IFB_Questions_and_Answers.docx

Question:

1. Whether companies from Outside USA can apply for this? (like,from India or Canada)

2. Page 3, Section B – Bidder Minimum Qualifications Item 5: More and more states are finding it extremely advantageous to have their answering service and other communications located in a geographically diverse location. This allows them to remain in touch with callers, even when communications are impaired in the home city. Therefore would you consider accepting an out-of-state call center location if the vendor meets all of the remaining Minimum Qualifications?

3. Can we perform the tasks (related to RFP) outside USA? (like, from India or Canada) Response:

Companies outside the USA or state of California may apply however, as stated in the IFB “The place of employment shall be in California for training purposes”. Therefore, the call center must be located in California.

Question:

4. Whether we need to come over there for meetings?

Response:

Training is done by the California Department of Aging OSLTCO Team at the Contractor’s place of employment. Since staff travel is only permitted within California, the call center must be in California.

Question:

5. Can we submit the proposals via email?

Response:

Emails are not allowed: in accordance with the IFB, Submission of Bids, page 5, “All bids must be submitted under sealed cover” and “All bids must be mailed or delivered to California Department of Aging, 1300 National Drive, Suite 200”.

Question:

6. Attachment 3 , Third Paragraph states that the estimated number of “calls to the CRISISline is approximately 1,450 monthly at an average of 4 minutes per call.” Item 1 of the Scope of Work states that the average number of calls to the CRISISline is 1,977 per month. What is the correct average number of inbound calls? How many outbound calls do you average each month?

Response:

The total number of calls on the CRISISline is around 1,400-1,603. Many of them are handled by our office. The total handled by the contractor is currently ranging from 800-1100 per month and we don’t have any reason to expect that to change over the contract period. We don’t collect data on the number of outgoing vs incoming calls; however outgoing calls from the CRISISline are much less frequent than incoming calls. The contractor’s operators contact Ombudsman representatives only when necessary to report urgent issues.

Question:

7. Scope of Work Item #2, please confirm that the “cost of the 800 service” referenced here is for the cost of the toll-free CRISISline number; not the vendor provided forward-to 800 number.

Response:

That is correct. The OSLTCO covers the cost of the toll-free CRISISline number; not the cost of the vendor number to which the CRISISline number is forwarded.

Question:

8. Scope of Work Item #4: Please list the languages required for language translation; please also include the percentage/number of calls by language.

Response:

We use an interpretation service at the OSLTCO. They cover all languages. Spanish is by far the most frequently requested language. We do not have data from the current contractor on how many calls they handled which required interpretation. Although we don’t collect that information from our contractor, here is OSLTCO’s data on CRISISline calls requiring interpretation over the past month

*During this 12 month period, non-Spanish interpretation was provided for Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Czech, and Hebrew.

9. Please provide historical call volumes by month or week for the last 12 months; include inbound, outbound, and translation calls.

Response:

See chart below for the total number of calls handled by the contractor since July, 2015. Because of a glitch in our AT&T invoices from October, 2014-June, 2015; we don’t have accurate historical call volumes for those months.

10. Please provide the name of the current contractor, length of contracting relationship, and current hourly rate.

Response:

The current contractor is Aspire Answering Services. The current contractor has had this Contract since July 1, 2014. Their current hourly rate is $7.70/hour.

Question:

11. If you do not currently have a third-party vendor for this service, please disclose how the services are currently being performed, including the number of staff personnel assigned to answer calls.

Response:

This is currently a contracted service.