Phone answering service
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gorman
Addicted to ArboristSite
Get married and tell your wife to answer the phone.
gorman
Addicted to ArboristSite
Do the math. Is it going to pay off to hire someone to sit there and answer the phone and chase down non-payers or just send the calls to voice mail and call them back at the end of the day. What would that cost? 14 bucks and hour on the books? Pretty easy to figure that out.
I don't know if you have a problem with non-payers but people pay quicker with a dog on their heels.
I don't know if you have a problem with non-payers but people pay quicker with a dog on their heels.
gorman is right there. Unless your phone is ringing enough to pay hourly plus 20% taxes (and possibly benefits), it'll get expensive. A friendly and professional (plus maybe something quick and convincing that you're better than the next guy) voicemail greeting would likely be the best option.
I wouldn't pay someone by the hour. Most phone answering services are by the month and 1 small job would pay for it. I received 6 voicemails while working on Friday. I didn't get back to the shop till 8 and was exhausted. I called them back Saturday morning. 4 of them already got bids and had the work scheduled. Not only that, but I would say I miss roughly 3 calls or so a day that don't leave a message. So yes, the math tells me to pay $150 a month to have someone professionally answer the phone as if they are my office staff. It's about efficiency, and I'm losing customers before I talk to them.
Oak Savanna
ArboristSite Operative
I get anywhere from 2-20 calls a day for tree work. I am on site all day with my guys climbing, in the bucket, dragging brush etc. I don't have my phone glued to me because I would get nothing done all day. If I am not busy an that moment and I hear the phone ring I will answer it but mostly I just let it go to voicemail. I have a friendly greeting saying to leave a message with your name and number and I will get back to them as soon as possible. I call them back after we are done for the day. If they have hot nuts and just can wait until I call em back then it is what it is.
This is exactly what I currently do. I run a full crew 5 days a week. We are super busy and in a growth stage. I'm looking to make some big moves and need to tidy up my lose ends. I'm guessing I lose anywhere from $500 to $3000 a week from missed opportunities. That adds up.
Oak Savanna
ArboristSite Operative
When you call them back and they say they already have a quote and its scheduled you gotta say "are you sure you don't want another price?!"
gorman
Addicted to ArboristSite
I hear you rtsims. It's one of the many hurdles a small business owner has to jump over to get off that plateau and grow. Another's crew, a receptionist, another chipper and truck, and the list goes on.
Oak Savanna
ArboristSite Operative
90% of the people who call me leave a message. I call them back later when I get a chance and they are cool with it. Even if they have gotten another quote or 2 they usually want another one so they will wait. Some of them say "I understand you are busy and thats good because if you weren't we would be wondering why". People that normally call and call and don't leave a message are just "tire kickers" fishing for quote #4 or 5 before they go with the cheapest guy. If they want the work done and are serious I find they will leave a message. Had 4 missed calls in a row one day from the same number. I finally answer on the 5th call thinking maybe its an emergency and nope! Some idiot demanding a price over the phone! I said sorry I don't do that! "WHY NOT?!" "can't you give me a ball park?!" Ok it will be between $50 and $50,000! " Well thats stupid" and I said so is giving a price over the phone! I know darn well he had called every tree co around and was just wanting one more price! If you haven't already, you will soon learn who is going to be a waste of time or not within the first 2 min of the conversation! It sucks to lose jobs but you won't get them all anyway! People must not be as patient there as they are here. Maybe you could try the answering service for a month and see how it goes! Or get the sena bluetooth headset on your helmet, pair your phone to it and take the calls up in the tree! LOL
gorman
Addicted to ArboristSite
Very well said.
Magnum783
ArboristSite Guru
Answering services are great but have a huge down fall; it is huge all though not ending. They lack knowledge of the product you are selling. I have found that lots of times there are simple questions people
Have that I can just end on a return call where they are speaking to me or my wife and we are knowledgable about the service we sell. another thought is people truly like the personal approach and may really appreciate getting a human vs a beep when attempting to go with your company and that may mean something to them and they might possibly extend you the job.
Long and short there are a ton of variables; you might be best just to try it out for a 3-4mo time period and watch your sales closely. Another thing I do is ask people how did you hear about us, did you like the customer service, questions like that when you estimate or finish the job go a long way to helping advance your company.
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Have that I can just end on a return call where they are speaking to me or my wife and we are knowledgable about the service we sell. another thought is people truly like the personal approach and may really appreciate getting a human vs a beep when attempting to go with your company and that may mean something to them and they might possibly extend you the job.
Long and short there are a ton of variables; you might be best just to try it out for a 3-4mo time period and watch your sales closely. Another thing I do is ask people how did you hear about us, did you like the customer service, questions like that when you estimate or finish the job go a long way to helping advance your company.
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One advantage of the answering service would be that you would have an idea of each leads location, if your in a big city and do a ton of driving for bids this would be handy information to have (letting you structure a route plan before calling back to offer a time). Ive thought about it a bit.
stltreedr
ArboristSite Operative
I had a feeling that I was losing a bunch of business due to not answering the phone, so we hired a local answering service. It was so cheap that I thought it was a no-brainer. $100 bucks a month for the first 100 calls.
They don't have to know anything about the subject, most receptionists don't either. They just have to get the information. The service takes their name, number, and address.. Then they text it to me. Voila... I don't have to write anything down or find it later.
They don't have to know anything about the subject, most receptionists don't either. They just have to get the information. The service takes their name, number, and address.. Then they text it to me. Voila... I don't have to write anything down or find it later.
gorman
Addicted to ArboristSite
That's cheap. Way cheaper than hiring a receptionist. [emoji106]
Wayne Wilkinson
ArboristSite Operative
So by doing this, does that mean you have to have a devoted phone number for the business? Or are you giving out a new number? Are you forwarding your calls to them from x time to x time? Personal calls could quickly add up in the 100. Not only that the hassle.... Oh wait, scratch that, you saying my wife would have to leave a message for me from now on.... How do I sign up are they in my area???
stltreedr
ArboristSite Operative
This is a local company called "ansaring" dont know how far their service territory goes, but im sure theres something similar everywhere. You can link it to any phone number and forward any calls you want.. just have to unforward the calls when you dont want them forwarded
The service I'm signing up with is similar. So the business phone rings 3 times, if it's not picked up its forwarded to the answering co. As soon as the call hits there computer it instructs them to say what I want, ask the questions I want etc.. As soon as the call is over they text, email, and or fax me all the info.
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