Businesses around the globe have faced unique challenges during the pandemic, many of them closing their doors. With Covid-19 finally declining in the United States, businesses are seeing new problems; Staffing issues and high call volume are making it hard to serve customers, which can lead to lost business just when it’s needed most. Across industries, virtual answering services can lighten the load so your staff can keep your customers happy and your doors stay open.
Post Pandemic Offices Don’t Look the Same
Consumer confidence is finally rising and business is picking up, but operating a business is not the same in the post pandemic era. Maybe your hours, location, or procedures have changed. Perhaps some of your staff will stay virtual or not return at all, and you may still find yourself short-handed when employees have to quarantine. Virtual receptionist services from Anserve can step in to bridge the gap between your staffing issues and increased call volume so your business doesn’t suffer.
Your Customers and Patients Have Lots of Questions
Every day a new restriction is being lifted or new guidance comes out from various governing bodies. It’s no wonder customers are confused and have questions for you. Hearing from your customers is not a bad thing, unless staffing issues prevent you from answering all of your customers’ questions. In addition, the increase in call volume and long duration calls may prevent your staff from being able to do their regular duties. This is when virtual answering services from Anserve can be a life-saver for your business.
Staffing Issues Caused by Quarantining/Hesitancy to Return to Work/Distancing Requirements
At the beginning of the pandemic, the challenge was to set employees up to work remotely and/or to retrain essential personnel how to operate with unprecedented new restrictions. Now there are new staffing issues: how do you bring employees back (or should you?) in safe and socially distant ways? What if they don’t want to come back, and how can you operate smoothly when employees must suddenly quarantine? Anserve is here to help with virtual answering services that can handle your extra call volume skillfully and affordably. When your incoming calls get to a volume your staff is unable to handle, Anserve can seamlessly pick up the slack.
The Combination of High Call Volume and Short Staffing can become a Perfect Storm
Your business may have struggled through the pandemic with less work, so business finally picking up is a huge relief. But that increase in business coupled with staffing issues can equal a perfect storm. You may be tempted to try to handle the extra call volume with your current staff, but that’s a big risk. Studies have shown that callers will hang up if re-routed more than once and, 75% of the time, they will not leave a voicemail. You cannot afford to lose these customers, especially when virtual answering services from Anserve are an easy solution.
What does a Virtual Receptionist Do?
A virtual receptionist is not a bot or an untrained person who will turn off your customers with limited knowledge. That perception couldn’t be farther from the truth. Virtual answering services from Anserve are like an extension of your staff. Anserve’s highly trained, multilingual virtual receptionists can handle your excess call volume by answering your calls with a customized script. They can provide general information, route calls to appropriate staff, and provide instant messaging to you via email, SMS text, secure message, or fax. Anserve provides 24/7 support and online account access so you are never out of the loop.
Virtual Receptionist Services Can Simultaneously Support Your Staff
Perhaps you already have a receptionist or other staff to answer your calls, and you are wondering how Anserve’s virtual receptionist services fit in with that. In fact, our answering services operate simultaneously, picking up overflow call volume in real time, 24/7. Anserve works seamlessly to cover your staffing issues without making changes to your org chart or current procedures.
Why Anserve is the Best Answering Service
Anserve is an award-winning family business, started in 1969 by Robert and Nancy Ward. Since then, Anserve has been at the forefront of the industry, offering the latest in communications technology and highly-trained staff. Anserve employs over 130 agents who service over 1,800 clients including over 30 hospital networks. Anserve owns and maintains its headquarters, so we can serve your business securely 24/7/365 even in an emergency. Contact Anserve here to see how our virtual answering services can help your business thrive despite the challenges of high call volume and staffing issues in the post pandemic era.
