When is the best time to make business calls? New research is showing us that depending on the nature of the call (sales calls, returning calls, etc.), how quickly you return a call matters much more than the time of day. That’s not to say that you’d ever want to make a business-related call at 9:00 pm or 6:00 am;

The phrase ‘customer-centric’ has been around for a while, but it’s not in common usage. From the words themselves, you can probably grasp that a business that is customer-centric is one that is centered around the customer – just as our heliocentric solar system is one that revolves around the Sun. In fact, a customer-centric business can easily be thought

Missing calls is part of the learning curve of doing business. Many new business owners feel that missing a few calls is not a big deal; “If it’s something important, they’ll leave a voicemail and I’ll get back to them.” Missing calls is inevitable if you’re doing business solo (unless you’re working with a virtual receptionist!), and if you do

You know the general reasons customers call your business – what are your hours? How does that product work? Why isn’t my product working like you said it would? But why does a customer choose to use the phone to communicate when there are other options available to them? While technology advances and online communication increases, the phone still remains

When a customer with an appointment calls to cancel, they can either be met with a friendly response or a passive-aggressive response. It’s not in your business’ best interest to try and “guilt-trip” customers who need to cancel appointments; instead, your appointment policy should reflect the cutoff time for cancellations and note any fees or charges that may apply after

Are you starting to think the phone is no longer useful when it comes to your customer service needs? Believe it or not, the phone is still the king of customer support. People love interacting with customer service reps on social media, web chat, and email, but it wouldn’t be the same without the ability to call. That’s because the

The salon industry is one of many that regularly employ front desk receptionists to take calls and manage appointments. If you own a beauty salon or barber shop or are in the process of opening one, you’re probably concerned about cutting costs wherever possible without sacrificing the quality of your services. You might have assumed that hiring a receptionist is

Who answers your business phone every day? Most entrepreneurs report that they are the ones to answer the phone when it rings. Some don’t have a business phone number – instead, they just use their cell phone to field business calls. There are three problems with this method. First, your callers can tell the difference between a business phone number

Communicating via the telephone isn’t usually problematic, but when the phone is used in customer service, issues can (and do, on occasion) arise. You might hear these issues called by many names – rude customers, abusive callers, etc. – but underlying them all could be a simple lack of empathy on the receptionist’s part. Without empathy, normal customer service interactions

One of the top virtual receptionist features available is answering collect calls. Conversational accepts collect calls on your behalf and gathers all the information you’ll need to get back in touch with the caller if you’re unable to answer the transferred call. We track the calls so you can bill your clients for those minutes.  Top Virtual Receptionist Features: Answering