Increase Productivity

If you are anything like me then your day is a full workload. Most days I am so busy bouncing around from one project to the next that i literally have to write anything & everything down in order to remember I need to get it done. Other than a pen & notebook I use a system of delegation to ease my workload in order to increase productivity.

Professional Answering Service offers a service that can be beneficial to any type of business. Even better is the service we offer comes with a full staff for a fraction of what a full staff would cost your company. Save money in sick time, health plans, & even overtime. Having professional operators available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for one low monthly price will leave your company the time get to business.

We Grow With You

Simple task like call screening, order taking, and reception are all time consuming jobs. When you are running a business stopping to answer the phones constantly can really take away from what you are trying to get done. With the amount of solicitors & robocalls going around these days getting work done while manning the phones can be very tedious. With an answering service we free up the time so that you can increase productivity. Call Handling For Any Business goes in detail about some of the services we offer. The best part about increasing productivity is increasing clients, sales, & profits. When your business starts to grow you will find comfort in knowing that your answering service can handle an increase in service at the same affordable monthly price keeping overhead low. See Answering Service vs Hiring a Receptionist to see a price comparison.

Never Miss A Call

Getting tied up getting work done can often lead to missing important calls. Missing important calls can lead to losing potential clients. As this slippery slope continues is could turn into a huge lose in profits. Having a professional trained operator answer your phones 24 hours a day even on holidays & weekends can expand your office hours & let your client know you care. Benefits of a professional answering service not only extend to your levels of productivity but also save you the stress of the “hiring process”. Extend office hours, expand your staff, & increase productivity with professional operators routing & screening your calls exactly how you want.

Check out our latest discounts & promotions each month to get additional savings. Follow our blog to keep up with ways we can benefit your company. Any questions feel free to speak to a live operator 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at 940-720-2550 or 800-472-9780

Need Customer Service?

An answering service is a fully staffed phone service that can meet your phone needs by providing professional customer service to each of your callers. We eliminate the hiring & training portion of staffing a courteous team to provide service that meets your company goals.

At Professional Answering Service we provide our operators continuous training year round to ensure each operator is up-to-date on each specific client. We like to think of the operator, as well as the service we provide, as an extension of your company. Every operator is trained to represent your company in the most professional & efficient manner in accordance to your policies.

When a company starts an account with PAS we do a briefing to go over every point of the business with the operators. Overtime the operators get very familiar with not only your company but your callers too. The personal connection provided by the familiarity maintains a relationship with each caller so that each call will get a experience that is personally knowledgeable, professionally courteous, and overall respectful of your company values.

Each account is customized to cater to the needs of each individual company. Some points that our operator make sure to touch on in different circumstances are:

Emergency situations: Our operators are readily available to listen, reassure, and route your caller in the most efficient manner put in place by your company. We make it a point to let your caller know they matter. In emergency situations callers can have a hard time relaying information that is vital to getting their needs met. Each operator is trained to help calm the caller in order to maintain a connection. In situations where the caller is not able to relay information the operator will then keep the caller on the line while routing the call to assistance that can help.

Tier One Technical Support: For every problem presented the operators will listen to entire problem then provide all information your company has preset by custom formats or applications of your choice. When a problem is bigger than an operator can support your caller will then be reassured and routed to a destination that can continue to provide the support your caller is requesting.

24 Hour Service: PAS operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. With around the clock customer service you can increase productivity while decreasing overhead. We will be there when you just can’t be. Vacations, bad weather, illness, or disaster can prevent your business from operating. With an answering service we will be here to provide customer support while you are away. Automatic call forwarding allows your lines to come to the answering service no matter what life throws at you.

Live Operators: In a world made up of automation it can be such a relief to dial a number & have a live person answer. A caller can really feel like they mean something to your company when they can get answers to their questions without having to be routed through an automated mess. Especially a frustrated customer who is calling with a complaint. We can eliminate further frustration as well as ease the callers mind by letting them know we will handle the situation.

With an answering service get a fully trained staff at an affordable rate. Check out our prices here to see how we can save you money. You can call us anytime at 940-720-2550 to find out how we can customize a service that will help you meet & maintain your goals.

Reduce Minute Usage With Text Messaging

The monthly billing cycle for Professional Answering Service consist of 2 parts. Part 1 is a $45 monthly base charge that includes monthly account maintenance, continued operator training, & equipment usage. This fee never changes. The second part is your monthly minute usage which is charged at $0.09 per tenth of a minutes. As always the first 6 seconds of each call is not charged. Part 2 will vary by how many calls you receive each month.

I would like to share some tips on decreasing your minute usage in order to increase productivity, while reducing overhead. We are not only interest in serving your company but also we would like to be as efficient as possible.

Checking Out

When an account switches the phone lines over to the answering service I have found that most let the operator know it is the office & that they are switching the lines over. It is one way to check the lines as well as inform the operators that they will be taking over. However, as the operators become more familiar with your organization they tend to know when you are switching over especially if it is at a consistent time daily. I have focused on the time it takes for an office to say “this is the office & we are switching over”. In doing so I have found that the phrase accompanied by the operator say “ok thank you” usually last longer than 6 seconds resulting in a $0.09 charge. The most economical way to check out is to switch the phone line over, then call the number to make sure it forwarded. Instead of stating who you are simply hang up after the operator answers to insure you are not charged for the call. This may seem like a small saving but every penny adds up to a bigger savings over time.

Text Messaging

A few years back we introduced secured text messaging. The results: It really reduced overall billing by almost one third in 2 months time. Bad news for us but good new for you! In the years past our most popular for of connection between the account holder & the caller was patching. Patching consist of keeping the caller on the line while connecting them to the contact person for each account. “Patch Time” is the time that the caller is on the phone with the operator as well as the time with the contact person. The patch time would be charged per tenth of a minute for the entire duration of the call. With our everyday form of communication shifting more towards email & text messaging due to the convenience it fits right in with what we do here. By switching your method of connection to your caller to text messaging you not only get the opportunity to screen your calls one step further but also you eliminate the “patch time” cost. Email works the exact same way. With Professional Answering Service we do not charge anything extra for text message or emailing. We also have the feature to have 1 message or every message go to as many different contacts as you would like. This opens up opportunities to inform your entire company right away in the event of an emergency. We also offer a verify text format which requires confirmation that the text message was received to guarantee your contacts get every message.

These features save minutes in order to reduce overall cost of your answering service. Everyday we look for anyway to reduce your cost so that your company can grow in productivity, efficiency, & profits. I will continue to update clients as we add new features. If you have any questions on how to set up your service with text messaging call us at 940-720-2550

Call Handling for Any Business

Call handling can manage your company’s inbound & outbound calls in several different ways. Listed below are a few ways companies utilize Professional Answering Service for call handling:

Customer Service

• Professional Team

• Live Operators

• 24 Hour Service Line

• Reception

• Campaigning

• Customer Support

• Stay Connected

• Custom Catered Service

• Transcription

Reminders

• Wake Up Calls

• Appointments

• Broadcasting

• Alerts

• Events

• Meetings

• Personal

• Deliveries

Order Taking

• Food Service

• Office Supplies

• Healthcare

• E-Commerce

• Data Entry

Call Forwarding

• Patching

• Secured Mass Texting

• Secured Mass Emailing

• Emergency Dispatch

• 24 Hour On Call Service

• Emergency Line

• Call Screening

Help Line

• Custom Scripts

• Message Taking

• Call Routing

• Tier 1 Help

• 24 Hour Support

Data Collection

• Surveys

• Focus Groups

• Questionnaires

• Research

• Product Information

• Interviews

• Documents

• RSVP Line

Answer Service for the Start Up

Would you like a professionally trained staff to add to your company at one low monthly price? You get that and more when you enlist an answering service for your office needs.

Affordable

Staffing not only requires you to take the time to do the hiring but also cost money to keep your staff maintained. You have office cost, wages, sick time, and turnover on top of starting a brand new business. To save overhead all together an answering service provides operators already trained to get the job done. Offer your consumers an entire support staff for one low monthly cost. See article Answering service vs Hiring Receptionist to compare how you can save.

Training

Staffing involves training in order to have a well run company. Training alone can be a process that leads to a serious deficit in your budget. With a lot of startup companies finding the time to adequately train a manager to simply train the rest of the staff can take a lot of time away from your regular operations leading to a loss in profits. Also the stress of time can lead to under trained staff which leads to underperformance & high turnover rates. Hiring a professional, fully trained, staff could lead to increase in profits & decrease in stress.

Customer Service

I know first hand the frustration of talking to an automated system. Some of you have been that person to walk by while someone like myself screamed “option 1” repeatedly at the phone only to be disconnected. As a start up business impression is everything. The way your company makes people feel is how they will walk away & remember for future referencing. An answering service provides a personal touch with live operators ready to deal with any situation. Each operator is trained to have compassion, understanding, and a continuous professional manner. Over the years I have notice that people tend to remember the operators that handle their call, even asking for them by name. In time the operators become more familiar with your callers & your callers do the same with the operators. This familiarity tends to make people more comfortable when calling building a bond of trust. This lead to not only referrals by word of mouth but also repeat consumers.

Why your first 6 seconds are free

With Professional Answering Service you never have to pay more than you use. We believe our service should be affordable, efficient, professional, and economical. Rather than bill you by the call we break it down so you only pay for actual talk time.

Our billing is calculated in 6 second intervals (one tenth of a minute) with the first 6 seconds not billed. After the first 6 seconds each additional 6 second interval is charged $0.09. Each call is rounded to the nearest tenth of a minute. Example: If an operator is on a call for 18 seconds you are only billed for 12 seconds. The first 6 second are free so that you can avoid being charge for the following:

The “Robocall”

Everyday we deal with the dreadful recordings that seem to go around tirelessly. In the past decade, as phones have become a staple in society, the volume of recordings circulating has skyrocketed out of control. These pre-recorded messages ranging from healthcare options to political views are set on auto dial to try the patience of each recipient. No matter how many “do not call list” you get put on it is nearly impossible to avoid these types of calls. With an answering service you get the peace of mind know your calls are screened saving your time. You not only get free call screening but with the first 6 seconds free you are not charged for the operator to answer the call. Our operators are trained to be able to recognize these types of recordings right away in order to disconnect before you are charged saving you money.

The Solicitor

Solicitors and Telemarketers are always finding new ways to go around the do not call list. In my experience they are high pressured & always call at an inopportune time. I myself was an unlucky cell phone number chosen by a soliciting service to use as a caller id when dialing around the state of Texas. I received dozens of returned calls back asking why I had called. These types of situations can be costly to deal with so we train our operators continuously to recognize these types of calls in order to disconnect before the first 6 seconds.

Wrong Numbers

Have you ever picked up the phone to a fax machine screaming at you? These types of calls happen often, as well as callers dialing the wrong number. These type of calls are easily identified so disconnection will occur within the first 6 seconds.

Check Outs

When our clients roll the phone lines over to the answering service we recommend that they then call back to check the lines to insure the lines are forwarding properly. We also provide the option of checking the lines for your account periodically. When the client chooses to do so themselves they usually will say they are checking the lines or turning it over to us. These type of call usually take less than 6 seconds so you are not billed making checking out as breeze.

Answering Service vs Hiring Receptionist

What you get with an answering service:

The benefits of working with an answering service start with the cost effectiveness. An answering service can provide your company multiple operators, 24 hours a day, at one monthly price. Customer service for your company can benefit from having a professional staff that requires no training. Operators can meet the needs of all your callers with options like order taking, reservation lines, appointment scheduling, and more. One less hassle to worry about as your company continues to grow we will continue to accommodate. When an answering service is representing your company you get a fully staffed service that never takes a break. Your company not only gets live operators but an option to extend business hours. Your company won’t have to break the bank paying double time on the holidays because there is no additional cost for holiday phone coverage. This means you can provide your clients 24 hours of service for no additional expense.

Hiring additional employees:

The process of hiring additional employees can be tedious and expensive. The training process alone can lead to doubling payroll cost. When adding staff to your company it usually starts with a roll of the dice. You could get lucky by getting the perfect employee or you could end up wasting time and money by choosing the wrong employee. Throwing money away on the wrong employee can be very tiresome especially for startups that continually grow.
After you do get the perfect employee, the cost of each employee comes with the additional expenses that include healthcare, sick pay, holiday pay, vacation, and retirement. One particular downside to having additional staff is when an employee calls in sick with sick pay. This could lead to your company spending double the money by paying for staffing coverage. In order to provide your clients with 24 hour service, 365 days a year, you would be required to add an abundance of staff just for the scheduled shifts and extra to cover time off. Whether your company is large or small cutting overhead cost can lead to an increase in profit. An increase in profit means more money in your pocket. Below is a comparison of one employee to an answering service:

According to Salary.com, the median cost of hiring a receptionist is as follows:

Benefit Median Amount % of Total?

Base Salary; $33,787; 67.4%?
Bonuses; $394; 0.8%?
Social Security; $2,615; 5.2%?
401k / 403b; $1,231; 2.5%?
Disability; $342; 0.7%?
Healthcare; $5,722; 11.4%?
Pension; $1,572; 3.1%?
Time Off; $4,470; 8.9%?
Total; $50,132; 100%

 
Source: HR Reported data as of March 2009

Pricing for Professional Answering Service

• Monthly Base Rate: $45

• Price per tenth of a minute: $0.08

• Staff Increase: No Additional Cost

• Holiday Coverage: No Additional Cost

• Overtime: No Additional Cost

• Custom Account: No Additional Cost

• Auto Call Forwarding: No Additional Cost

• Email/Text/Fax: No Additional Cost

• Patching: No Additional Cost

• 24 Hour Coverage: No Additional Cost

Overall saving time & money will benefit every business. Added support of professional & courteous customer service can increase clientele leading to an increase in profits. Cutting cost by adding an answering service to your staff is just one way to save money & let your clients know you are always there.

Call Screening? Put a stop to the "robocall"

We have all answered the phone to a recording asking about health insurance or to update our company information. These type of unsolicited calls can be very tiresome when you are running a business. Over the past year I have noticed more & more companies are relying on an answering service to cover the office reception during business hours. The volume of these calls have made call screening become a necessity for companies now more than ever.

When starting new service the first question I tend to ask a client is “what are you needing the operators for most”. Although, the responses do vary, one that sticks out the most is the need for phone relief. In the age of robocalls & high pressured solicitors the call volume can be very overwhelming. Running a business has enough responsibility without having to stop to answer the phone every minute.

Call Screening is an option that can free your business from recordings & solicitors for good. With call screening you no longer have to hassle with unwanted calls. All operators are trained to disconnect with recording or fax machines within the first 6 seconds. At Professional Answering Service the first 6 seconds of each phone call answered is free because we believe that you should never pay for these type of calls. Also, each account is dealt with according to how you want your business ran, so you choose how you would like solicitors dealt with. Most importantly, you can go back to doing business.

You can always hire more reception to cover the call volume but with an answering service you get multiple operators at one low price. This not only extends your office staff but your hours as well. We are here 365 days a year so you can make your office a 24 hour facility without the hiring expense of additional employees.

If you need more time to be productive, call screening could be the answer for you. Call screening works whether you are needing more time to prioritize or just need a break from the everyday stress of the constant ringing. Get the details of every call you receive letting you deal with only the important calls. To find out more about Call Screening for your business click here or give us a call at 940-720-2550