We provide virtual reception for a whole slew of business types! Carpet cleaners, podiatrists, interior designers, builders, IT support, and even a snake exhibition. But let’s dig a little deeper. Since the business product or service can be just about anything, a focus on the inner workings business is a better place to start. Here are some of our most often asked questions from potential clients.

Am I too small to use an external service? Do I lose touch with my clients if I hire a virtual receptionist? What advantage would a large office like mine gain by going virtual versus physical? Am I really missing that many phone calls?

Let’s start from the top. How small is too small?

If we are talking about company size, about 25% of our clients are sole traders. Without services like ours, they would be stuck trying to multi-task roofing with answering the phone. #dangerous. So no company size is too small. However, what does happen from time to time on a free trial… a big fat ZERO calls. Zip, zilch, NADA. If this happens, we suggest they focus on marketing or a website revamp and recommend a few stars we know and love. (Like these: Magstar, Spirus, LDS) We want to earn some pounds and pence just as much as the next virtual receptionist, but we want our clients to succeed too. We’re all about the long game.

Will I lose touch with my client base by going virtual?

Definitely not. If anything, a call handling service can boost your customer service levels. Yeah, you won’t be speaking to ever single caller about every minute detail, but you have to look at the big picture. Where is your time best spent? Do you need to be on the roof / designing a new website? Or do you need to give somebody directions/ tell them your opening hours? Obviously, your time will be better spent working on the business, and giving yourself the head-space to focus on how to make your system slicker is more crucial to customer service. We can do the diary bookings, take credit card payments, and tell Ms. Jones you’re open till 6pm today. It’s a win-win. You will receive a message or call transfer to let you know what all your customers need while not actually having to stop in the middle of a project. They will feel like your company is always available to answer all their questions. You can’t lose. Most callers never notice when our call handlers answer for you. Some even get to know the team by name!

What advantage would a large office like mine gain by going virtual reception versus physical?

Loads! Having a receptionist in the office is important for guiding clients/patients to fill out forms or which door they need to head through, but you can’t speak to 2 people at once. A virtual receptionist supplements main reception during peak times, lunch breaks, and… loo breaks. Everyone’s gotta go sometime. Also, having an extra 25 team members ready to handle the recent advertising push relieves stress on the whole office. This way, each person can focus on the task they are best suited to handle without the interruption of a ringing phone. Last, but certainly not least, unexpected absence happens. Having a virtual reception team to cover for sick days, family emergencies, or just a bad employee playing hooky for a festival they should have mentioned before the day, means your business will have continuity each day.

Am I really missing that many phone calls?

Excellent question. But more importantly, are you missing many important calls? Because time travel is not a reality…yet, there’s no way to really know. That’s why we offer a free 2-week trial. I really do mean free. No setup fee, no credit card info required, and we won’t send you a bill unless you agree to continue the service.  During the trial we keep track of how many calls come though, and you will receive messages with detailed information as to the nature of the call. Then, you’ll have the answer to both questions. Isn’t that helpful.

If you have more questions or even ideas on how virtual reception could work for your business, send them my way! I’m always happy to help. [email protected]