Being the owner of a small- to medium-sized business is hectic no matter what kind of company you run, but the ferocity of the demands placed on your shoulders increase dramatically when you’re suddenly discovered by the world and the calls come pouring in.
On one hand, this is great news, you’re going to really be able to make this business work. But on the other hand, you have to get a grip on your phone lines before people start to wander off for lack of customer service.
Are Your Phone Lines Too Busy? Look for These Signs
You’ll know your phone lines are way too busy when you find yourself or your customers exhibiting any of these signs:
- You spend a lot of time putting people on hold. Whether you’re answering your own phone or you have a receptionist doing it for you, if the first words out of your mouth are “Can you hold please?” then there’s a problem. People are not as patient as you might hope, they’ll often hang up if they can’t get a human quickly, meaning a lost customer that then may take to social media to complain.
- Managing your voicemail box occupies a huge part of your morning or evening. When the calls come in all night or they just keep coming all day and you have to stay late to keep up with the flow, it’s pretty awful for your general well-being and can affect service levels. If you want to maintain a high level of customer care as high a priority, this constant voicemail dance has to end.
- In-office customers have complained about the service level. When that phone is ringing non-stop, do your in-office customers start to complain because they can’t get anyone’s attention? Do they sometimes just walk out because they’re so frustrated? After all, they’re standing right in front of the person answering the phones, so why aren’t they getting any attention? Juggling in-office customers and telephone callers is not easy, especially with a limited staff.
A Complicated Problem With a Simple Solution
Your phone lines are clearly too busy, but there’s not much you can do about that without destroying your already tanking reputation, is there?
Yes there is! You can partner with an answering service to help spread out the load. Not only will it stop the constant ringing in the office, an answering service can provide helpful services like appointment setting and call loggings with detailed messages so you can decide who to call back first and will even answer basic customer service questions with information you provide.
If you’re suffering from too many calls, the remedy is simple: find an answering service partner to help.
