This is the time of year where all bells should be ringing in tune at and at the right times: church bells, those of the Salvation Army volunteers, those at the cash registers and those at the homes from telemarketers and other contact centers making unsolicited calls.

This is also the time of year where children are reminded to "be nice, not naughty": a reminder that grown-ups should be given too. That includes those who manage contact centers.

For the laws regulating calling hours, whom to call and what devices to be reach are strict and are enforced. The lumps of coal in one’s stocking for being bad is nothing compared to those received from publicity-seeking elected officials: which are in comparison mere taps to those that can be wielded from annoyed customers via comments delivered through Tweets and posts.

Here are some of the common areas that poor judgement in which can make good contact centers into bad ones:

* The U.S. federal laws permit telemarketing calls between 8am and 9pm. However many states strict these further. For example, in Connecticut (where TMC is headquartered) prohibits calling for such purposes before 9am, while Alabama and Louisiana limit calls during prescribed state holidays

* Calls to Canadians are permitted between 9am and 9:30pm. The smart organizations cut them off after 8:30pm

* Calling hours are the called parties’ local time (I reminded one firm of just that earlier today). IOW it may be 9am in Portland, Maine but it is 6am in Portland, Oregon

* Calling cell phones, those on do not call lists, using automated voicemail delivery systems like live agent calls and exceeding limits on abandoned calls

Fortunately there are excellent resources to keep telemarketers and other contact centers in tune with the laws and with customers. PossibleNow, from I sourced the federal and state information provides the DNCSolution suite that covers calls (landline and wireless), faxes and e-mails. It also enables firms to comply with Canada’s regulations. And it makes sure that postal mail isn’t sent to those who do not want to receive it. To stay good PossibleNow also offers the compliance management, auditing, consulting and training services.

Placing companies like PossibleNow on your holiday list, to clean calling lists--to keep predictive dialers and autodialers in tune with the laws and regulations--is a holiday “gift” that your organization and your customers will appreciate.

In this way you’ll ring up customers when you’re allowed to, and how and when customers want you to, and you’ll both be happily ringing in the holidays.