Answering Service Archives - Specialty Answering Service Specialty Answering Service Thu, 13 Dec 2018 13:02:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/wp-content/uploads/cropped-favicon-1-32x32.png Answering Service Archives - Specialty Answering Service 32 32 7 Reasons Why You Should Use an Answering Service to Handle Product Recalls https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/7-reasons-why-you-should-use-an-answering-service-to-handle-product-recalls/ Tue, 01 May 2018 19:21:46 +0000 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/?p=8953 When recalls happen, set up a recall hotline with an answering service to supercharge your customer service. Recalls can affect any company, from auto dealerships, to electronic shops, to grocery stores (lettuce

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When recalls happen, set up a recall hotline with an answering service to supercharge your customer service. Recalls can affect any company, from auto dealerships, to electronic shops, to grocery stores (lettuce remind you of the romaine recall that most recently made headlines), so you should formulate a plan in advance to prepare for the inevitable influx of calls.

We’ve seen firsthand how a service like Specialty Answering Service can benefit a company in the midst of a product recall. However, if you’ve never experienced a product recall and think you can answer the calls on your own, think again. 1-2 calls at a time is doable, 1000-2000 calls all at once is a nightmare. If you don’t think you need extra help answering calls during a product recall, we created a list of reasons why your company should use an answering service to handle the extra traffic. Feel free to thank us later.

1. Answering Services Handle High Call Volumes

Recall announcements are usually followed by a blitz of phone calls – AKA an answering services bread and butter. Answering services can handle a ton of calls on any given day. Imagine getting inundated with day to day calls on top of calls about your recall. It’s just not realistic that you’ll be able to handle the call volume while keeping everyone happy.

In terms of customer service, having your callers wait on hold is the cherry on top of a terrible cake – and that cake has unfortunately also been recalled. Just having an answering service in place that can cut down on hold times is definitely a step in the right direction. Even through all the frustration of having to call customer support about a product recall, your customers will be grateful to talk to someone right away who can help them. Trust us.

2. Answering Services Are Available 24/7

In addition to handling a high volume of calls, most answering services are available 24/7 (if your service is not, look for a new one). This is especially important if your company distributes products across the nation and/or globe. Since not all of your customers are going to be located in the same time zone as your business, you’ll want to make sure that no matter what time your customers are calling, there will be a friendly voice to answer.

If you would like to try and answer as many calls as possible in house, you can set up conditional call forwarding on your line so that your answering service can handle all of the calls that you can’t get to during business hours, and then handle everything when it’s closing time.

3. Answering Services Can Help Save you Money

To put it simply, recalls are costly. Not only have you put time and money into creating the product, but now you have to spend extra time and money taking those products back, fixing them, and then redistributing them. On top of that, you’ll also have to provide refunds and credits to your customers as incentive for them to remain your customers. Talk about breaking the bank! However, an answering service is a less expensive alternative than paying your employees over time to stay after hours for who knows how long until the issue is corrected.

4. Answering Services are an Extension of Your Business

Answering services are essentially a branch off of your own business, and can act as such, too. Sure, they can take messages, but they can also transfer calls, answer questions, process returns, place orders for new replacement parts, and essentially give callers the customer service they have come to expect with your company. Since the majority of people calling will be asking questions, getting your FAQs up to date is crucial. Some great examples of helpful FAQs during a recall are:

  1. When did the recall start?
  2. What product or products are under recall?
  3. Do you have an idea of when the issue will be corrected?
  4. Where can customers drop off defective equipment?
  5. Is your company providing refunds? If so, how do your customers get one?
  6. Is there a time frame of when your customers can return tainted products?
  7. Do you sell the product under other brands?
  8. Any other updates regarding the recall?

Pro tip: If you use a customer relationship management (CRM) software to manage all client data and/or support tickets, see if your answering service can integrate with your platform. Integrating with a CRM can save you and your employees a lot of time since you won’t have to manually enter in those tickets yourself. 

5. Answering Services can Speak Spanish

Recalls can affect anyone, so it’s important that you have the proper representation for all of your customers. While not every answering service offers bilingual support, there are many that do. So, if you have a large client base of Spanish speaking callers, you’ll want to make sure they are able to receive great customer support as well.

If your answering service does provide bilingual support, you should see if they can add an automated greeting to your line, like an IVR. That way your callers don’t have to dial different numbers. They can just press 1 for English or 2 for Spanish and be automatically directed to the appropriate person.

6. Answering Services can Make Outbound Calls

If your company is trying to get ahead of the curve and reach out to customers before they call you, answering services can assist with that as well. Whether you need direct mail follow up regarding the recall, or if you’re just making regular phone calls, it would be a good idea to have one line open for inbound calls, and another line specific to making outbound calls. That way you can kill two birds with one stone, or maybe something less morose.

Being proactive about the situation can not only cut down on the inbound calls you will receive, but it may also leave a better taste in your customers’ mouths (quite literally if we’re still talking about the whole lettuce thing).

7. Answering Services can Save Your Brand

While the story of the tainted romaine is the latest news in the recall world, it may not be the best example of how an answering service can help save your brand, mainly because the outbreak didn’t stem from one specific brand, only a general location.

From that general location, thousands of romaine hearts were distributed across the country to various vendors like grocery stores, markets, and restaurants, but what phone number are consumers supposed to call for assistance? Sure, they can call the grocery store they bought it from or the restaurant they ate at last night, but it’s not as clear cut as it would be if a company like Ford or Honda shipped out cars that had some sort of defect. So, when handling recalls, make sure your customers know exactly who to call for all of their questions and concerns for streamlined support.

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6 Rookie Mistakes Businesses Make With Their Answering Service https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/6-rookie-mistakes-businesses-make-with-their-answering-service/ Thu, 19 Apr 2018 21:48:02 +0000 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/?p=8907 Whether you’ve just started using an answering service, or you’ve had one for years, you should be aware of the 5 most common mistakes businesses make that will result in an outsourcing

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Whether you’ve just started using an answering service, or you’ve had one for years, you should be aware of the 5 most common mistakes businesses make that will result in an outsourcing epic fail.

1. Your Procedures are Too Complicated

Every company wants their customers to be happy, and a factor in customer happiness is how fast you respond to their problems. If a customer is reaching out to you with an issue, you want them to be helped swiftly and confidently. After all, happy customers are what drive growth. However, if you’re letting a virtual receptionist answer your calls, you should know that expecting too much from the operator can be detrimental. For example:

  1. If your script has more than a few call options, or reasons why someone would be calling, you’ll probably want to simplify your protocol. This is especially true if the operators are opening the call with a simple “how may I help you?” Since the operators aren’t as familiar with your business as you are, having too many options can result in operators genuinely unsure of why someone is calling, which would result in more work on your part. We recommend answering the phone with phrases like “Are you calling for service or support?” or “Can I schedule an appointment for you today?”
  2. If your script has the operators going out to a complicated web form to submit data, you could be setting the operators up for failure. Usually, when someone is asking questions to complete a form, it’s not going to be a linear conversation. There’s going to be some back and forth like “Why do you need that information?” or “I’m not sure, can you tell me how other people answer that question?”  Since the operators won’t be able to answer every question they’ll be asked, it’s likely going to lead to an awkward interaction – and an unhappy caller.

Having an overly complicated protocol is a sure fire way to force unnecessary mistakes and set the receptionists up to fail. When setting up your call handling with your answering service, it’s important to go over the essentials and configure the script accordingly so that both you and your customers’ experiences are as smooth as butter. Check out these tips to make the best answering service scripts for your business!

2. Your Script is Too Simple

On the opposite side of the spectrum, you also don’t want your script to be too simple and create more work on your end. For example, if you schedule appointments in your office but are just having your answering service take the caller’s name and number for a call back, you’re definitely not getting the most bang for your buck. Contact your answering service, discuss what they can do well, and take advantage of the features that your answering service offers.

Unless you’re looking for basic message taking, we recommend that every script should have at least two paths, or call options. One option should be geared towards something specific like scheduling appointments, requesting service, placing orders, etc., whereas the other path should be a general option for any other call that doesn’t fit into the first option. Of course you can have more than two, but as mentioned previously, you don’t want to go over board and add in every possible scenario someone may call in for.

3. Too Many FAQs

Similar to having an overly complicated script, you also don’t want to have too many FAQs. It’s definitely important to provide essential information to the people handling  your calls, like what your business hours are, your prices, if you provide service after hours, etc., but you don’t want to over burden them. If you add 3 pages of information, the operators are going to spend a lot of time searching through that data to try and find the answer they are looking for. This overshare of information can result in:

  1. Higher usage, which means higher invoices.
  2. Annoyed customers who just want their questions answered quickly.
  3. Long pauses while the agents page through your FAQs.
  4. Operators giving up after not being able to find the question they are looking for.
  5. Many transitional phrases (bare with me for one moment, just a minute please, etc.)

So, while it may seem like a good idea to add as much information as you can, you’ll really want to live by the K.I.S.S method and keep it short and sweet. Try and pinpoint the most important and frequent questions you get asked, and leave the rest up to you and your staff to answer.

4. Not Enough FAQs

While having too many FAQs is a mistake many people make, not having enough is also poor planning. Ideally, you want the virtual receptionists handling your calls to be equipped with the perfect amount of information. Think of it like Goldilocks – you don’t want too much information, and you don’t want too little. Again, figure out the most important questions so that you can arm the operators with the appropriate answers. Here are some basic FAQs every account should have:

  1. What are your business hours?
  2. Where are you located?
  3. Is there an actual store front or are you an online retailer?
  4. Do you have a website?
  5. Is there a fax number?
  6. Can customers email you? If so, what’s the address?

While basic FAQs are helpful, you should also include industry related questions like:

HVAC/Plumbing/Restoration/Construction

  1. What services do you offer?
  2. What are your prices?
  3. Are you available after hours? If so, is there an after hours fee?
  4. Do you offer both residential and commercial services?

Medical 

  1. Do you accept insurance? If so, what types?
  2. Can patients pay out of pocket?
  3. Which physicians are at your practice?
  4. Does your practice offer different services? (chiropractic, therapy, orthodontic, etc.)

Property Management/Real Estate

  1. Do you sell and buy properties?
  2. What properties do you manage?
  3. Do you provide lock box codes?
  4. Do you provide after hours maintenance?

Legal Firms

  1. Is there a free consultation?
  2. What cases do you take?
  3. Who are the lawyers at your firm?
  4. What are your fees?

Of course not every business will be the same, but when coming up with FAQs, you should put yourself in your callers’ shoes and think “what would I ask my company?”

Pro tip: As your company changes, make sure to keep your answering service up to date on all changes as well. That means prices, business hours, location, etc.

5. You Don’t Have an Automated Greeting

An automated greeting is a feature that many answering services will offer. An automated greeting is a recording that greets the caller prior to connecting them with an operator and it assures them that they’ve reached the right place. If your answering service offers it, you should definitely have one on your line. For example, Bob’s Plumbing may have a greeting that plays before a call is connected to an operator saying something like ‘It’s a great day at Bob’s Plumbing! You’ve reached our appointment scheduling service. Please hold on the line and an operator will be with you in a moment.”

While having a service is great, no service can promise that there will never be hold times. So, if there is a hold, you’ll want to make sure that your callers hear that greeting prior to hearing any sort of hold music.  The custom greeting will let them know that they’ve dialed the correct number, and that someone will be in touch with them soon. Having your calls go right to hold music sounds unprofessional and is a sure fire way to get your customers to hang up. Yikes!

6. You Aren’t Telling Callers They Are Speaking With The Answering Service

Usually people can tell if they are speaking with someone from the office or an answering service, especially if you are a small business. If you try to cover up that you are using an answering service, your callers may get annoyed and feel distrust towards your company. Transparency is an important aspect of business to customer relationships, so we recommend having the operators tell your callers up front that they are speaking with a service. For example: “Thank you for calling Dr. Joe’s Dentistry, you’ve reached the answering service. Can I help you schedule an appointment?” That way your callers will know right away that they’re talking to a service and will not be let down when they think they’ve reached the office only to find out later that they did not.

Often times we find that when businesses want the answering service to act as though they are actually in the office, it can lead to confusion and unhappy customers. While you may provide helpful FAQs for the operators so that they are able to answer caller’s questions, they still aren’t going to know everything. So, if your service is pretending to be the actual receptionist and they aren’t able to answer something, it doesn’t look good for your company. However, you can avoid that mess altogether by just being truthful up front.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Answering Services https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/frequently-asked-questions-faq-about-answering-services/ Tue, 17 Apr 2018 21:04:25 +0000 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/?p=8905 At Specialty Answering Service, we often get asked many questions regarding the ins and outs of how answering services work, what they do, and how much they cost – among other things.

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At Specialty Answering Service, we often get asked many questions regarding the ins and outs of how answering services work, what they do, and how much they cost – among other things. We thought it would be a great idea to consolidate our most frequently asked questions to help out readers like you, who may be in the market for a new answering service. While most of the answers aren’t specific to any particular service, we did include some information based on what we offer here at SAS 🙂

General

What is a virtual receptionist?

A virtual receptionist, or a virtual assistant, is just like a regular receptionist except they are not in the same location as you. They typically can do all of the same tasks a normal receptionist can do, like book appointments, place orders, transfer calls, take messages, etc. but they most likely won’t know all of the details of your business like an in-house receptionist would.

Do receptionists work remotely?

Sometimes! Some answering services employ both in-house and remote agents, depending on availability. While it’s usually easier to have all of the agents in one location, some operators just work better from home. Call centers tend to get noisy which can sometimes be overheard through the operator’s mic, so, allowing some agents to work from home (assuming they don’t have loud pets or children) could be a great alternative to help eliminate some background noise.

How should an answering service answer my calls?

There are many different ways an answering service can answer your calls. They can answer with a general greeting like “how may I help you?” they can answer the same way you would answer in your own office, or they can answer with something more specific like “hello and thank you for calling, are you calling to schedule an appointment?” While having a generic greeting may seem like a good idea, it’s always important to keep in mind that handling calls in your office will be a different experience than having an answering service handle your calls. Since the receptionists at an answering service are not as familiar with your business as your own receptionists, having a more specific greeting usually works better in terms of streamlining calls.

How do answering services know how to handle my calls?

After you’ve decided to sign on with an answering service, you’ll most likely speak with an intake specialist who will ask you questions regarding your company and what it is you are looking to get out of the service. After going through that process, they’ll take the information you’ve given them and program the account accordingly. Then once everything is programmed, the operators will use that call handling, or script, to handle your calls specifically.

What is customer service outsourcing?

Some businesses may be too busy to handle everything themselves, so they may outsource their customer service. Anyone who needs an issue resolved will go through the answering service, who would be able to take a message or transfer calls accordingly. If your answering service also handles email and chat support, there are companies available to outsource that as well. Some services can even integrate with various CRMs, so not only can they handle your customer service calls, but they can also push data through to your support CRM which means less work you’ll have to do.

What are the benefits of outsourcing customer service?

If your business is open from 9am-5pm, then that only leaves an 8 hour time frame of when your customers can call with questions and concerns. Sure, 8 hours may seem like a lot of time, but for people who are also working during that time frame, they may not be able to reach out. So, outsourcing your customer service allows your customers to receive help even after you’ve closed up shop for the day. In addition, if you’re too busy during the day to get to every phone call, your answering service can help during business hours as well!

What services do hotlines provide?

Hotlines provide many different services, depending on how you use them. Compliance, or whistleblower hotlines can be used to report incidents or fraudulent behavior in the workplace, and can be done so anonymously.  An employee call off hotline could be used for employees calling out of work, and recall hotlines can be used for companies that are recalling products. Essentially, hotlines can be used for many different things!

What is a whistleblower hotline?

A whistleblower, otherwise known as a compliance hotline, is a hotline that allows employees to report workplace incidents. Many companies choose to outsource these calls to a third party in order to help ensure anonymity. In addition, outsourcing these calls may encourage employees to report incidents without fear of retaliation.

What is considered “after hours” with an answering service?

Typically, answering services handle calls 24/7, so what is “after hours” really would depend on your company specifically.

Can you use landline phones with an answering service?

Sure! Answering services work on the premise of call forwarding, so as long as your phone (whether cellular or landline) can forward, you shouldn’t have any problems connecting with a service.

Are all services BBB accredited?

Since it is not a requirement for answering services to be BBB accredited, not all of them are. While the BBB is very fair when it comes to posting reviews and resolving cases, it shouldn’t be a make or break type deal when searching for an answering service. However, if they are not accredited by the BBB, you should do some more research to see if they are a part of another organization, like a local chamber of commerce.

What is a good answering service for my business?

While there are many options out there in terms of answering services, finding one that is suitable to your business can be tricky. First you’ll want to outline what it is you are trying to get out of a service. Do you need help capturing leads? Do you need help scheduling appointments? Do you need after hours coverage for emergency calls? Once you have figured out what you would use your answering service for, then you can begin the journey of finding which one works best for you. Most services will offer some sort of free trial period, which is a great way to test a bunch and see which one works!

What gets outsourced to call centers?

Really, anything could get outsourced to a call center. Marketing agencies could outsource their outbound lead capture to a service, medical practices could outsource their urgent after hours calls, lawyers could outsource all of their inbound calls while they are in court, etc.

Why or when would an answering service put me on hold?

Answering services may put you on hold due to high call volumes. If there are more calls coming in then there are agents answering, you may get put on hold until the next available representative becomes available. While no answering service can guarantee there will never be holds, Specialty Answering Service prides itself on having the highest answer rate in the industry.

What kind of equipment would you need to start a phone answering service?

Aside from telephones, there is a lot of equipment you would need to start a phone answering service. You would need computers, headsets, various software like ACD (automatic call distributor), computer telephone integration (CTI) and interactive voice response systems (IVR), not to mention employees and an effective business plan.  If you’re looking to open up your own answering service, check out our helpful infographic to learn the basics.

What numbers are available to use?

Answering services will partner with a phone provider who will give them access to a bank full of numbers. Usually that bank includes both local and toll free numbers. However, most answering services are unable to provide vanity numbers (numbers that could spell out something, like your company name). If you were looking for a vanity number you’d have to purchase one separately, and then use that number to forward to the service.

How do I forward my lines to the service?

Typically to forward your line you’ll dial *72, followed by the 10 digit forwarding number your answering service provided you. Then to remove your line from forwarding you would dial *73. However, the protocol in which to forward really varies based on phone provider, so you would want to contact them first to learn how. You can also check out our help desk article for instructions on how to call forward as well!

Can I use Google Voice with an answering service?

Yes and no. While Google Voice is great because it’s free, it does come with some complications. Due to it’s inability to accept more than one call at a time, not all of  your calls could connect to the service. For this reason, there are some answering services who will not work with Google Voice, but there are others that will. If your service does allow you to use Google Voice, there may be some features that you won’t be able to utilize, like recording your calls (as the pre-recorded message makes the calls from Google Voice bounce back). At SAS, we find that some of our clients have no issues while using Google Voice, while others can’t connect at all.

Pricing

What it the average cost of an answering service?

The average cost of an answering service really depends on how you’re using it, in addition to the service itself. Some services bill per minute, others bill per call, and some just charge a flat rate. In addition, if you’re only getting a few calls a month as opposed to a larger volume, the prices would fluctuate accordingly.

Is a credit card needed to start service?

Typically, yes. Most services will require a credit card to be used for the first invoice and/or a certain period of time after you’ve started. However, other services may be more flexible and allow for other types of payments.

Is call patching included?

Most answering services are able to patch calls. However, how they charge for that time will vary. If your service bills per call, then that patched call would typically count as one call, whereas a service that charges per minute could calculate the time spent on the actual call. At our advanced service level here at SAS where calls are charged per minute, the cost of a patched call is reduced to a fraction of the actual minute rate of a normal call. So, services can really fluctuate how they price in that area.

Is billing done by the call, by the minute or by the month?

It can really be any of the three, but most likely a combination of per call/per minute and per month. Most services will track your usage (either by the minute or by the call) each day over the course of a calendar month, then send you an invoice based off that usage. Depending on what plan you’ve chosen and what that plan allows, you may have to pay a base rate in addition to overages (if there are any) or you may just pay a flat rate. Since your usage will really fluctuate each month, if you’re not on a flat rate service, your invoices will most likely vary from month to month as well.

Do I have to sign a contact?

Most services will usually not make you sign a contract, as they typically operate on a month to month subscription basis. However, that doesn’t ring true for every service. Some services may require that you sign a contract that binds you to at least 1 year of service, so if you are not ready to make that sort of commitment you’ll want to make sure you research the service prior to providing any billing information.

Do I have to pay extra to use a toll free number?

It depends on your service. Some services will charge a small monthly fee to utilize one of their toll free numbers, whereas other services will not charge you extra.

Features

Is an answering service a scheduling service?

They can be! Some services just offer basic call handling (taking messages and transferring calls), whereas others are able to schedule appointments, place orders online, take payments, etc. While many answering services can schedule, how they schedule will vary. Some can schedule right on your software, others provide their own scheduling software, and some can schedule on web based applications like Google Calendar.

Is there an autoplay message before a call is answered?

Usually answering services have the option to record calls for quality assurance. Depending on the state in which the call center is located, they may or may not have to announce to the caller that the call is being recorded. So, some answering services may have a standard “for quality assurance this call may be recorded” greeting on the line, some may be able to create a custom greeting specific to your business, or some services may not have any automatic greeting.

Are all calls recorded?

Not always! Some services may record all calls for quality assurance, where as others may give you the option of whether or not you want your calls to be recorded. Some services may even store all of your recordings in an online portal which would allow you to listen to them and provide feedback.

Can the agents have British accents?

If your answering service is in the United States, chances are the agents are not going to have a British accent (although you may get one every now and then). There are several answering services that offer bilingual support, but usually just for people who speak Spanish. An answering service’s option to offer this feature is more so based off availability than not wanting to offer that sort of service. For example, a call center in Florida may have more availability to Spanish speaking agents than a call center in Vermont would.

Can hold music be changed? What hold music is available?

Usually the hold music that an answering service will use is standard across all of their clients, and is typically very general (much like elevator music). If Company A wants country music as their hold music, but Company B wants rock, there usually isn’t a way to accommodate both. However, it may be able to be changed overall if enough people speak up about it.

Can answering services make outbound calls?

While most answering services handle inbound calls, there are some that can also be used for outbound calling as well. This may be an extra charge depending on your service, or there may be prequalifications, so make sure you do your research beforehand.

Do answering services send messages by SMS?

Typically, most answering services are able to send message via both email and text. However, some are able to send faxes and pages as well. Depending on how your service bills, you may or may not be charged for any messages that get sent.

Do all services have apps?

No, not all answering services will come with a mobile app. However, some may come with other applications, like the ability to integrate with various CRMs or the ability to schedule appointments using a web based platform like Google Calendar.

What professional answering services use Salesforce?

Aside from SAS, there are probably other answering services that use Salesforce. Not only do we use it to manage our own client data, but we also offer it as an integration on our advanced service level. This means that you can link up your CRM within the portal, then whatever information we gather from your callers can pass through the integration to your CRM.

When using a smart phone with an answering service, do the messages need to be encrypted in order to maintain HIPAA compliance?

Usually if your answering service is HIPAA compliant, your messages will not need to be encrypted. Your service should give you access to a secure online portal and/or mobile app that stores all of your messages without being encrypted. The messages you receive on your phone or email should just have standard language that alerts you of a new message.

Industries

What companies outsource their customer service?

When most people think of answering services they think of doctors offices and HVAC services. However, many different companies can use answering services. While Specialty answers for many different industries, there are some answering services that only handle calls for specific industries.

Are there any liabilities for physicians using an answering service?

When physicians (or any medical professionals) use a third party business associate, there could be some liabilities. You’ll want to make sure your service is HIPAA compliant, and you’ll also want to see if they are able to enter into a Business Associates Agreement with you, as they will be collecting personal health information (PHI) from your callers. If your service has ensured you that they are up to code on HIPAA, then there shouldn’t be any issues.

Are answering services HIPAA compliant?

Yes and no. Some answering services have adapted to being HIPAA compliant while others are still a bit antiquated. For the services that are HIPAA compliant, they will usually give you access to a secure online portal where all of your messages are stored. While faxing messages is considered HIPAA compliant, emailing and texting them are not. So, in those cases services will usually send a standard message that just lets you know that there is a new message and to check your portal for details.

Can services answer for any sized business?

Absolutely! Answering services can handle calls for any sized business, big or small. Small business usually need the extra help but can’t always afford to hire a new employee, whereas a larger company may be too busy to handle everything themselves and therefore need to outsource specific calls, like customer service for example.

What is the purpose of a doctor’s answering service?

There are many reasons a doctor may use an answering service. However, typically doctors (or any medical practice) use answering services to help schedule appointments and to dispatch urgent calls after hours.

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Video of a man spending 100 years on hold. https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/video-man-spending-100-years-hold/ Thu, 12 Apr 2018 14:02:35 +0000 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/?p=8247 We’ve all been there. By “there,” I mean the void between calling a business to get help and being stuck on hold. For an eternity. Then having the phone just hang up.

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We’ve all been there. By “there,” I mean the void between calling a business to get help and being stuck on hold. For an eternity. Then having the phone just hang up. Like, really, that just happened? Yeah, it did. Bottom line: holds stink.

Whether you’re trying to make an appointment with your doctor, or you’re trying to reach Comcast’s customer support because there’s a movie that you definitely didn’t order on your bill, chances are you’re going to wait on hold for what probably feels like forever.

Specialty Answering Service hates waiting on hold as much as the next guy or gal, which is why we’ve employed over 300 professionally trained operators to monitor the phones 24/7. So, out goes missing calls and leads, and in comes happy customers and more business!

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Infographic: How Answering Services Use DNIS https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/how-answering-services-use-dnis/ Wed, 24 May 2017 15:37:05 +0000 https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/?p=8172 Let’s say that you’re an equipment manufacturer with multiple products. You have a division that builds rockets, another that builds washing machines, and another that builds garage door openers. Each product has its own toll-free

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Let’s say that you’re an equipment manufacturer with multiple products. You have a division that builds rockets, another that builds washing machines, and another that builds garage door openers. Each product has its own toll-free support number for customers to call for assistance. Each of those numbers rings to your in-house telephone answering service, where you have different groups staffed with stellar agents that have expert knowledge of a single product.

Your business is booming! You receive hundreds of calls daily on each number, so each of these calls needs to go to the appropriate agent. How does the answering service software know which number your callers dialed in order to route the calls correctly? If you guessed DNIS, then give yourself a round of applause!

Dialed Number Identification Service is a feature offered by telecom network providers that allows the recipient, in this case the answering service, to determine the number each customer dialed to reach you. It works by transmitting DTMF digits to a decoder that will make them available to a device on the receiving end. So, when the phone rings at the Private Branch Exchange (PBX), the DTMF is transmitted along with the call, telling the PBX if the call came in on your rocket line, washing machine line, or garage door opener line. Based on that information, the system will route the call to an agent who is using the corresponding support script.

If you’re setting up DNIS at your own business location, here’s a great infographic to explain a bit more about how DNIS works.

Learn DNIS Infographic

In addition to DNIS giving virtual receptionist businesses the ability to answer for more than one customer, it can be used as a means to improve productivity in the call center itself. Accurate call routing means that the right agent gets the right call every time, thereby increasing efficiency, and decreasing the time agents spend on calls.

Read our extended resource to learn more about how DNIS works and how it’s used by call centers.

If you’re writing about DNIS on your own website, please copy the code below to use this infographic:

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<pre><em>Image originally posted on <a href=”https://www.specialtyansweringservice.net/learn-dnis-infographic/”>The SAS Blog</a></em>
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