Options Associated With a Live Answering Service

A live answering service is a lifesaver for many corporations. With a tight economy but the requirement for a pro person to handle incoming calls, this may be the only answer. A live answering service like this should have redundancy procedures and equipment in case systems go down. That way, the company using the live answering service would also be unaffected.
It’s also important that any live answering service be run as a professional service, meaning they go along with local, state, and Fed laws. For a live answering call center that handles calls for a doctor’s office or any other medical business.
Every company that offers a live answering service will have specific options available. As an example, some live answering call centers have customer support 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year while others have limited hours or are closed on the vacations. For call centers that provide an automated system, options available would also differ, some providing callers with hours of operation, company info, and instructions for filing complaints or placing an order, directions for getting to the company, for example. A live answering service can also provide a number of different message notifications. As an example, notifications might include email, paging, voice mail, text messaging, and direct phone calls. Any business considering live answering services should consider the kind of notifications that would work the best for their company. In the case of a doctor’s office, text messages and pages are common in that they get faster reply.
Finally, entrepreneurs that need to use a live answering service might ask about recorded chats. In some instances, this is a huge advantage but it should be known who would have access to these calls, how quickly a call could be listened to, and the length of time recorded conversations are stored. Occasionally, a customer will call in with a serious problem or emergency so for responsibility reasons, having the facility to listen to the precise telephone conversation could save the business owner an incredible amount of time and trouble.