Debunking Common Myths About Answering Services

Sometimes, businesses that would benefit most from an answering service are hung up on the various myths surrounding them. “Answering services provide poor customer service,” and even “Customers don’t like reaching an answering service.” It’s misconceptions like these that prevent business owners from reaping the many benefits that an answering service offers! In this blog, we’ll be debunking five answering service myths and shedding some light on what an answering service can really do for your business.

1. "An answering service won't be able to help my customers because they don't know my business or understand my trade."

False. The right answering service will take the time to educate their agents with industry-specific knowledge and to understand the ins and outs of your business. Realistically speaking, without this, there would be no other way for an answering service to be truly effective at helping your business succeed.

As you communicate with team members at the answering service about how to answer for your company and what information to gather from callers, agents will be able to represent your business consistently and accurately.

It should be noted, however, that not all answering services take the time to do this. Therefore, when it comes time to select an answering service, ensure that they have an onboarding process that requires extensive communication about your expectations.

Pictured: New Dexcomm hires learning about the specifics of home-service businesses.

2. "Customers don't like reaching an answering service."

This is among one of the biggest misconceptions about answering services. Often, people reach an answering service for a business and don’t even realize it. So long as agents can answer customers’ questions and deliver the information that customers need, most people don’t mind reaching an answering service at all.

More so, the alternatives are being put on hold for an absurd amount of time, reaching a voice bot, or having to leave a voicemail. People would much prefer to reach a live, human voice than deal with an automated list, a hold that lasts for what feels like forever, or leaving a voicemail and risk no one hearing their need at all.

By reaching an answering service, as opposed to the other presented alternatives, people feel heard, and they have more peace of mind knowing that their concern was taken care of.

3. "Answering services will provide poor customer service to my customers."

Though what you deem as “good,” or even “great,” phone etiquette may differ from service to service, agents are thoroughly educated and routinely trained on how to properly take calls. In fact, being that answering is their main priority, agents tend to have more experience and grow more rapidly when it comes to providing quality customer service than would someone who has multiple tasks to juggle (i.e. greeting customers entering the building, servicing AC’s, etc).

When selecting an answering service, do your research on how they hire and train their agents to represent your company.

4. "Answering services cost too much money."

While an answering service will (obviously) cost money, it is also true that an answering service will increase your business’s profits. With someone answering your calls after hours and providing top tier customer service, you’re sure to see an increase in booked appointments and returning customers. A quality answering service should be giving you a high return on your investment. That being said, it's not so much that "answering services cost too much money" as much as it is that "answering services increase profits."

5. "I will be left in the dark when it comes to phone communications with my business."

An answering service should never leave you in the dark about the calls they take for your business. The right answering service should be transparent and, honestly, almost over-communicative. They should rely on your feedback and point of view when it comes to how they represent your business. If you’re searching for a transparent answering service, be sure that they grant you access to listen to all the calls they take for your company and value your definition of quality.

Conclusion

The truth of the matter is, the wrong answering service can very much so prove these misconceptions to be true. However, that doesn't change the fact that by dismissing answering services altogether, businesses miss out on both potential profits and better customer service. If you're curious about what an answering service can do for you, click here to read on, or use the button below to schedule a time to visit with us!