How To Get A Live Person Answering The Phone
New clients often tell us they had been thinking about hiring an answering service for a long time before they finally decided to reach out to us. They say they just weren’t sure if their business would really benefit from having an answering service, or that they were concerned they couldn’t really afford it.
Their reasons for needing an answering service always vary. Sometimes it’s because their business has been booming and their staff isn’t able to maintain the same level of customer service that led to their growth in the first place. Other times it’s because their phones just haven’t been ringing enough, and they know they’ve lost some customers because they just can’t respond to them quickly enough.
This is quite common, actually. A Consumer Reports National Research Center survey revealed that 75% of those polled said the most irritating customer service experience is when they “can’t get a live person on the phone” when they really needed to. A “long wait on hold” and “many phone-menu steps needed” both also ranked high at 66%.
Don’t Put Me On Hold
These clients realize they’d been using the hold button too often or weren’t managing their voice mail quickly enough, and they were losing both old and new customers. True fact: over one-third of callers hang up and never call back if they’re put on hold or receive long voicemail prompts.
Then there are other clients who have been losing sleep over after-hours calls—literally. The nature of their business requires them to receive and respond to after-hours calls, and either they are the one handling the after-hours call volume, or they are lying awake at night wondering if their on-call person is really on the ball.
If you’re in any of these positions, then you may have also been asking yourself if you need an answering service. If so, we understand that it may feel a bit overwhelming to know which questions you should be asking in order to assess whether you really need an answering service or not.
For example:
- Does your call volume warrant an answering service?
- Does the location of the answering service matter?
- Do you need live answering 24/7, or just for certain types of calls?
And if you’d like to explore a bit more about what virtual receptionists at an answering service can do for you, visit Towne Answering Service or call us at 800-660-4316 for a free consultation. We would love to hear about your business and what your unique needs currently are and share information about our various business solutions. We just might be the partner your business has been looking for to provide personalized, exceptional customer care that meets your specific challenges and goals.