April 10, 2025
Virtual receptionists are still shrouded in mystery to some. What is it that they do? Does it have something to do with virtual reality? Do they care about your business? Aren’t they all located in India? Why would a small business ever need a virtual receptionist? The myths about virtual receptionists range from understandable to ridiculous.
We’re here to be bearers of the truth and debunk the top 5 myths about virtual receptionists, once and for all.
5 Myths About Virtual Receptionists – Debunked!
As an industry-leading virtual receptionist provider for the past several years, we’ve heard it all – myths about virtual receptionists and their duties, location, and work habits. You’ll understand the profession more clearly after reading about these myths and why they’re untrue.
First, a quick lesson in mythology and how myths are perpetuated even when they’re untrue.
How do myths like these get started?
Mythology is defined as a set or group of legends, stories, or beliefs, especially those that have a religious or cultural basis, that are widely believed but untrue.
There are several reasons myths develop and are carried on.
One is to explain what may be an inexplicable phenomenon, like ancient myths about rain and weather. Myths might develop as allegories or analogies to existing truths, like stories told to explain complex truths in an everyday way. They may be fables that seek to illustrate moral truths, like some of Jesus’ parables in the Bible.
They may arise out of a lack of any “real” explanation for something that’s happening – and that is the case when it comes to myths about virtual receptionists. Many people don’t understand the service and that’s how myths develop around it.
Here are the myths we’ve heard over and over about virtual receptionists and why they’re untrue.
5 Myths About Virtual Receptionists
#1. Virtual receptionists aren’t a replacement for in-house receptionists.
This myth comes from those who (inaccurately) believe that virtual receptionists just supplement an in-house or onsite receptionist. They believe virtual receptionists can’t possibly cover all receptionist bases.
Thankfully, this isn’t true. Virtual receptionists can be a complete replacement for in-house receptionists, and in fact, that’s exactly how most of our clients use them. There’s no need to hire an onsite receptionist when you’re working with Conversational virtual receptionists – they can handle every task remotely.
#2. All virtual receptionists do is answer the phone and transfer calls.
This myth says virtual receptionists don’t really do anything – they just answer your phone and transfer the calls to you. Those who believe this myth think hiring a virtual receptionist doesn’t save you time because the calls all still end up being funneled to you.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. The reason most of our clients come to us in the first place is that they’re looking to decrease the amount of hands-on time they spend at their business. Virtual receptionists do a lot of things besides answering the phone:
- Warm call transfers
- Bookings & appointment management
- Basic customer service
- Custom greetings and scripts
- Unlimited talk time after a call is transferred
- Messages delivered over email
As you can see, virtual receptionists don’t just answer your phone and funnel all the calls straight to you. Debunked.
#3. You’ll have no idea where your virtual receptionist is working from.
This myth is actually not completely untrue – some virtual receptionists and virtual receptionist providers don’t disclose their location of work, leaving you in the dark. However, this myth says that no matter who you’re working with, virtual receptionists are all located in far-flung corners of the Earth, not in North America.
We’re living proof that this myth isn’t true. All of our offices are located in North America – the United States and Canada – and we’re very transparent about that. You’ll always know where your virtual receptionist is working from when you use Conversational. Debunked.
#4. Virtual receptionist is another term for automated call answering.
Nope, nope, nope – this is a really common myth, and it’s a dangerous one for the virtual receptionist industry. Automated call answering is often assumed to be the same thing as virtual reception services, but the two couldn’t be more different.
Automated call answering services make customers feel unwanted and cause them to hang up more often. Live, friendly virtual receptionists who answer the phone with your business’ custom greeting and a can-do attitude – like Conversational provides – delight customers instead of causing them to hang up. Automated call answering is bad for customer service. Hiring a virtual receptionist is good for customer service. Debunked.
#5. Virtual receptionists don’t speak good English.
This one is only half-myth. It depends on who you’re working with and what type of virtual receptionist you hire. In any case, some people believe that virtual receptionists are all located abroad in a noisy call center and that they don’t speak English well.
Give our office a call right now – (855) 933-3826 – to speak to one of our virtual receptionists. You’ll see that not only do every single one of our receptionists have a great hold on the English language, but they manage to be professional, knowledgeable, and friendly while they do it. Debunked.
