Posts by JoAnn Fussell

If you work in the healthcare industry, you know how imperative it is to protect your patients’ health information (PHI) in compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Even if a PHI breach is unintentional, your practice can be fined up to $1.5 million. It goes without saying that it is absolutely necessary…

You rely on service providers of all types to keep your home and business running smoothly. You call your HVAC repairman if your office air-conditioner fails to come to life on the first warm day you turn it on, or you call a plumber when your disposal at home is hopelessly clogged. When you call…

It’s that time of year when we switch from heating our homes to cooling them, and some of us are unpleasantly surprised to find our air conditioning system isn’t functioning properly. No doubt it’s a busy time for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning businesses. And when a customer calls an HVAC business, they want to…

If you’ve decided that it’s time to hire an answering service to improve your productivity and make your customers happier, congratulations — you are making a smart business investment. Now that you’ve made the decision, you may be wondering just which calls you should turn over to the answering service, or which features you should…

An article in Forbes recently reported that the number of solopreneur or freelance workers grew to 55 million Americans last year, which is 35% of the U.S. workforce. The trend is expected to increase to half the US workforce, or 75 million, by 2020. The impact for these one-person business owners is increased competition. They…

The cost of your business’s phone calls extends well beyond what you see on a monthly billing statement. To truly calculate the impact phone calls are having on your bottom line, you need to look beyond how many minutes you log to the bigger picture. What are your phone calls costing you when it comes…

Answering services, or call centers, have come such a long way from the old days of operator switchboards that it’s easy to get wrapped up in just how many ways businesses can benefit from today’s advanced options. But it’s also useful for anyone who’s considering hiring an answering service to start with the basics by…

One of the most common questions business owners ask when considering whether or not to hire an answering service is, “Do other businesses in my industry have answering services? And does it really benefit them?” The simple answer is yes, and yes. Businesses within just about any industry you can think of use answering services…

Answering services these days make a lot of claims, just like any business that’s trying to sell its services. But not all answering services are alike, and, unfortunately, not all are reputable. Most telephone answering services are good at telling you how good they are, but they’re not able to prove—or disprove—it until you’re weeks…

The administration and admissions offices at colleges and universities are as busy as the school’s libraries during finals week—but not nearly so quiet. Staff members in these offices field phone calls from students, prospective students, and parents who are seeking information on admissions, courses, or campus tours. Some of these calls can be answered by…