As businesses across all industries and sizes were disrupted by the spread of COVID-19, they were forced to make some significant operational changes, including making changes to how they answered incoming calls. Many companies found themselves without a plan in place to keep their employees safe and their operations up and running, meaning their customers were not getting the service they needed. Voice Link’s live answering services, customer service call centers, and the secure messaging app helped businesses navigate the challenges of the pandemic by reducing long wait times and dropped or missed calls and increasing instant communications.

Since 1989, we have been at the forefront of professional virtual receptionist services, combining our extensive live answering experience and leading-edge technology to develop flexible answering service solutions that are there when you and your employees cannot be in the office to answer calls. See how Voice Link solved COVID-19 challenges for these industries.

HEALTHCARE COMPANY RELIES ON PROFESSIONAL LIVE ANSWERING AGENTS

A cardiologist had patients who were at increased risk during this pandemic, prompting a shift to remote hands-off operations to keep both patients and doctors safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The challenge: For healthcare organizations, HIPAA and HITECH regulations are becoming stricter. Healthcare providers need to maintain privacy and protect their patient’s personal data, but still, electronically share records with the office staff as employees work remotely. They also need to maintain open communications with their patients and be able to respond to the influx of incoming calls to schedule appointments, without having a live operator in the office.

The solution: Voice Link’s Secure Messaging app allows the cardiologist to send encrypted messages to smartphones and mobile devices, enabling two-way instant communications with an additional layer of security. We also provided them with a live person answering incoming calls to assist patients with their general queries, and direct them to the correct person if further information was required.

The benefit: Our Secure Mobile App helps ensure that patient data remains confidential while physicians receive and respond to important and/or time-sensitive messages. Messages are instant for fast collaborative communications. Our agents are also able to determine whether it’s an urgent call or one that can be addressed once the office reopened to its normal business hours.

UTILITY COMPANY WAS OVERWHELMED WITH INCOMING CALLS

An internet service provider saw an enormous spike in broadband and data usage while everyone is complying with stay-at-home orders. Whether people are working or learning from home, or streaming for entertainment, network capacity is overstretched.

The challenge: With the surge in data consumption, comes an increase in customer service or internet service calls. Many utility service providers are struggling to answer their support calls promptly, as well as sales calls from potential customers, sending crucial calls to voicemail. And with social distancing recommendations in place, high-risk populations as well as healthcare providers and other essential businesses need to be able to rely on their wi-fi connections.

The solution: Voice Link serves as a Utility Call Center. This business answering service call center helped filter emergency and non-emergency calls, page and dispatch service technicians, and schedule appointments using our state-of-the-art software, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our live telephone answering service served as an extension of their business.

The benefit: This Utility Call Center helped improve our client’s business efficiencies by having live receptionists capture sales leads when the technicians were on service calls, which reduced their response time and improved overall customer satisfaction. It also helped prevent a large number of voice mail messages and missed service calls that may have gone unanswered.

BUILDING CONTRACTOR SENT CALLS TO VOICEMAIL

A building contractor has seen an increase in customer calls. As homeowners are quarantined, they are thinking about home repair and construction projects they have been putting off.

The challenge: With existing interior home repair projects being delayed and rescheduled, supply chains for materials interrupted, and increased demand for new exterior projects, home repair providers and building contractors find themselves overwhelmed with phone calls. Receptionists were furloughed and there was no answering system in place for call forwarding or dispatching from his office landline, resulting in unanswered calls that went straight to voicemail, with no one to check the messages.

The solution: Voice Link’s Live Answering Service provides a real-time live virtual receptionist to answer incoming calls, filter non-emergency and urgent calls directly to a smartphone, help schedule appointments, and administer customer messages in real-time.

The benefit: By utilizing Voice Link’s Live Answering Service, a business owner will never have a missed call. Calls are answered by a live answering agent with your company name. With the help of our USA-based receptionists, companies can improve customer loyalty, gain new businesses, reduce in-house costs, and maintain relationships with suppliers.

How Voice Link Responded to COVID-19

Voice Link is committed to the safety and health of our live answering agents and our business clients while being responsible and adhering to CDC recommendations. We have learned, having a plan in place for business disruptions is crucial for maintaining business operations. Though COVID-19 has thrown some challenges everyone’s way, Voice Link took immediate action and enacted new protocols to keep our customers engaged and business operational. Some steps we took:

• Secured additional headsets so our agents could work from home.
• Spaced all in-house employees 6’ apart.
• Ensured all portals were up and running.

 

Find your plan

You have enough to worry about, answering your incoming calls should not be one of them. Voice Link is committed to providing a professional live answering service to your business and ensuring no missed calls—24/7, 365 days a year. Shop our plans, check out our pricing options, or give us a call at (706) 391-4623 for a free consultation.