What Businesses Need Answering Services
Though telephone answering services can be a useful addition to any type of business, the most popular applications for answering services are for service industry contractors and those businesses in medical industries.
Work in this day and age is quite different than it was 30,
20 or even ten years ago. Whereas companies were usually dependant on working out of a standard office space or building with rooms full of desks and a receptionist, modern office structure and work habits have become quite different. Employees are not as tied to the office as they once were and enjoy higher levels of freedom, efficiency, and flexibility in where and when they do their work. This is especially true for professionals frequently on the road who work in fields such as real estate or sales. These men and women rely on their email and cell phones to keep in touch with the office and their clients.
One of the biggest things to help those who frequently work outside the office is answering services. It has become quite clear that certain businesses need answering services such as electricians. Companies in this industry frequently have an answering service handle their incoming calls, take a message, and dispatch them to individual electricians. The electricians are frequently out on service calls so it is quite convenient to have an operator always available to answer because they might not always be able to take the call. This not only allows the electrician to work more safely and efficiently, it allows for a more professional appearance where the client appreciates the attention given to their particular job.
Another example of a business that needs an answering service is those in the real estate industry. Many real estate agents and brokers frequently travel from property to property and have very active schedules that require them to be out of their offices frequently. For this reason, many have decided to utilize some help in the form of an answering service. One of the myriad services they may take advantage of is appointment setting. When it comes to real estate showings, agents know that having a solid schedule of prospective buyers is vital to the success of their business. With an answering service, they know that no matter when a prospective client calls in, there will be someone available to make and maintain their appointments.
Certain businesses really need a point of contact for their customers at all times. One such example is property management companies. Although most calls that come in at night for these businesses are not urgent in nature and a return call the next day to the tenant would surely suffice. However, there are occasionally some calls that come in which are urgent in nature and must be dispatched immediately. This is one major draw to using an answering service. With this service, tenants have a way of getting their emergency issue handled quickly and easily. The operators would have a list of on-call contacts to get in touch with and alert with details of the current situation.
For example, a pipe in or near a tenant's apartment might burst and they need a serviceperson to come out right away to fix it. The owner of the property might provide the tenant with a number to call in this situation and the operator will contact the appropriate person, connecting them with the caller. Because the operator will keep calling individuals on this list until someone is reached, you can rest assured that someone will be on it as soon as possible. This is quite different than a voicemail which could delay action for hours or direct calls to your cell phone, which might ring needlessly in the middle of the night for non-urgent matters. An answering service bridges the gap between having to be woken up in the middle of the night needlessly and not having a situation handled soon enough.