If you just fired another receptionist for continuing to show up late for work over and over again, it is time to look into another option. Have you ever considered a live answering receptionist service instead? Maybe you assume that it could never work, not having an actual receptionist come to the office every day. But there are some major advantages to a professional receptionist service, so don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.
Services are provided 24/7
With a normal answering service utilizing an in-person receptionist, business hours are only in session for 9 hours of the day. With a receptionist service, your business can accept calls 24/7 without ever needing to send someone to voicemail. This is true even when the office is closed, setting you apart from your competitors whose phones redirect to voicemail after 5PM.
There is no hiring, training, or firing involved
You won’t need to accept applications for a receptionist or invest time and money into training that person. Instead, you just need to call your local live answering agency and you will be assigned with someone who has been thoroughly trained already. Of course there will be a briefing period for this individual to learn the ins and outs of the company, but this should not take long. If you decide that it’s not for you, simply call the agency to discontinue the service.
It will save money in the long run
Keeping an in-house receptionist on your payroll is actually more costly than outsourcing. Not only will you be required to pay your receptionist a salary, but you also need to provide health benefits, office supplies, vacation time, and an office space.
You don’t have to worry about sick days or vacation weeks
When the office receptionist takes a sick day or heads to Bermuda for her 2-week vacay, the entire office seems to fall apart. Someone from another department can be assigned to the phones, but who will cover that person’s position? When you hire a live answering service you never have to worry about this.
There will be several call representatives who can handle the job, so if one rep is not available another one will just fill in for the day. The same goes for vacation time; when it comes time for your regular virtual receptionist to take her yearly vacation, you won’t be responsible in any way to find a replacement.
There will be more time to focus on business growth
When you are not concerned with answering the phones or receiving reports from your in-house receptionist, you will have more time to focus on the overall business. Your main goal is to grow your business, and with a virtual receptionist you can do that.
It will impress your potential customers
When a client calls and is directed to a professional virtual receptionist, your company appears to be well-established and more “corporate”. Even if you are running a small family-owned business, a call service will give the appearance of extreme success. This is something that a lot of potential customers gravitate towards.
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