Are you having trouble deciding between answering service companies? While there may be many answering service companies out there to choose from, answering services are not a one-size-fits-all solution. 

So Many Calls, Not Enough Staff

Your business is booming, and your phones are ringing off the hook! While this is amazing, the receptionists you’ve hired to organize office records, fax documents, respond to emails, bill insurance companies, AND answer the phones are only doing one thing: answering the phones. They have too many responsibilities and too little time to tackle them all.

And, while booking appointments is certainly important to growing your business, everything else is important, too. The truth of the matter is, you need another set of hands, but after crunching some numbers, you decided that hiring a new receptionist just to answer calls is not a wise use of your resources. 

So, what can you do? The answer is simple! Hire an answering service! Doing so will not only lighten the load on your team but will improve your customer service overall. But, how do you go about choosing the “right” answerings service for your business?

How to Choose the Best Answering Service for Your Business

With so many answering services out there, the real question is, how do you know which one to choose? Automated or live operators? National or local? Fixed-rate or flexible pricing? 

We can help! We’ve come up with six important questions you need to ask yourself as well as the company you are considering to find the right fit. Check out our six-question checklist below. 

1. Are the operators live or automated?

When it comes to choosing the best answering service for your business, you really want to look for one that has live operators. Some call centers use a technology called IVR. 

IVR essentially takes a caller through a series of prompts and then routes them to the staff member on call or your business’s voicemail. Many people find IVR technology to be aggravating, especially if the caller isn’t routed to the right person, or the call is an emergency. Hiring an answering service with live and courteous operators ensures that your customers are greeted professionally and quickly each time they call.

2. Can the service’s live operators decipher which calls are urgent and which calls can wait?

All calls to your business are important, but some are going to be much more urgent than others, especially if your business is in the medical field. You will want to hire an answering service company that has operators on staff that will be able to determine which calls you consider urgent and which ones you consider a lower priority and can wait to be handled. 

3. Where are the operators based?

Many automated answering services outsource their work overseas. Depending on the nature of your business, this may not be the best option for your company, especially if you are in the medical field. Language barriers may become problematic if your patients can’t understand what the operator is saying, or vice versa. 

4. Do you need operators who speak more than one language?

With so many people in the U.S. speaking different languages, you might need to find an answering service that has operators that speak multiple languages. For instance, if any of your customers or patients speak Spanish, you might want to find a service that has operators that are fluent in that language as well.

5. Local or national?

When possible, choose an answering service that’s local to your business. It will make things so much easier because you’ll be working with people who know and care about your community. Plus, when you select an answering service that’s in your neck of the woods, you are much more likely to get personalized service with the setup and maintenance of your system and in-person education for the staff members who will be using it.

6. Are there any extra or hidden fees? 

No one likes extra or hidden fees. And, many answering service companies charge extra fees if you make changes to the schedule, like the hours you need services for, the staff members you want to receive transferred calls, or if you go over a certain number of calls in one month. 

So, when you are searching for an answering service to field your business’s calls, look for one that offers different plan options at affordable prices with no extra fees. Once you choose your plan, what you see is what you should get!

Voice Link Can Handle Your Business’s Answering Service Needs!

At the end of the day, how your calls are handled reflects on the reputation of your business, and using the right call center can make the difference between gaining or losing a customer. Voice Link provides live answering services guaranteed to exceed your expectations.

We have over 30 years of experience in complete telecommunication solutions, including virtual receptionist services. Find your plan, check out our pricing options, or give us a call at (706) 391-4623 for a free consultation.