No matter how text and email oriented we become as a society, there will always be something special about picking up the phone and talking live to someone.
That’s why it’s so important that you maintain high levels of quality and customer attention when it comes to your business phone line. Answering calls promptly, having a friendly voice and transferring customers where they need to be is all part of giving great phone customer service.
But what happens when you can’t answer the phone? Due to a multi-day event, vacation or extended holiday, you and your staff may not be there to answer incoming calls. This may leave your callers frustrated with reaching voicemail and searching for someone else to work with.
You don’t need a full-time receptionist, but you want to be sure your callers are receiving great phone customer service. Consider trying a temporary answering service. With a temporary answering service, your callers get greeted by a professionally trained remote receptionist while you’re away from the office for a short period of time.
Whether you need temporary help due to an emergency that is taking you away from the office, or a long overdue planned vacation, the process is basically the same. A short-term answering service will cover calls for you for a specified set of time, and there are no Long-Term contracts to worry about. Once you set up your account with your temporary answering service, you can give them a call anytime you need to for short term help now and in the future.
Start the process by searching for providers that have experience in your field. Although price is definitely an important consideration, you’ll need to look at more than that when you are making your decision. Your temporary virtual receptionist will act as the public face of your business while you are out of the office, so it’s important that they understand the basics of your business. Ask each temporary answering service company about the training process for their virtual receptionists so you can be sure that your calls are in good hands.
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices to one temporary answering service company, you’ll want to let them know about your schedule and needs for the coming weeks. You can prepare the virtual receptionist with basic FAQ information and convey your wishes for handling emergency calls. When you’re away from the office, your virtual receptionist will handle all of your incoming calls with friendliness and professionalism.
Don’t let your phone go to voicemail during vacation! Get a temporary answering service to cover your phones and keep your customers happy.
