FLBS Acquires Elite Communications Answering Service

July 28, 2011 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SYRACUSE , NY — Finger Lakes Business Services, Inc. (FLBS) has purchased the assets of Elite Communications Answering Service, Inc., an answering service based in Brandon, FL. Elite has been in business serving the Tampa Bay area since 1992.

Elite Communications is a full-service answering service located in Brandon, FL and was established in 1992. Elite’s clients will have no interruption in service and will benefit from Finger Lakes Business Services’ continued investment in new technology and focus on customer service. In June, Finger Lakes Answering Service of Auburn and Communications Group of Syracuse were both honored with the exclusive 2011 ATSI Award of Excellence for the 7th consecutive year while Answer Bay Area won for the second consecutive year.

Ray Schremp, Vice President of Operations says: “This acquisition will provide the Elite clients with a larger staff and one that has proven to be at the top of the industry in customer service. We are beginning the process of programming all the client data into our telephony system and training all of the Elite staff on our equipment. We are excited by the opportunity to work with Elite’s customers and build long-lasting relationships with them.”

Elite Communications is the 10th answering service acquired by FLBS. The company previously purchased Finger Lakes Answering Service in 2002, Ithaca Answering Service in 2002, Communications Group in Syracuse in 2003, Executive Support Services in Oswego in 2006, Nunn’s Communications in Rome in 2010. The company previously purchased four out-of-state answering services: Answer Bay Area in Tampa in 2009, the Communications Center of Steamboat Springs, CO. in 2006 and Greeley Telephone Answering of Greeley CO. in 2007, and Mountain West Communications in 2008.

“We have had a prior relationship with Elite, being their backup service in the event that something like a hurricane forced them to shut down, so we knew about their business,” says Gardner McLean, President. “When the former owner decided that his operation was too small to continue on its own, we were glad to jump at the opportunity to include Elite in our stable of businesses. We had been looking to expand our presence in Florida and this fits right in with our current Tampa operation. We have hired all the staff of Elite and expect that we will be handling all the Elite customer calls in our Tampa office within a few weeks.”

According to industry sources, this places Finger Lakes Business Services in the top 3% of all 4,000 answering services in the country in terms of size, with over 1,200 clients and 75 employees. Elite joins existing call centers: Finger Lakes Answering Service, Communications Group, Answer Bay Area, Nunns’ Communications, Communications Center of Steamboat Springs, Executive Support Services, and Greeley Telephone Answering under the Finger Lakes Business Services corporate umbrella.