After cataloger and online retailer Lillian Vernon's call center went  under the microscope last year, several upsell offers were eliminated  and the average script time was reduced, resulting in lower staffing  costs. Soon after its acquisition last summer by Sun Capital Partners,  Lillian Vernon management, led by new president/CEO Michael Muoio,  was interested in knowing its telemarketing operations better. At  issue was the ROI delivered by the nearly decade-long practice of  having call center reps. try to upsell callers with in-house and  third-party offers. There was some curiosity as to if it was beneficial even though it  was bringing in money, said Peg Porell, quality assurance manager at  Lillian Vernon, Virginia Beach, VA. The management wanted to compare the impact of the dollars coming via  the selling program versus the cost of making the offers. The firm was keen to gauge