Every conversation with a major call center for any kind of business always begins with the same and often repeated phrase: “Your call may be recorded for quality assurance purposes.” Companies use call recording for many purposes, and while some of these needs like training staff on how to reduce average call time and improve sales conversions, other uses like having the ability to back up a claim that the other party refutes or even having a simple reminder are useful for anyone who talks on the phone.
Thankfully, you won’t need to spend big-business prices to be able to record phone calls – in fact, cheap or even free call recording is available on almost any landline or mobile phone. The simplest solution is to place a phone on speaker and place it next to a computer with a microphone, since recording software like Windows’ Sound Recorder and Audicity are available for free. Of course, this will capture background noise as well, and many users might find the overall sound quality lacking. If conducting a VoIP call over the computer, however, this solution actually works quite well, since the computer can capture the voice audio directly.
Mobile users on the other hand may not always be near their computers, and those who still have landlines can’t always bring their phones close enough to a computer to record. Landline users can use devices that plug directly into their phone lines, which will keep a record of all their calls. Mobile users, on the other hand, can simply download an app onto their smartphones that they can record calls with. Many, like Appstar Solutions’ Automatic Call Recorder, are free to use.
Many users will find that simply informing the other party that their call is being recorded will change their attitude dramatically, making customer support services friendlier and telemarketers more wary. Recording every single phone call may not always be necessary, but simply having the option to gives consumers a much more powerful bargaining chip.
Edited by Alisen Downey