In the early '80s, Tuchman, then a young California housing developer, took note of ad cards tucked in construction trade magazines. Trouble is, when he'd send a card for a specific building service it took months for the information to arrive. A salesman would appear just about the time his project was finished.
Thinking the proverbial "there must be a better way," Tuchman founded TeleTech Holdings Inc. to put product information in consumer hands quickly. Today, TeleTech has become one of the largest U.S.-based call center companies with some 50,000 employees handling customer-service and business support tasks in operations around the world.
Calling Sprint or Verizon? You'll likely end up talking with a TeleTech employee. Same goes for some cable and entertainment companies, loan processors and even government agencies.
In 2006, TeleTech reported $51.8 million in net income, or 73 cents a share, up from $28.2 million, or 38 cents a share, in 2005. Revenue was $1.2 billion, up from $1.1 billion the previous year. The company has forecast a 15 percent increase in revenue and, in the past year, its stock has nearly tripled from $14.48 a share to $40.41 a share.
Although the Internet can produce information instantly, demand for a personal touch is fueling growth in the $180 billion call-center industry, said Brad Cleveland, president of The International Customer Management Institute, an industry group.
"Seven, eight years ago, there were predictions that call centers would maybe not be as necessary because of self-service capabilities and Web-based services. Exactly the opposite has happened," Cleveland said. "We're finding both the outsourcing market and internal call centers are growing."
Companies like TeleTech do face challenges from new competitors, price pressures and clients' need for qualified, trained employees to handle specialty areas, Cleveland said.
TeleTech is well-positioned because it offers the choice of onshore, nearshore or offshore operations, said Janco Partners telecommunications analyst Donna Jaegers.
A client may need to keep its customer care in the United States or Canada for easier communication, while billing questions or back-office work can be handled in the Philippines, where labor costs are lower, she said.
The TeleTech story is as much about the call center business as it is about Tuchman, a born entrepreneur who has worked since his teens to turn ideas into profit, such as a puka shell import company, a Christmas tree operation and high-end housing construction near Malibu.
Just 22 in 1982, Tuchman used his money and borrowed more from family and friends to start TeleTech, offering companies a way to provide toll-free callers quick information about products and services. Employees would check the phone number of an incoming call to see which company it corresponded to and use structured responses to answer questions.
Tuchman worked 18- to 20-hour days as he struggled to get the business up and running, often sleeping under his desk and eating food his parents would drop by.
For the first eight years, it was in a "rob Peter to pay Paul mode ... just squeaking by to make the payroll and doing what was necessary to survive," he recalled. Twice, accountants advised the company it was technically bankrupt, but Tuchman convinced investors he was worthy of loans and agreed to pay high interest rates.
"I would literally tell myself every single day, 'We're going to get through this particular problem and this particular problem and tomorrow is going to be a better day,"' he said. Tuchman found solace in 70-mile bicycle rides on the weekends, chanting, "We're going to win" to pump himself up for the next week.
Slowly, his company began to grow, expanding from simple customer requests to processing catalog orders and other tasks. Between 1990 and 2000, TeleTech generated a 49.6 percent compounded annual growth, Tuchman said.
Then came a falling out. In 1999, Tuchman resigned as CEO after disagreeing with his board about the strength of the telecom boom and doing business with the sector. The board hired a new CEO who shifted operations by signing contracts with dot-com companies.
Tuchman concentrated on outside investments but returned 18 months later when the bust hit and many dot-coms went bankrupt. He found a company he barely recognized and started over in that all-too-familiar survival mode.
"I came out the other side with a whole new set of experiences that I don't necessarily wish upon anybody, but I think I'm far better equipped to run this company today than I was prior to because of it," he said.
Eventually, the company moved from California to the southern Denver suburb of Englewood, where it has an expansive campus with a view of the Rockies.
TeleTech first began looking overseas to build operations in 1999 when the U.S. economy was booming and it was difficult to hire workers domestically.
Outside the United States, he said, workers wanted the jobs, satisfied customers and met qualifications. While there was no client backlash, some weren't interested in placing business overseas. TeleTech accommodated them at U.S. operations.
"This isn't a bad thing. There's nothing wrong with spreading the wealth a little bit and helping out these people that have the same needs that we do," he said.
Today, TeleTech has 88 centers in 17 countries, with its largest operations in the United States, Canada, Spain, the Philippines, Australia and Argentina. It also has a program for at-home workers.
Each employee is hired to handle work for a specific client, including customer care duty, sales support, claims, collections, warranty processing, market research, retirement plan administration and network management.
Tuchman, 47, declines to identify clients but says they range from the automotive, financial services and health care industries to telecommunications, retail, employee recruitment and entertainment. Jaegers said two of TeleTech's biggest clients are Nextel Corp. and Verizon.
TeleTech also is building more work into its international call centers with shifts. For example, Philippines workers can handle British companies on an evening shift, U.S. companies on a night shift and do back-office during the day, Jaegers said.
Looking ahead, Tuchman figures key challenges are global currency issues and retaining qualified people. "We're entering this age right now where customers are becoming fully adapted to technologies (and) you've got to come up with customer engagement strategies," he said. "If those strategies aren't really well thought out and executed, you're not going to win at the end of the day.
"You're going to be part of the road kill that's going to be left at the side of the road."
