Is Voicemail Ruining Businesses

Around three decades ago, the cost of phone service became much more affordable and, as a result, its usage in business increased dramatically. Naturally, one problem that resulted was not reaching the person you were calling. This could be for a variety of reasons from the person already being on the phone to being out of their office. It was also during this time when receptionists and personal secretaries were becoming less and less common. As a result, companies of all sizes scrambled to fix this pressing issue. After many tried unsuccessfully to have groups of workers take messages for the entire company, technology advanced to the point where voicemail service seemed like a feasible and affordable solution.

Many companies during this period reported saving thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in expended time and resources, but along the way something was lost. While voicemail will continue to be an affordable and easy service for both individuals and businesses, live options such as answering services offer features not found in any voicemail system. Voicemail has a lot of limitations, technologically and functionally, that don't apply to call center services. The first drawback of having voicemail is that there is usually just one way of getting a message. An answering service can contact you multiple ways and multiple times until they get in touch with you.

Voicemail isn't just inconvenient, for many people it is incompatible with their business model. Locksmiths, for example, need a live person answering their calls around the clock because many people call in at night after being locked out of their home or car. An answering service operator has the ability to contact certain people who are on-call in order to let them know of someone needing service. This makes a lot more sense than waking up people who aren't technicians or aren't on call that particular night. The operator can also send messages to a supervisor pertaining to the service request and the employee who was dispatched. These messages are to ensure quality and prompt service by all of their technicians.

When it comes to operating a business these days, voicemail isn't going to cut it. Even with offices that aren't open at night, customers want to be able to call in and schedule an appointment. An answering service is not only effective, it is basically saying that an organization cares about the people it serves any time of the day or night. Offering your clients a line of communication like this is sure to be appreciated, unlike voicemail. This is because everyone has, bare minimum, a voicemail for customers to call. A number of better alternatives exist and an answering service is one of the most efficient and inexpensive options available to businesses of all sizes and of all industries.

Because an answering service can be integrated into your current office setup as easily as voicemail, it does not require drastic changes. Just imagine that when any of the phones you setup ring, if you don't answer the call will be forwarded to a call center and an operators will answer for you. It really is that simple and you only need to provide simple information to get started. You would just let the answering service know which numbers you'd be forwarding from, how you want the calls answered what you need in the messages, where you want the messages sent, etc. Also, be sure to let the operators know if you have an on-call list of contacts and provide them with their names and numbers.