A company that answers calls on behalf of others is called an answering service. The straightforward definition is misleading, however: a phone answering service does much more than simply respond to customer calls. It can also handle appointment scheduling, dispatching, and other customer service functions.
The best answering services offer a wide range of solutions for businesses of all sizes. They have teams of operators dedicated to improving the overall customer experience for organizations. These operators will typically go above and beyond the call of duty, including learning about the operational structure of their clients. This allows them to process requests more efficiently.
Many companies that use answering services are not able to hire full-time, on-site receptionists. They may not have the budget to do so, either. Regardless, it is important to provide excellent customer service in order to retain customers and attract new ones. An answering service can do that for them, at a fraction of the cost of an on-site employee.
Answering services are particularly helpful for companies that must provide high-touch customer support, such as law firms or medical offices. Attorneys often work on a caseload, while medical personnel have many patients to see. In these cases, the company must ensure that every inbound request is received and processed in a timely manner. A virtual receptionist can offload some of this burden by organizing and sending these messages to the proper departments, so that legal staff receive only those requests that pertain to their caseloads and medical personnel get only the requests that relate to their patients.