Sherry Langdeau and Tabetha Alvarado defied doubters to create Great Lakes Communications, proving that genuine human connection still wins in customer service.
When a panicked mother calls her pediatrician’s office at two in the morning because her child has a fever, she doesn’t want to navigate a chatbot. She wants a real person who understands her fear and can immediately connect her with help.
This is exactly the gap Sherry Langdeau and Tabetha Alvarado saw in the marketplace, and it’s why they founded Great Lakes Communications in 2015.
In a business landscape increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence, automated systems, and endless call queues, these two Northwest Indiana entrepreneurs built their company on a radical premise: that human connection in customer service isn’t just valuable, it’s irreplaceable.
From Operators to Owners: A Journey Rooted in Experience
Langdeau and Alvarado didn’t stumble into the answering service industry. They lived it. Both women worked as operators for years, gaining valuable expertise. Over fifteen years in the field, they watched as companies large and small increasingly turned to automation, leaving frustrated customers in their wake.
“We’ve seen the changes as the years have gone by as more and more people use AI and less and less people are actually answering phones, and it’s very frustrating,” Langdeau explains. “So, we decided that we could do it a different way and actually have people answering phones.”
Armed with deep industry knowledge and unwavering conviction, they took the leap into entrepreneurship. What they didn’t expect was the wall of skepticism they’d face.
When Everyone Said It Wouldn’t Work
The doubters were everywhere. Their landlord showed them office space, never expecting to see them again. Their banker offered lukewarm support at best. Even their accountant wished them luck with a tone that suggested they’d need it.
“Nobody thought that we were actually going to make it,” Langdeau recalls. “Everybody thought we couldn’t do it.”
For Alvarado, the resistance felt less about the business concept and more about deeply ingrained biases. “I think they were just doubting women, in general,” she says. “We came into this with so much confidence. We’ve been doing this for fifteen years prior to opening the business. There’s nothing about this industry that someone could tell us that we didn’t know.”
Their response? They did it anyway.
Today, those same skeptics have become their biggest cheerleaders, pointing to Great Lakes Communications as proof that women-owned businesses can not only survive but thrive in competitive industries.
The Human Touch That Technology Can’t Replicate
What sets Great Lakes Communications apart isn’t just that they use human operators, it’s how they approach every interaction.
“We’re mothers, we’re grandmothers, we’re sisters, we’re nieces, aunts,” Alvarado says. “We’re women that don’t know what to do when the furnace stopped working in the middle of the night on a weekend. They’re calling in looking for help and we get the stress of it.”
This empathy-first approach transforms what could be transactional phone calls into genuine moments of human connection. When someone is scared, frustrated, or simply needs help, hearing “it’s going to be okay, we’re going to help you get through this” from a real person makes all the difference.
The company’s commitment to the human element has proven to be a significant competitive advantage. Alvarado shares a common refrain they hear from callers: “You’re the fourth person I’ve called and you’re a person. I’ve dialed four numbers and you’re the first live person I’ve gotten.”
In those moments, the business that chose human service wins the customer.
Building Relationships, Not Just Answering Calls
From day one, Langdeau and Alvarado made a strategic decision that many call centers overlook: they would get to know their clients as people, not just accounts.
“We didn’t just sign them up, take their money and start taking their calls,” Alvarado explains. “We have conversations with them. We get to know about their business. We get to know about them as people. Why did they open their business? What are they looking for?”
This relationship-driven model creates a deeper level of trust. Clients know that Great Lakes Communications isn’t just a vendor; they’re an extension of their business.
“Their business is our business,” Langdeau emphasizes. “When they do well, we do well. And our goal is to help them do better.”
This philosophy extends to every call they handle. Whether it’s a HIPAA-compliant medical call requiring discretion and accuracy or a midnight furnace emergency, the team treats each caller with the same care they’d expect for themselves.
The Problem with Doing It All Yourself
One of the most common mistakes Langdeau and Alvarado see among small business owners is the belief that no one can handle customer calls as well as they can.
“The small business owner who’s answering the phone 24/7 at five o’clock at night, ten o’clock at night, two o’clock in the morning because they don’t think someone can answer the line as good as them,” Alvarado describes a scenario they encounter frequently.
While it’s true that business owners know their operations intimately, Langdeau points out a crucial insight: “People just want to call and talk to a person. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the owner. They’d be more stunned probably than anything to realize they’ve gotten the owner when they called at ten o’clock at night because they were just curious about the hours.”
The impact of partnering with Great Lakes Communications goes beyond business metrics. “I can’t tell you how many of our customers are like, ‘I can’t believe we haven’t done this sooner. I went to my son’s school play. I haven’t ever been able to do that because I knew that you guys were taking the calls while I’m at the school function with my children,'” Alvarado shares.
Why Human Service Outperforms Automation
In an era where efficiency often trumps experience, Great Lakes Communications makes a compelling case for the business value of human interaction.
When callers reach a voicemail or automated system, there’s immediate doubt about whether their message will even be heard. “There’s no confidence that somebody’s going to check that,” Langdeau notes. “When is somebody going to check that? Is it just going to get deleted?”
In contrast, speaking with a live person creates immediate confidence that the call will be handled properly. This psychological difference translates directly into customer satisfaction and loyalty.
The founders regularly tell small business owners: “If a customer calls you and doesn’t get a person, they get a machine or AI, they’re most likely going to hang up the phone and call the next person.”
In competitive markets, that lost call could mean the difference between winning and losing a customer.
A Vision Rooted in Community
Nearly a decade after launching, Langdeau and Alvarado remain committed to growing their impact both in business and in their Northwest Indiana community.
“We really like to be involved in the community and as we’ve grown and as we’re adding more in-house, we try to do more and more with the community,” Langdeau explains. “The community is where everything starts. It’s where we get our employees. It’s where we do most of our business.”
This community-first mentality reflects their broader business philosophy: relationships matter. Whether it’s with clients, employees, or the broader community, investing in human connections creates sustainable success.
The Legacy They’re Building
For women entrepreneurs considering purpose-driven businesses, Great Lakes Communications offers a powerful lesson: sometimes the most innovative solution is to embrace what others are abandoning.
“I think it’s really missing in today’s society,” Langdeau reflects on the human touch in customer service. “People don’t even realize that they’re missing it because they either haven’t been exposed to it or it’s been so long. And then when you’re really nice to them on the phone and you tell them have a good day, they’re like, ‘Well, thank you, you too.’ They’re not even comfortable with it anymore.”
As AI and automation continue advancing, Langdeau and Alvarado’s business model becomes not more obsolete, but more valuable. They’ve carved out a niche that technology fundamentally cannot fill, and built a thriving company proving that genuine human empathy will always have a place in business.
Their journey from doubted entrepreneurs to successful business owners demonstrates that the most sustainable competitive advantage isn’t always found in the latest technology. Sometimes it’s found in timeless human values: empathy, connection, and the simple power of a voice on the other end of the line saying, “It’s going to be okay. We’re here to help.”
For small businesses looking to differentiate themselves in crowded markets, Great Lakes Communications proves that choosing humanity over automation isn’t just a nice gesture, it’s smart business.
