Human voices when it matters.
Smart tools that assist them.
When a business's phone rings, someone answers. Today that someone may be a WSTA member's live operator, an AI voice agent, or a hybrid. WSTA is the national association where answering services, AI-voice builders, contact centers and medical communications teams work toward the future together.
AI builder or live service owner?
Who answers when you can't?
An answering service is an independent company whose operators (and, increasingly, AI tools) answer calls for medical practices, public agencies and businesses. Our members answer the calls when their clients can't.
We are a powerful yet little-known industry that has been quietly supporting businesses, the medical community and public agencies for more than a century.
What is an answering service?- How member companies work: live operators plus AI
- Medical, HIPAA and public-sector use
- From 1917 doctors' exchanges and cord boards to today
One association for every company that answers, routes and automates communications
The industry has changed, and so has WSTA. We began with telephone answering services in the West. Today our members are national, and they run every kind of communications business.
Answering Services
Live 24/7 answering, message taking, after-hours coverage and virtual reception, the heart of WSTA's membership since 1973.
Contact Centers & BPOs
Inbound and outbound teams, customer care, order taking and overflow, at any scale from 10 seats to 1,000.
Medical Communications
Physician exchanges, hospital and clinic overflow, nurse triage support, on-call scheduling and HIPAA-ready messaging.
AI-Voice & Automation
Conversational AI, IVR, voice agents and hybrid human-plus-AI workflows, and the companies building them.
Dispatch & Specialty
Emergency and service dispatch, alarm monitoring, legal intake, property management, funeral and hospice lines.
Technology & Vendors
Platform, telecom, scheduling, billing, QA and workforce partners who power the industry.
Building voice agents? Learn from people who've taken the 3 a.m. call.
Our members have spent decades on escalation, emergencies, HIPAA and the calls that can't go wrong. Bring what you're building, learn what real callers need, and meet the services that could become your partners or customers.
- A seat at the 2027 conference AI sessions and vendor showcase
- Honest feedback from human-first and hybrid operators
- Same $360/yr dues (AI-builder path pending board approval)
What you get for $360 a year (less than $1.00 a day)
Membership is per company, so your whole team benefits.
A national peer network
Owners, operators and leaders from coast to coast who will take your call, share a playbook, or tell you what didn't work.
Straight talk on AI
Hear plainly where automation helps, where people still matter most, and how to price, staff and sell a hybrid model.
Vendor access without the pressure
Meet the platform, telecom and workforce companies the industry runs on, in a setting built for real conversation.
Member pricing on events
Save on the Annual Conference and The Caller Chaos® Supervisor Series, with extra savings when you bring your team.
Voting membership
Each member company names a primary and an alternate voter and helps steer WSTA's direction, programs and board.
A listing in the Highlighted Members directory
Get in front of business and medical buyers through our 'Did you know?' campaign, with leads sent straight to you.
Supervisor training
The Caller Chaos® Supervisor Series, created by WSTA President Marla Duncan: hands-on coaching for supervisors, trainers and team leads.
Education that sticks
Supervisor workshops, agent training and owner-level sessions built by operators who run centers every day. Bring back ideas you can use on Monday.
Highlighted Members
WSTA member companies answer calls for businesses, medical practices and public agencies across the country. WSTA is a professional association; services are provided by the member companies themselves.
A century of someone answering
Answering services are a little-known industry with a long record of being there when the phone rings. From doctors’ exchanges to AI voice agents, here is some of that history.
A former nurse, Genevieve Kidd, starts a 24-hour message service for doctors in Portland, Oregon: the earliest answering service on record in WSTA's research.
Source: Chicago Tribune, Dec. 11, 1994answering bureaus served nearly a quarter-million clients in 1957, and lines were growing by about 30,000 a year.
Source: Bell Laboratories Record, Vol. 35, Jan. 1957WSTA is established as a nonprofit association where answering-service owners learn from one another.
Source: IRS exempt-organization record (ruling date 09/1973)calls a year were handled by about 4,200 U.S. answering services in 1993, despite answering machines and voicemail.
Source: Chicago Tribune, Dec. 11, 1994in U.S. telephone answering service revenue in 2022.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Service Annual Survey, NAICS 561421, via FREDplatform makers ship AI virtual agents that work alongside live operators, handling routine steps and handing callers to a person when it matters.
Source: Platform-vendor announcements, 2025–2026Full citations: A little over a century of answering.
Training for every seat in your center
Our programs run from frontline agents, embracing AI agents, to owners. This is through seminars, webinars, our annual conference and the summer supervisor series.
Customer Service Mastery
From callers to clients. Phone-first customer service is its own craft, harder than retail or food service. Tone, empathy, control of the call, and handling difficult callers with grace.
Employee Monitoring & QA
Every center is different. We cover how to monitor and what to monitor: the sounds that signal an agent is going stale, and how to spot the overlooked agent who could be your shining star.
Supervising Remote Teams
Practical tools for leading at-home agents, setting expectations, and closing the gaps remote agents can find that in-house agents can't.
HIPAA & Compliance
Sessions on changing HIPAA rules, what your agents and your office must do, and center-level requirements for medical accounts.
AI + Live Agents
Where automation works, where people are essential, and how to design hybrid workflows clients will trust and pay for.
Recruiting & Retention
Finding good people is hard. Keeping them is harder. Members trade proven hiring sources, onboarding plans, schedules and recognition ideas.
Client Retention & Growth
Problem clients, account reviews, pricing conversations and the service habits that keep accounts for decades.
Leadership & Holiday Survival
Building supervisors and team leads, and staffing and morale plans for your busiest and hardest weeks.
Want a topic we haven't covered? Tell us. Member suggestions shape every program.
The Caller Chaos® Supervisor Series
2027 Caller Chaos: Dates coming soon.
The 2026 series of The Caller Chaos®, “Adapting with Adversity,” was held September 8–10, 2026 in downtown Las Vegas.
What the attendees learned
- Handling the loss of a major client or account
- Delivering excellence with limited resources
- Live call review & coaching workshop
- Reinventing the wheel (or not)
The Caller Chaos® brings new and relevant content every year: practical strategies, live coaching and real-world exercises built around the challenges every center faces. Since 2023, AI and its ability to assist the live agent have been at the forefront of the discussion.
Since 1973, people helping people answer better
WSTA brings together dedicated centers and the people who lead them to share knowledge and experience. Since 1973, smaller regional associations have folded into what WSTA is today: a national community of owners, operators, supervisors and technology partners who believe a center's core is its people.
There are fewer independent services than there used to be, and fewer places to share what works, keep up with technology, and learn new ways of thinking. WSTA is that place. Whether your challenge is keeping employees, keeping clients, or deciding what AI means for your business, we help through seminars, conversation and honest sharing of ideas, issues and experiences.
“Come to Learn, Stay to Teach.”Our motto. Every member has experiences and techniques worth sharing, and we all learn from each other.
Est. 1973. Representing decades of live answering, now with AI.The peer network you can't buy
Members call each other, swap overflow, compare notes on technology and celebrate together. That is the real value of WSTA.
WSTA Exchange
A fast-paced, facilitated session where members name their biggest challenges and leave with ideas, resources and phone numbers.
Roundtables
Small-group conversations on pricing, staffing, technology and client service, led by members for members.
Business meeting & voting
Members meet at the Annual Conference business meeting, and each member company votes through its primary and alternate voters.
Vendor partners
Meet the platforms and service providers the industry runs on, through 'Meet Our Vendors' introductions and the vendor reception.
Run by operators, for operators
WSTA's volunteer board runs real centers and vendor companies, and it shows in every program.
Marla Duncan
President26 years in the answering service industry; co-owner of MedConnectUSA and creator of The Caller Chaos® training series.
Stacy Krems Polinsky
SecretaryPresident of Tel-Us Call Center, Los Angeles, since 1998, after working in nearly every role in the company.
Bobby Bennett
Vendor Representative33 years in the TAS and call center industry; leads new system sales nationwide at Startel.
Lindsay Arvizu
WSTA representative to ATSIBio coming soon.
Edmond Cariolagian
DirectorCOO of Global Messaging Network, Los Angeles; 25 years streamlining SOPs and automating operations.
Kurt Duncan
Board Member at Large37+ years in the industry. Started as an agent and built his own service on fairness, excellence and professionalism.
Brianna Burke
Executive Director10+ years in association leadership and operations. Brianna has served in numerous leadership roles within the telephone answering service industry, including President of the Association of TeleServices International (ATSI).
Questions we hear a lot
Does WSTA answer calls for my business?
No. WSTA is a professional association. Services are provided by independent member companies. Use Highlighted Members to find one, or ask WSTA to match you with up to 3 member companies. WSTA forwards your request, and the member companies contact you directly.
Is WSTA only for companies in the western states?
No. WSTA started in the West (est. 1973), but today our members and attendees come from across the United States. If your business answers, routes or automates communications, you belong here.
We use AI. Are we still a fit?
YES! WSTA welcomes all that answer the call. Whether your company offers live operators, AI agents or a hybrid of both, WSTA is the perfect association for you!
How much is membership?
With a two-year membership commitment, new members can enjoy a reduced introductory rate of just $100 for the first year, followed by the standard annual dues of $360 for the second year.
That’s two full years of membership for only $460, representing a savings of $260!
This introductory offer is available exclusively to new members and requires a two-year membership commitment. The second-year membership fee of $360 remains due regardless of membership participation or early cancellation, subject to the terms of the membership agreement.
How will I be billed?
We can bill your company upfront, monthly or quarterly.
Can vendors join?
Yes. Technology, telecom and service vendors take part as members, exhibitors and sponsors. Our board includes a dedicated Vendor Representative.
How do I get listed on Highlighted Members?
Active members in good standing can submit a profile: logo, bio, specialties, coverage and certifications. WSTA reviews it, publishes it, and sends buyer inquiries straight to you.
Your peers are already here. Join them.
$360 a year per company, less than $1.00 a day. First year $100.00, second year $360, with a 2-year commitment. Member pricing on every event. A listing on Highlighted Members. A national network on speed dial.
Let's talk
Questions about membership, events, sponsorship or Highlighted Members? Send us a note and our Executive Director will get back to you.
Events & room blocks
Executive Director Brianna Burke