 Ah, I stand partially corrected. :) I apologize for not realizing that it didn't apply everywhere. Because, as it turns out, I live in Maryland. In Maryland, it *is* illegal to tape a phone conversation without both parties consent, and for lots of reasons, our employers wouldn't want to have their consent be implied. Our call centers record the calls "for quality and training purposes"; if the customer does not consent, then they have the option to hang up and contact our businesses in person at the local office. Ah, I stand partially corrected. :) I apologize for not realizing that it didn’t apply everywhere. Because, as it turns out, I live in Maryland. In Maryland, it *is* illegal to tape a phone conversation without both parties consent, and for lots of reasons, our employers wouldn’t want to have their consent be implied. Our call centers record the calls “for quality and training purposes”; if the customer does not consent, then they have the option to hang up and contact our businesses in person at the local office.

]]> By: Pallabhttp://techie-buzz.com/internet-tools/skip-phone-menus-record-customer-service-calls-fonolo.html/comment-page-1#comment-46561 Pallab Sun, 08 Nov 2009 07:05:55 +0000 http://techie-buzz.com/?p=10721#comment-46561 Recording Telephone conversations is not outright illegal in USA. In fact there are precedents of people recording their customer service calls to get leverage. The most famous one being the Vincent Ferarri case. From Wikipedia: <blockquote>The Telephone recording laws in some U.S. states require only one party to be aware of the recording, while other states require both parties to be aware. </blockquote> So, Call recording without notifying the other person is illegal in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_recording_laws rel="nofollow">these</a> 12 states. In all other US states you can record calls without notifying the person at the other end. Recording Telephone conversations is not outright illegal in USA. In fact there are precedents of people recording their customer service calls to get leverage. The most famous one being the Vincent Ferarri case.
From Wikipedia:

The Telephone recording laws in some U.S. states require only one party to be aware of the recording, while other states require both parties to be aware.

So, Call recording without notifying the other person is illegal in these 12 states. In all other US states you can record calls without notifying the person at the other end.

]]> By: Cathyhttp://techie-buzz.com/internet-tools/skip-phone-menus-record-customer-service-calls-fonolo.html/comment-page-1#comment-46560 Cathy Sun, 08 Nov 2009 02:09:09 +0000 http://techie-buzz.com/?p=10721#comment-46560 The idea of having a system to navigate an extensive IVR (interactive voice recording) is awsome. However, I must caution everyone reading this. In many states/countries, it is illegal to record a conversation without the consent of both parties. I work in a call center for a very large corporation. I have been instructed that if at any time a customer tells me that they are recording the call, I am to politely tell the customer that I am disconnecting the call and then hang up immediately and contact a supervisor. My husband also works in a call center for another large company (a different one than me) and his employer has also instructed them to inform a customer that it is illegal to record the conversation without both parties consent. And, given the laws covering recording of calls, if someone was to attempt to use the recording in a court of law that the company did not consent to, it would most likely be inadmissible at best, possible prosecution at worst. Companies do not take it lightly if customers are recording the calls.The fonolo website doesn't mention anything about these points, but it is definitely something to think about. The idea of having a system to navigate an extensive IVR (interactive voice recording) is awsome. However, I must caution everyone reading this. In many states/countries, it is illegal to record a conversation without the consent of both parties. I work in a call center for a very large corporation. I have been instructed that if at any time a customer tells me that they are recording the call, I am to politely tell the customer that I am disconnecting the call and then hang up immediately and contact a supervisor. My husband also works in a call center for another large company (a different one than me) and his employer has also instructed them to inform a customer that it is illegal to record the conversation without both parties consent. And, given the laws covering recording of calls, if someone was to attempt to use the recording in a court of law that the company did not consent to, it would most likely be inadmissible at best, possible prosecution at worst. Companies do not take it lightly if customers are recording the calls.

The fonolo website doesn’t mention anything about these points, but it is definitely something to think about.

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