Running a plumbing business needs a substantial amount of time and effort to plan. Most of your efforts could be channeled to improving several aspects of your operations. One business area concern could be the consultancy services you offer to your customers via phone calls. While many business owners worry about losing prospects by failing to answer phone calls 24/7, others wonder if they’re losing opportunities due to the methods that phone calls are handled.
Outsourcing your customer service to a live answering service provider might be the solution you’re seeking. The Best Call Center is a plumbing answering service provider that will align with your business’s core values and operations. We do more than just answering calls. For instance, we provide logistic and dispatching solutions. Do you want to partner with an answering service? Then reach out to us, and we will give you every reason to work with us. We will help you serve customers with the same care you would provide to your customers across the country.
Plumbing Call Answering Service Overview
Plumbers are essential experts in the community. Therefore, many people seek their services at all times of the day. Suppose a homeowner’s toilet clogs up or their water pipe breaks. They would call a plumber to fix these issues immediately. Chances are high that, as a plumber, your office receives many phone calls everyday and at all times of the day.
These customers call you when in dire need of your services. Since many plumbers may find it challenging to respond to calls while busy working on sinks or pipes, they hire assistants. Even though hiring assistants may mean you can handle more appointments and work daily, it strains your finances.
You might fail to notice it, but employing a single full-time worker whom you pay $10 per hour might cost you more than $1500 monthly. Remember that there are extra costs for health benefits, personal/sick time, and training. You can avoid unnecessary expenses and still have customer calls catered to by hiring a live answering service.
A live answering service is a cost-effective and smart alternative to costly employees. You incur no extra charges or hidden fees. Each price estimate made includes all the services offered. The service does not only provide affordable answering services, but answering agents also undergo rigorous training and hiring processes.
Answering calls Professionally is what an answering service involves, and you can perform your duties knowing that each phone call will be responded to and with deserved care. By partnering with an answering service, you will enjoy more reliable, professional, and cheaper services than when you use a committed telephone representative.
How a Typical Call Answering Service for Plumbers Works
We have two types of answering services: automated and live answering services. Automated answering services allow the callers to leave voice messages and obtain information based on responses to prompts. On the other hand, live answering services enable callers to talk to a real person that may be capable of meeting their specific needs better than automated services. In automated services, for instance, a caller may be asked to press one if they would like to know about business hours, press two to be given directions, press three for the business directory, or press four to hear directory listings or leave a message. This system works best with callers that only want general info, which is less likely with plumbing company customers. Even though they may cost less than live answering services, they lack the personal touch and flexibility that live answering services offer.
Once you have decided to partner with a live plumbing answering service provider, they will create your account. Then they will work with you to create customized scripts and protocols that define how your phone calls will be answered and how messages will be delivered.
It is you that decides how virtual receptionists and call agents will answer your phone calls, who is notified and how the notifications will be received. Your service provider can change or modify the scripts and protocols as frequently as you would want.
Additionally, you will also be capable of logging into your account via the secure client web portal and gain visibility to your call history and records, the pathway that’s taken to deliver messages, etc. You can also update your contact list and on-call schedule, and also explore the information in your account securely anywhere anytime you are close to the internet. Plumbing answering services streamline how your phone calls are responded to, delivered, as well as documented.
As far as live answering services are concerned, the answering agents can decide whether the phone call is urgent enough to dispatch immediately. Often, callers are not aware that their call has been directed to answering agents.
What a Call Answering Service Can Do For Your Plumbing Business
When, as a plumber, you hire a call answering service, you focus on other things while you reap benefits like:
Assigning an Account Executive
When you partner with a call answering service provider starts with them assigning an executive to your account. The executive is the person you will consult for everything. If and whenever you have concerns or questions, you can speak to the executive in person, and they will work to provide you with the best possible solution. This helps the provider to have an excellent working relationship with both you and your customers.
Handling All of Your Overflow
It could be that you prefer to answer your own phone calls. Even if this is the case, there are times when you receive so many calls that you can answer. You do not want your clients to leave voicemails or go to other plumbers to fix their problems. You will lose money, and even worse, damage the reputation of your business. There are times when you will be working at another customer’s house, driving, or doing something else, which means you will not necessarily have the time to answer a phone call.
When it comes to overflow answering services, your provider can set up phone carrier settings. This way, once your phone rings three times, that call will automatically be forwarded to an answering agent. This will make your life easy. You will not have to think twice about those calls. You can relax and go about your daily duties knowing that every client and potential customer will be given a chance to speak to someone.
Providing Answers to Your FAQs
Like many plumbing companies, you receive similar questions over and again regarding your business over the phone. Prospects could ask many questions concerning your services, working hours, and rates. A trained answering representative can deal with these routine questions. An answering service can find the answers to these questions using a customized database of your most FAQs and their responses.
At times, there may be questions that an answering service cannot answer. In instances like this, answering agents or virtual receptionists will take messages and assure clients that they will call them back. All this will undoubtedly free up your time to handle the more critical tasks while an answering agent deals with the fundamental questions.
Tailoring Services to Suit Your Operations
Do not be concerned about how your callers will adjust to another person handling their calls. An answering service customizes the scripts to fit your business operations so that it has a firm grasp on your vision and mission from the beginning.
It is a fact that not every plumbing company requires the precise same thing. That is why a live answering service will have to customize their services as per your particular needs. The provider you settle for should have customer service experience so that you acquire the best services. Whether your company is big or small, family-owned, or franchise, an answering service will deliver services that are consistent with your messaging and branding. It can handle 24/7 service, overflow, or after-hour calls.
Since a plumping answering service specializes in the plumbing business, you can rest assured of a professional and knowledgeable approach when the agents are talking to your callers. Answering agents will always be on standby to reassure callers and assist them through any situation they are experiencing. Since the service will be giving full attention to your customers on the lines, your work will be to give full attention to the callers in person.
Scheduling Appointments Faster
Scheduling is a critical element of any plumbing business. However, booking appointments may be a time-consuming responsibility. And when you are spending plenty of time on appointment scheduling, you will have little time to give your customers their services.
An answering service will handle scheduling appointments and calling customers. You will stop spending plenty of time on the phone once you partner with an answering service. You will be able to secure the most leads since you will have much time chasing them. You will also have the option of using either your calendar system or the answering service provider’s.
Answering All Emergency Calls
A plumbing emergency requires immediate attention. In case a client cannot manage to contact you, they will call another plumber even if you are their all-time plumber. That is why you always need someone present to respond to every call.
An answering agent will always be available to answer the phone calls when you cannot. They will help in determining whether the client is calling due to an emergency or not. In case the problem can wait up to the following day, that’s when the agent will take a message and forward it to you. But if it can’t, the agent will contact you or a member of your staff so you can immediately attend to the problem.
Reasons You Need a Plumbing Live Answering Service
These are the benefits you will have once you partner with a plumbing answering service:
Your Calls Will Be Responded to 24/7
As a reputable plumber, you must know from personal experience that your clients need around-the-clock assistance. A plumbing emergency can occur at any time. By partnering with a trustworthy answering service provider, your phone calls will be handled at any time, be it daytime or night, so your customers acquire the services they need.
All Customers Receive Live Assistance
Also, all the calls to your company telephone will be handled by a professional, that is when you hire the appropriate answering service. It could be exasperating for a client with a plumbing-related emergency to be put through a complex voice messaging system. With live assistance, it’s easy to enhance your client’s overall experience.
Plumbing Emergencies Occur on Holidays and Weekends
Just as a plumbing emergency can occur at night, it can also develop on holidays and weekends. Even if your present support staff handles your calls during the regular hours of business, it may be costly to pay extra staff to answer calls on holidays and weekends. A live answering service will enable you to serve your clients’ needs better irrespective of the day.
Callers Won’t Receive Busy Signals or Voicemails Ever
Most of your clients might call in with a critical problem, and they would easily be frustrated if they are directed straight to voicemail or receive a busy signal. Worse still, others might proceed to request services from someone else if they don’t receive a timely response from you. If you have a live answering service working for you, you won’t need to be concerned about missed potential customers and sales due to busy signals or voicemails.
New Business Leads Will Be Generated Via Sales Prospecting
Any call to your business can easily translate to a new lead. The appropriate answering service experts go through training and are experienced in sales prospecting. This can assist you in growing your business rapidly.
Scheduled Appointments Will Be Confirmed
We have answering services that also offer out-going call services. An answering agent can confirm the scheduled appointments to make sure that somebody is at the business or home when one of your experts goes to help them. This will promote the most productive workday there can be for your staff.
Calls Will Be Screened
Most of the phone calls that your plumbing company receives can easily be handled by appointment scheduling. But we have a few phone calls that might need transferring to you or one of your staff members. There are usually complicated questions or problematic situations as far as plumbing is concerned. An answering service agent will screen phone calls to make sure only the urgent ones are transmitted to you.
You Lessen the Overhead Costs
Numerous costs are associated with hiring in-house employees to answer your calls. For instance, there is unemployment insurance, salary, benefits, taxes, etc. Also, you will pay an extra amount for additional office supplies, utility bills, etc. You can remove this overhead by partnering with a live answering service.
Office Space Will Be Utilized More Productively
In case your office space is small, it might feel as if your employees are cramped. Instead of relocating to a larger, more expensive office, outsourcing the needs of your support staff to a live answering service is the ideal solution. When you utilize these services 24/7, you will not need to pay for additional space for phone answering employees to sit in the office anymore.
Your Staff Management Efforts Will Be Reduced
Whereas you could save space and money by outsourcing services, you may also minimize your managerial problems. A quality live answering service provider will carefully select & train their answering agents, and internally handle any concern that may crop up. This can significantly decrease the level of your stress.
Characteristics of the Best Plumbing Answering Services
If you are searching for a live plumbing answering service provider, it is only natural that you would want the most appropriate. After all, it is your company’s reputation on the line every time your clients interact with any person representing your business. There are so many live answering services you can choose from, but what determines the best? Here is what you look at.
Proficient and Happy Operators
A good plumbing answering service should have more than good answering agents. But without good agents, that answering service can’t be considered a good one. Thus, the service provider must do a nice job keeping its most essential assets, the answering agents, happy. If the provider does not train agents adequately, you can presume they do not care about quality.
Agents should not only go through ongoing training and on-boarding courses, but they should also be handled with care. If a service provider ensures their call representatives are heard and happy, the agents will less likely leave the company. And the longer an agent works at a company, the better they will be at their duties. Essentially, happy call representatives equal to satisfied callers, happy callers translate to happy clients, and happy clients mean a thriving business.
Around-the-Clock Availability
Being the best means being available 24/7. When looking to hire a plumbing answering service, ensure you consider their availability. Does it answer calls only during business operation hours, or is it available 24/7? You will also want to ensure that if they are handling calls around the clock, you aren’t being charged an extra cost. Certain services will work on holidays or weekends but might charge you an additional fee, while others won’t.
Apart from ensuring your phone calls are handled 24/7, you will want to consider the availability of the provider’s customer support too. If your provider only offers support Monday to Friday and you have an emergency issue on weekends, how will you be assisted? Will the call representatives reply by email or will you have to wait till Monday? Does your provider offer self-help tools for you to make adjustments and resolve the problem by yourself?
Flexible Pricing
The best service provider does not mean it is the most costly or the cheapest, but it ought to have different pricing options to suit their client’s needs. Usually, services bill either by the call or by the minute, with others offering both pricing models. A provider that charges flat rates or has limited plans is unlikely to be cost-effective since your usage cost will most likely not fall into their pricing plan. No two plumbing businesses are similar. The best answering service provider will understand this and adjust its pricing packages accordingly.
An Answering Service That Has Different Features
You want to hire an answering service that responds to phone calls. But is that all? The best service has to do a lot more than just answering phones. You should opt for a service that offers other different features like:
- Outbound calling
- Appointment setting
- Mobile App or online portal
- Emergency on-call dispatching
- Customizable call handling
- App/customer relationship management integration
- Order processing
- Bilingual agents
- Dedicated agents
Good Reputation
The best live answering service provider will have an excellent reputation. Checking online reviews is a helpful way to understand how a service company is doing and how it treats its customers. Even though not all reviews are entirely accurate, they are an excellent indicator of the company’s performance. For instance, if all the reviews are negative, you will assume that that service provider is not doing too well. Similarly, if all the reviews are positive, you may want to question that too.
No provider is 100% perfect. Therefore, if they only have positive reviews, they could be falsifying their scores a little. A provider could have negative reviews removed or have their staff leave fake reviews. Whereas this does not happen frequently, it does occur. An ideal answering service will have both positive and negative reviews, with the negative ones being less. After all, you cannot make everyone happy.
Partner With a Reputable Live Answering Service
Many clients won’t leave a message after calling your business line if you are not available. The majority call your competitor immediately upon disconnecting your call. If you don’t have an expert virtual receptionist responding to the phone calls, answering all the questions, setting up appointments, or making follow-up calls, you will be losing money and new clients.
Don’t lose money anymore. Partner with the Best Call Center for professional call answering services regardless of the time of day. Contact us at 800-385-4656 for our services. Once you partner with us, your clients and potential customers will always think it’s your own staff handling the calls.