It may seem like phones are becoming obsolete with the ubiquity of internet-connected devices these days, but when it comes to customer service for your business, phones are still very important. Surveys show that about four out of every five customers prefer to interact with companies and about the same amount say they will hang up on a business if they get a voicemail. That makes it important to try to have a live answering service, not only when you are open but also after hours. That can be difficult to do, especially for a small business, which is why you may want to take advantage of after hours phone answering service.
Having a 24 hour answering service means you never miss a call. While an after hours phone answering service may be overkill for certain businesses, such as retail stores or restaurants, it can be a necessity for certain kinds of business. If your business offers an essential service such as internet service, then you need to have customer service that is available 24 hours a day seven days a week. In many cases, having round-the-clock customer service is not just a nice thing to do, it is a necessity for your business.
The logistics of how an after hours phone answering service works can be an obstacle to overcome. If you run a 24-hour business, then you can have one staff member dedicated to answering the phones or you can have various employees take on the duties as needed. If you don’t have a 24-hour operation, then you need to consider whether to pay an employee to answer phones in the off hours or hire a service to do it. Hiring a service is usually the better choice. Though it may be more expensive, it is a lot more convenient. If you need seven-day phone coverage, then you will have to have more than one employee to do it, and you also will have to make alternate arrangements whenever the employees who do the after hours phone answering are sick or on vacation. With a third-party service, you will always have someone to answer your phone whenever you need it.
