The article of the interview we received is publuished in the nikkei newspaper.
We reprint it with the translation below.
Foreign customers Interpretation on
phone
Provided to commercial facilities and
hotels
Call center company Heart Line (Sendai, the president.Toshio Murakami) starts a foreign language interpretation service on the phone targets on commercial facilities and hotels. A call center rep support foreigners with communicating through a call when they come to the contracted companies. Enable to support foreigners with keeping low cost. It is rare effort in Tohoku, so starts it in Sendai first and plans and would like to expand it wider.
Starts in Sendai first, and would like to expand whole country
The contracted companies are informed a phone number, and an operator
interpret for foreigners through phone. It assumes of use by department
stores, electronics stores, accommodations, restaurants, and taxi. Now it
has negotiating 45 companies in Sendai. It expects that the business could
be expanded to all sightseeing spots because they could provide it with
using only telephone.
The service is for English and Chinese.
They are introduced Chinese foreign students who fluent in language by
foreign students support organization of Tohoku University, then hire them
through an agency. Starts from hiring about 8 people, and open lines 7am
to 11pm first. Aims to expand for 24 hour support depend on demand.
The fee for the companies would be 3,000 yen a month for 5 calls
maximum. After 5 calls, it would be charged per call. Reduce labors cost
by let the foreign operators do the regular operating too. Provides the
interpretation service with discount cost by not using any special
equipments.
The cost should be reduced more than to train their
employee to be fluent in language and by hiring foreigners. They try to
get contracts with emphasizing this advantage.
Heart Line
founded in 2003, contracts call center business for housing equipment
companies and housing companies. Entered to a new business for safety
confirmation of elderly on telephone and expanding the business. The sales
of September 2010 was five billion yen, and aims to make it double until
September 2012.
