News

July 2009

Annalee Dolls Will Now Smile for Customers Around the Clock

Waldoboro, Maine, July 28, 2009 – A classic New Hampshire doll maker has signed with Taction – The Contact Center to expand its service to twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year.

Annalee Dolls, Inc. signed with the Waldoboro, Maine, call center in order to give its loyal customers round-the-clock service, a spokesman said. The doll company is known for its whimsical hand-painted figures, and its belief that “The Magic Is in the Smile.” The company’s founder was known to say: “It’s the smile. If you smile, someone else has got to smile back.”

In keeping with the no-two-exactly-alike look of its dolls, Annalee hosts “Make Your Own Doll” events, open to the public. The company’s designers help customers design and craft their own personalized Annalee doll.

The company’s founder, Barbara Annalee Davis, was born in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1915. She began her doll-making hobby as a teen, and painted the faces of her first dolls to resemble her own cheery expression. Following their marriage in the mid-1950s, Annalee and Charles Thorndike turned her hobby into a business that continues careful growth today by catalog, Internet, and retail sales.

Annalee Dolls has seen a steady growth in the direct-to-consumer business over the last three years, according to a spokesman. The increasing volume of consumers placing orders over the phone has dictated that the company seek help to handle the load, said Bob Watson, a partner at Annalee.

“After an extensive search, Annalee has decided to align itself with one of the leading boutique call centers serving the consumer industry, Taction – The Contact Center,” said Watson. “Taction has the best record for quality teleservicing of any company that we evaluated. They offer the Annalee customer the same quality of service that is provided by our in-house staff.  We are looking forward to working with this fine organization.”

Annalee Dolls, Inc. is located in Meredith, a town in the center of New Hampshire near Lake Winnipesaukee and a two-hour drive from Boston and Portland, Maine. The Annalee outlet store is in the “Factory in the Woods,” on the property where the company began. It is open to the public seven days a week.

“Annalee Dolls, Inc. is classic New England, with a rich tradition in fun, creative, quality doll making,” said Taction’s sales manager, Randy McKee. “Creating this partnership with Annalee is extremely exciting. Taction has strong partnerships with great companies throughout New England, none of which is identical to Annalee, except that for all of our clients customer care is first priority. That makes Annalee Dolls, Inc. a great fit for our engaging and compassionate call center agents, and for Taction – The Call Center as a brand.”

About Annalee Dolls, Inc.

Annalee Dolls, Inc. is located in Meredith, New Hampshire, a scenic area near Lake Winnipesaukee, on the original “Factory in the Woods” property. Throughout the year, a team of designers personally trained by Annalee develops all the company’s designs and prototypes in Meredith. A rigid quality control process ensures that every doll meets Annalee's tough standards of quality. Visit www.annalee.com/about_us.php to learn more about Annalee.

About Taction – The Contact Center

For a quarter century, Taction – The Contact Center has been a leading provider of contact center services for some of the world’s most trusted brands. Current and past clients include Smartpak Equine and Canine, Cuddledown, Samsonite, American Express, Kodak, Maine’s Office of Tourism, Harbor Sweets, Polaroid, Lotus 1-2-3, and Frank Schaffer Publications. The Waldoboro contact center offers direct-to-consumer services such as order taking and customer service, and business-to-business support such as inside sales and list scrubbing. Taction operates twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Visit www.Taction.com to learn more.