Up and down the country business owners have had to make drastic changes to the way their companies operate. Business has gone virtual and working from home is the new ‘normal’. Staff have set up at kitchen tables, in living rooms and spare bedrooms all over the country.
As a result, everybody has had to adapt to more informal working practices. Interruptions from children and pets, unorthodox working patterns and longer response times are far more tolerated than ever before. But how long will it last? Inevitably people will gravitate towards the businesses that are best able to adapt and offer the best customer services – making sure your telephones are answered efficiently is likely to be a key part of achieving that success.
No need for reception rotas or availability diaries
If you previously relied on a member of staff to answer the phone when it rang, ensuring calls are still answered in a timely manner has got a lot more complicated now your team is spread across a dozen different houses. Even if you have a receptionist, ensuring that the phone is answered when they leave their desk is a whole new challenge. Having a virtual receptionist team on hand is perfect for filling in the gaps, filtering unwanted calls and ensuring that enquiries are handled correctly – simultaneously providing the glue that keeps everybody in the company connected and the oil that keep the wheels turning!
Your phone still gets answered, even when you’re a teacher for the afternoon
When elderly relatives need shopping delivered, children need constant supervision, and every-day tasks like picking up a prescription take longer, customer calls can easily be missed.
A telephone answering service can be on hand all day, every day regardless of whether you and your staff are available. Even if a customer calls outside of office hours, your business can have a real person answering the phone and providing the same level of service your customers received before Covid-19 struck.
Give the right impression
While we are very much all going through the same thing, as a business owner you still want to be able to give off that sense of professionalism when dealing with clients, or with partners and suppliers. That means that while everyone may know that you’re working from home and the kids are running riot in the background, you don’t want them to hear and see it. A virtual receptionist or call answering service can help by giving you just a little breathing space to prepare for calls coming in. Whether that’s handling the simple calls for you so that your working time isn’t interrupted, or answering for you and transferring calls through, so you have a minute to move to a quiet space. It’s a simple step, but it helps you maintain the image you’ve built up with existing customers and start relationships with any new ones on the right foot.
Help you keep up the juggling act
The normal juggling act of running a business just got harder with a few new balls thrown into the mix. It is no surprise a lot of people are struggling to keep them all in the air. A call answering service is flexible and can start and stop when you need it, meaning you can have someone answer your calls while you are away from your desk or when you need to focus. By having someone else answer your calls during this time, you can relax knowing that important calls won’t be missed, and important customer service activities can continue even when your staff aren’t available.
Ready to help
At Verbatim, we know just how difficult it is for you to cope during this unprecedented time – because we’re doing it ourselves! But we are still here and ready to help you manage the extra load.
Our services range from a flexible telephone answering service that can be turned on and off as and when you need it, right through to a full call centre outsourcing to help you manage a sudden influx of customer service calls such as re-booking appointments and reopening popular services.
If you would like to know more, just get in touch with the team today for your free consultation.
