Answering Service Blog

Like most, you know about the great benefits of using a telephone answering service. What you might not know are the secrets to getting the best service possible at the lowest cost. Here are eight tips to reduce your answering service bill.

Some answering services offer free trials to entice wary businesses to use their service. Their logic is that if you try it you will like it. They pretend their service is so good that they have nothing to risk. In reality, if their service was that good they wouldn’t need to bribe you with a free trial.

Patching is essentially call center lingo for transferring a caller to your team. Patching is frequently used by switchboard operators, virtual receptionist and after-hours emergency dispatchers. In the call center industry, there are two common ways callers can be patched including, warm and cold.

Hurricane season is officially upon us. Whether or not your business is in an area prone to hurricanes, it’s wise to be prepared for the unexpected. Though the threats vary by location, no business is immune to some sort of hazard.

Modern telephone answering services charge by the minute. It's the most fair and accurate way to account for the work they do for you. In the answering service industry, this is known as work time. Think of them as your staff on demand where you are only paying someone when they are actually working. 

The telephone answering service industry does a great job at confusing the heck out of you when it comes to answering service pricing.  You think a minute is really a just a minute? Nope. It would make sense that a call is just a call too, right? Not even close.