Phone answering service can be a boon for businesses that need to stay available at all times (such as doctors or electricians who work outside office hours). It’s also a great option for any business that wants to offer customers a more personalised experience, which is something that research shows is an important factor in developing customer relationships.
Most call answering service charge per minute, with packages ranging from $0.75 – $1.40. Often, the client will provide a script to be followed by callers and any other information that they want callers to have (such as appointment times). The script will also include how the calls are to be processed if necessary, such as forwarding them to someone in-house or providing specific instructions on what steps need to be taken.
Some answering services are specialized in particular industries (such as medical, funeral homes, or limousines). These answering services may have specific details on how to process calls for these types of businesses and can help keep the lines of communication open even after business hours. Other call answering services are more general and can handle calls for a range of different businesses. In these cases, the agents will be trained to understand the generalities of each industry but will have a more generic script to follow. In either case, they will be able to give a prompt answer to the customer.