Do I need an Answering Service or an Off-site Receptionist, and what is the difference anyway?
By Victor Mataraso
One of the challenges faced by small business owners today is accomplishing more with less. How can you maintain a professional image, improve customer service and manage your workload most effectively when you don’t have the budget to hire an employee?
Fortunately, there are some great options available today that did not even exist a few short years ago. One such emerging category is that of the off-site Receptionist (sometimes also referred to as a virtual receptionist or remote receptionist). A common mis-perception is that an off-site receptionist is akin to an old-fashioned answering service. In reality, while an off-site receptionist does answer your phone, what happens after that is a totally different experience. Let’s explore some of these differences and how you can leverage them to benefit your business.
Traditionally, an answering service was what you got when you called the doctor’s office after-hours. It was immediately clear that you had NOT reached the place of business. The person on the line may have been polite (or not!), but chances are they had little information about the business, could not connect your call in real-time to the office, and basically just took a message or paged someone for you.
By contrast, a modern day off-site Receptionist is trained, by you, to function as an extension of your staff and the front end of your business. Generally, the way these firms work is to provide you with a small, dedicated team of 3-6 live, professional receptionists who get familiar with your business and get to know you. Many are locally based allowing you to visit their location, meet the team, and train them just like you’d train your own employee.
Recent technological advances allow these companies to answer your business calls live at their location, assist your callers in whatever fashion you’ve trained them to do, then privately announce and seamlessly connect only the calls you want back to you in real-time on any phone number. The truth is that the technology is so good now, your callers won’t even realize your receptionist is at a different location than you.
Furthermore, you can communicate with your receptionist throughout the day just as you would your own employee regarding your schedule, preferred contact number, even particular people you do or don’t wish to speak with. This allows you to truly manage your workload while keeping your callers apprised of your availability to communicate with them. Some off-site reception companies provide additional business services such as appointment scheduling, seminar registrations, order placement and more, so even if you’re not personally available to take a call, your caller can still get the help they need. With so many real-time, web-based tools available today, it is rather simple to integrate with your receptionist even from a remote location.
One last critical difference between a modern day off-site receptionist and the old fashioned answering service is that a receptionist usually works during traditional business hours. This, again, allows the same dedicated team of 3-6 full-time employees to get familiar with your business. As soon as you look for expanded hours or 24/7 live you introduce a myriad of part-time shift workers who are unable to offer the same highly personalized service. Even if you feel like you work 24/7, you will appreciate the boundaries that having your “business office” open during traditional hours will provide. Most good off-site reception services will offer you an after-hours voicemail box, automated-attendent, or even the option to take your calls live yourself if that is your desire.
In conclusion, while the 24/7 answering service still has it’s place for larger or less personal companies, if you are looking for a highly personalized service that can function as an extension of your staff and the front-end of your business, consider an off-site receptionist instead.
Victor Mataraso is the founder and president of Reliable Receptionist, an off-site telephone reception and appointment scheduling service based in Walnut Creek, CA and serving San Francisco and the East Bay Area. Victor is passionate about helping small business owners grow their business and has enjoyed a 20 year career in advertising, sales, marketing and telecommunications. He holds a B.S. in Communications from Syracuse University and an M.B.A. from Golden Gate University. You may reach Victor at 925-627-4200 or through www.ReliableReceptionist.com.
