Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Converso handles customer enquiries for Teddyfone - Outsourcer takes up to 200 orders per hour in pre-Christmas rush

Southend, UK, 8th December, 2005 - Teddyfone Ltd, who has developed a mobile phone specifically designed for parents of children aged between 4 and 10, has selected Converso Contact Centres to handle its inbound ordering during the run up to Christmas and beyond. Backed by a £250,000 advertising campaign in national newspapers such as The Sun, Daily Mail, Observer & News of the World, Converso has already processed 8,000 orders for the mobile phone specialist.

MD at Teddyfone, Paul Leisching commented, “We chose Converso because they clearly understood the challenges we faced. We expect to process between 10,000 to 40,000 orders within the next 6 months, so we needed a company that had a professional and flexible approach that could react intelligently and quickly to the changing demands of the campaign”.

The phone has been designed as a child safety product, that allows parents to call their children directly using the teddy bear-styled handset, or find them when they go missing, through its “KidsOK” locator service. The child is able to make 4 pre-programmed calls to parents or a guardian using 4 single buttons. The phone is provided completely free of charge with no line rental fees to pay. The parent only pays for actual calls made.

The campaign started in late October 2005, with advertisements in the daily newspapers. The response so far has been considerable with over 8,000 advance orders processed the formal launch date of 30th November 2005. Paul Liesching explains further, “we are providing a unique product into a new market sector, so we rolled out a very high profile media campaign. The campaign has been very successful and on some days Converso was taking over 200 orders an hour.”

Liesching continues, “At times the pace of the campaign was frantic, and the operation had to scale up very quickly. Converso’s performance at this time, exceeded my expectations. Even under considerable pressure they handled each enquiry in a friendly, professional and efficient manner and demonstrated a thorough understanding of the product and the service offering. They were always willing to make changes any time of the day or night”.
Teddyfone addresses the concerns of the parent, including the safety concerns of using a mobile phone. The phone has the following features:
·10 times less emissions than a conventional mobile phone
·doesn't look like a mobile phone, so unlikely to attract unwanted attention
·limited functionality - no texting or downloading
·only allows calls to four pre-programmed numbers
·automated SOS alert feature
·child-tracking facility using “KidsOK”
For further info visit www.converso.co.uk <http://www.converso.co.uk> and www.teddyfone.co.uk <http://www.teddyfone.co.uk>
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Editor’s Notes:
About Teddyfone:
Established in 2005 in Billericay, Essex, by brothers-in-law, Paul Liesching and Simon Holland, Teddyfone believed that mobile telephone technology could be used to play a significant role in child safety but felt parents' concerns about existing mobile phones needed to be addressed first.

Paul was one of the founders of CellClear, whose core business is saving money for the UK's public sector by providing low cost calls from landline to mobiles. CellClear has been developing a LoneWorker device and service designed to protect people such as MidWives, Social Workers and Careworkers.

Simon's career has been in Investment Banking. He is currently chairman of a Banking group based in the Netherlands and listed on the Frankfurt Exchange as well as being a director of several businesses.

About Converso:

Established in 1997 as Response Track Ltd, the seasoned telemarketing specialist changed its name to Converso Contact Centres in 2003 and provides both inbound and outbound call handling. The company’s well-trained, highly motivated and friendly staff are an all-important first point of contact for its customers and are backed up by a virtual call centre - a sophisticated blend of people skills and advanced computer and telephone integration. The company services a range of industries including finance, utilities, public sector, manufacturing, leisure, IT & telco, retail and the arts.

Press Contact: Jane Moores, TTA Communications LTD. Tel: 00 44 (0) 1454 318722. e-mail: jmoores@ttauk.com