I have heard that it is “Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” But in many parts of the country, rain, snow, hail, thunderstorms, hurricanes and other weather events can wreak havoc on a business. Regular staff may not be able to make it to the office when there is a foot of freshly fallen snow on the ground or a hurricane is barreling through the area. A Florida seafood distributor may have orders coming in during the middle of a tropical storm, and callers to a Kansas doctor’s office may need to cancel their appointments due to a blizzard.
Customers and employees will continue to call seeking information, to place orders, and to have problems solved regardless of the disasters that you may be facing. In fact, the weather itself may actually contribute to a higher call volume from people who want to stay off the road, find out how an order has been affected, or unfortunately in the case of insurance agencies- regarding damage claims.
Just because the weather outside is frightful, doesn’t mean that your companies communication with the outside world must come to a halt. How can you stay in touch with customers and coworkers throughout bad weather events? By being prepared, and partnering with a telephone answering service that is ready to meet the challenges of mother nature and still keep you connected. In doing so, you should never have to worry about work stoppages or excessive call volumes due to weather ever again.
Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.
- Alexander Graham Bell
No business is immune to the possibility of experiencing a natural disaster, therefore partnering with a reputable telephone answering service who understands that they themselves need several contingency plans of their own is key. It is important to ask about the specific emergency plans that the telephone agency has for itself.
For example, what happens when the weather in our neighborhood gets nasty? We are no stranger to hurricanes and floods with our corporate headquarters located in South Louisiana. As a result, we have three layers of redundancy for power, telephony, and data to ensure there is no disruption in service. We also undergo an independent annual site certification by ATSI (Association of Teleservices International).
Also, any answering service that you choose should understand that being responsive at a moments notice is imperative for your businesses continued success. When we find out that heavy weather is closing in on a customer’s location, for instance, we immediately add extra phone staff to better handle any increasing call volume. We also deploy a service called call forward remote access, by doing so this allows for a company to forward their phones from anywhere on the globe, not just from their office.
If you are prepared and the service that you choose is prepared then you can rest assured knowing that your callers will always be able to get through to you.
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