Live virtual receptionists can take away a lot of time-consuming work for your employees – like callers having simple questions about hours, directions, sales, pricing, or other general inquiries. That is why using a virtual receptionist service can be highly helpful for your business efficiencies because this leaves you time to finish your main duties and focus on your excellent customer service!
Whether you are a small business owner or an independent contractor that wants to put forward a more professional or larger ‘feel’, a call answering service or virtual receptionist can help polish your image. Even if you don’t want to look larger, often our answering services are used simply for after-hours or overflow calls.
But if you have wondered what exactly is involved in call answering services or what your virtual receptionist can do – then read on to learn more about their duties and their differences!
What Does a Call Answering Service Do?
A call answering service processes incoming calls. Usually, this means a message is taken and then delivered per your instructions. And, of course, real, live human beings take these calls and take down the messages for you.
There are customarily three functions that your call answering service provides, depending on the type of business you run, and your specific needs. These are:
- To relay calls to ‘on-call’ or ‘emergency’ personnel
- To screen calls to better protect company personnel from non-urgent calls
- To provide off-site ‘secretary’ services
But Then What Is the Difference Between Call Answering Services & Virtual Receptionist Services?
We think this sums it up nicely, from a simple Google Search:
“Virtual receptionists can do all the things that a good answering service can do, plus they have bonus capabilities. A virtual receptionist is someone who answers your phones for you, but instead of sitting in your office, they sit in a call center.”
So, What Are the Bonus Capabilities That a Virtual Receptionist Can Give Your Business?
Though virtual receptionist services can vary widely due to the needs of the client (much like how a front desk staff can perform many different tasks according to the needs of the business), there are a few services that our virtual receptionists often perform.
Our Virtual Receptionists Are Always Ready & Waiting for Your Callers
Always being available is an important benefit from your virtual receptionist (and probably the biggest reason many companies choose to use our 24/7 services). We know that you have a business to run, bills and invoices, schedules to make, and a thousand other items on your plate, so you cannot constantly be on the phones answering questions of callers – but we sure can be!
Whether it’s weekends, holidays, the middle of the night, or high call-volume hours, our ‘always there’ virtual receptionist services let you ‘unplug’ while we take over the phones! Just tell us what features you want and when to turn them on, and we’ll be standing by any day, any hour, for as many calls as you have coming in!
Our Virtual Receptionists Handle Your Appointment Scheduling & Reminders
“Live online scheduling is an important feature from your virtual receptionist because you can gain more bookings, faster bookings, and lessen double bookings on your calendar.”
Many customers won’t go back to a business they have had trouble with before (scheduling, late-starts, cancelations, etc.). Make sure your customers have a smooth and seamless scheduling encounter with your business every time with virtual receptionist services and online scheduling from Always Answer.
Having a friendly, live voice on the other end, not a ‘push 1 for an appointment’ gives a much better impression, and can be the differences between your appointments showing up, or not.
Missed appointments cost you time, clients, and money. Luckily, our live virtual receptionists can provide appointment reminders for your booked slots too – making the entire process seamless and enjoyable for your clients.
Our Virtual Receptionists Are Able to Save You Money & Time Over In-Office Staff
You never have to worry with Always Answer, as we record every call, every time, for quality assurance. Plus, we help you save money by not having to hire an in-office, full-time receptionist with a salary and fringe costs (benefits, PTO, insurance, etc).
But even without the added cost of full-time front desk staff, you can still get your messages quickly and accurately, and leave your callers in the capable hands of our friendly 24/7 staff. Prefer email or texts over a call for your messages? We can even fax your messages to you if you prefer a hardcopy.
