Answering Service Blog | American Inbound

Video Answering Services are in the near future.  But how would these features be used?  Most call center clients would have no need for this.  However, many would. Think about the last work meeting that you could not make.  If you happened to have a video based answering service, you could call your service, and they could patch you and your video through to the board room.  Board meeting crisis averted. 

Another situation: for property maintenance.  You’ve got a problem tennet.  One that calls every night about one thing or another.  Now she has a pipe leaking under her sink.  She has definitely called in false alarms before so you are wary.  Well if you had a video answering service, you could have video of the leak in real time.  It turns out that the leak was a just a small drip… and from the faucet!  She can wait until the morning.

As this becomes more and more of a reality, more uses for this technology are sure to appear.  There have already been a couple of skype based answering service start ups this year.  It would not take many changes on their end to enable these kind of video services.  However they have not offered any as of yet. 

Here is another article dealing with video answering services.

This is an interesting read if you answer phones for attorneys.    In this riveting, legal tale a criminal defense lawyer recounts his years of service and how he has dealt with his clients’ after hours needs as they have changed over the years. 

He uses an answering service to screen out non emergencies, then for real emergencies he is always available. The most telling bit of the post is this:

“We come to appreciate that no one dies thinking that they didn’t spend enough time at work.  We realize the need to set limits, and are fully prepared to suffer any negative consequences as a result of those limits.  It’s a trade-off, but a trade-off that we are happy to make.  ”

Yes, lawyers are people too!  Maybe you should give yours a break (especially if it is 3 in the morning).

Deciding on an answering service can be a rough trial.  With Globalization and the rise of cheap, easy to get equipment, the number of answering services in the world is climbing. There are many tactics you can use to help determine which answering services are legitimate and which is right for you.

The first is the age of the company. How long have they been in the business?  Many new answering services are hurt by poor customer service. If it is an older company, then their customer service techniques are tried and true.  If they have been training employees for years and are still going strong, then they will surely be able to meet the needs of you and your clients.

Another important item to check on is if the answering service has any specialties. Today there are many nich specific answering services that deal only with one type of business. For instance: medical answering services, real estate answering services.  These are generally smaller companies that cannot handle large amounts of calls or varying types of calls. Most non-nich services also specialize, but train their operators to takes all kinds of calls. It is always good to ask and see. Especially if your business has needs that spread out over many areas.

Price is always a factor when you’re in the market. As with anything, you pay for what you get, but you must always keep your budget in mind. Price varies considerably with different companies so it is a good idea to shop around. Many services will allow you to pay by the month, rather than roping you into a year long contract. These are great because then it is possible for you to test them out.

Lastly, ask them for references. Any reputable answering service will have several clients who will be willing to provide testimonials. Make sure to pay special attention to references from people in the same line of work as you. For instance a plumber would not care at all how well someone’s operators can enter orders into a clothing website.

As always, use common sense and ask a lot questions. If you are expecting over 200 calls a night, it may not be a good idea to hire Nancy, who just set up a home answering service next door in her living room. If something seems fishy, ask questions in different ways, or go somewhere else. Answering services can be powerful tools if the business is a professional one.  I wish you the best of luck in finding the service that is right for you and your clients.

Real Estate Agents are on the go constantly!  They need to be reachable at anytime of the day.  Unfortunately, this often extends after hours.  Answering services can help you get the calls that you need immediately and save the ones that are not as urgent.  You can then get your messages in any way you see fit in the morning.  It’s a very simple setup and it works great.

Here is an article that explains this issue further.

SMS text messaging is one of the hottest recent developments in answering service technology. Call center clients can use this much like a pager, receiving their urgent messages in a matter of seconds. If your call center cannot handle SMS messaging, I suggest you find one that can!

You should also refer them to this article:
Call centre technology checklist: SMS