Julie Cook and her husband Tim Brown own Easy On Hold, a company based in Portage, Michigan that provides customized on-hold messaging to over 3,000 business clients. They have grown their small business from just the two of them in 2007 to now employing eight full-time staff. Their on-hold messages aim to make the time customers spend waiting on hold more productive by providing useful information rather than just generic messages. Their clients include businesses across the U.S. and overseas like a hotel in Bangkok.

1. Public Schools, the voice may sound familiar.
Julie Cook, president and owner of Easy On Hold® in
Portage, supplies the vocal prompts navigating callers
through the phone tree. You can even hear her in Thailand:
She’s the voice of the City Hotel in Bangkok.
She and her husband, Tim Brown—who you can hear if
you call Gordon’s Food Services—have turned a converted
house at 1918 W. Milham Ave. into a studio capable of cre-
ating between 15 and 30 productions on a given day.
In 2007, Easy On Hold® had two employees: Cook and
Brown. Brown, who is vice president, is in charge of pro-
duction, while Cook runs the sales side, the husband-and-
wife team explained. Today, it has eight full-time employ-
ees and two writers on retainer to support the firm’s 3,000
clients. Cook estimated that the business has grown by 10
percent a year for the past four years.
Part of that is a changing business dynamic that wants
to take advantage of every customer interaction, Cook ex-
plained. Instead of a Muzak® loop punctuated by the traditional
soothing statement, “Your call is very important to us,” busi-
nesses today try to make the time callers spend on hold
more productive for both parties.
“Let’s admit it: Hitting the hold button is not something
any business wants to do,” said Cook. “Instead of say-
ing your call is important, maybe we can offer something
concrete that really is important. How can we give you more
information, give you hip music to listen to and not insult
your intelligence?”
Cook summed up the problem with the old “Your call is
very important to us” line: “If it were so important, why am
I still on hold?”
Enter Easy on Hold®, which Brown founded in 1997 after
waiting to make a reservation at a restaurant. The eatery
was playing a local radio station, which happened to be
running an ad for different restaurant. Brown, who ended
up eating at the competition that evening, sensed a busi-
ness opportunity. He started offering free demos, knowing
from his radio background that spec spots sell.
Internet players mean that hold messages can get much
closer to live than in the days of the recorded loop,
Brown said, with some of their clients offering “day of”
specials to callers. After Hurricane Sandy hit, New York-
and New Jersey-based businesses used Easy On Hold®
to let callers know how their hours would be affected
and where callers could get service in the meantime
until the business was able to reopen.
“All service companies need to look at every opportunity
to provide good service,” said Cook, who recommended
that executives put themselves on hold with their own
company, so that they can experience it from a caller’s
point of view. If I’m a busy call center, I’ve got thousands
of people on hold every day,” said Cook. “What a loss for
the caller if they’re not getting anything else.”
Julie Cook records a message for a client at Easy On Hold®
at 1918 W. Milham Ave. in Portage.
Portage’s Easy On Hold®
Can Be
Heard From Kalamazoo To Bangkok
By Yvonne Zipp | yzipp@mlive.com
“People want to hear it before they commit to buying it.
How do you know what you’re getting?” said Brown. The
other thing he said set Easy On Hold® apart in the early
days was promising a three-day turnaround.
“The goal was to come up with a good quality product,
but get it in a timely fashion,” said Brown.
With digital delivery, shipping time no longer needs to be
factored in, Brown said. Easy on Hold®, which moved into
its current offices in 2003, also keeps its archives online, so
that clients can view, edit and approve scripts online.
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PORTAGE, MI – If you call the Kalamazoo Public
Library, Norwegian Cruise Lines or the Portage