The Rich History of Answer Midwest
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Answer Midwest has been serving customers happily for quite a long time, but we more than likely wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for Mrs. Margaret Weber accepting a very important position back in 1946. At that time, a local physician in Alton approached her and asked if she would be willing to answer his phones after office hours, hoping that by having someone real answering the phone the patients would not only be satisfied but they could also reach the physician in case of emergencies.
Margaret answered the physician’s phone through the phone in her residence and would take a message for each call she received. The physician had also left her with his detailed itinerary on where and how he could be reached in the event of an emergency. At that time, all that was needed was a telephone, a note pad, a pencil, and someone willing to work 16 hours a day and all weekend long.
The company survived and went through a series of different owners until it was sold to its current owners, Gary and Lee Ann Tedrick, in 1991. From 1946 up until 1991, a fully staffed and appointed office, including 3 operator consoles, 7 employees, and the latest state-of-the-art Telescan Advantage Plus IV paperless messaging system, have been at the service of more than 150 customers.
Gary, Lee Ann, and their daughter, Jennifer, bring a history of professionalism and diversity of business management skills to the business. Gary has a strong history of sales, customer service, and marketing, having begun in the corrugated industry with the Alton Box Board Company and moving to the telecommunications field. He had served as a systems consultant at Southwestern Bell and AT&T before moving to this family-owned business adventure.
Lee Ann has served as the administrative assistant for several business leaders in many different cities including St. Louis, Miami, Denver, and Kansas City, and she has honed her skills in creating an atmosphere of professionalism over the years.
Jen, who graduated Cum Laude from Greenville College with a bachelor’s degree in business management, worked as an assistant to the General Partner at Edward Jones & Company in St. Louis until 1994, when she came to Answer Midwest, Inc. She has worked her way up through the ranks, performing in every position available, beginning as a management partner-in-training. She is now Vice President of Answer Midwest, Inc.
We at Answer Midwest have worked diligently to improve the company as a whole since we took ownership. We have gone through several equipment upgrades and have kept our focus always on the satisfaction of our customers and on the quality of service that we provide them. We have added in-house monitoring as well as very rigorous monitoring from an outside agency to make sure that we keep the quality of services top-notch. Our dedication to the quality of service has garnered us a great deal of recognition, and we have recently been awarded the illustrious Award of Excellence for outstanding customer service for the past 12 consecutive years.
What brings us more joy and satisfaction more than any award is when a customer recommends someone to us or when a caller calls in for another company and are so impressed by what they hear that they want our services for their own business. That is a great feeling and makes all of our hard work worth it!
If you’re in need of a full-service, 24-7 live operator call-handling service company that will always provide you with top-notch services, then give us a call at (618) 463-2430! Our commitment is to YOU!