Answering Service 101 - Basic Knowledge

Small businesses who use answering services come in all shapes and sizes. From small companies operating out of their garage and receiving a few calls a year, to medium sized businesses who employ hundreds of workers and get thousands of calls a month. And, we're introduced to many varieties of small businesses…

Have you ever heard colleagues having water cooler discussions about the differences between answering services, message services, and virtual receptionist services? We have. Just about every day. And these discussions can get pretty heated. Some people believe that message service or messaging service refers to an outdated concept of a switchboard born…

So you've decided to use an answering service. Congratulations! Trying to find the right answering service for your business can be a challenge. You've cleared your first hurdle - understanding that you need an answering service. Your second hurdle, choosing which company to use, can seem like a momentous challenge. How do…

If you work in an office, then you're familiar with the daily grind. Your 9-5 is mostly responding to emails, talking up Netflix by the coffee machine, and going to the third floor to use the lavatory.  With the exception of the bathroom bit, did you know that most of the jobs…

When you make the decision to start using a call center, either 24/7 or just as overflow support, the goal, of course, is that your callers will never experience hold times, or at least significantly less hold times than they experience when your front desk is overwhelmed. The problem is that most…

If you use an answering service, then you're probably familiar with call forwarding and how it works. However, if you've never used one before or are new to outsourcing - surprise - you're going to need to know how to call forward. Since call forwarding is essential to using an answering service,…

When you’re new to outsourcing, it can feel like you've walked into a conversation where everyone knows what they're talking about but you. If you're dealing with an answering service support rep or navigating our web portal, there's a whole new set of terms and phrases you may be exposed to. While…

Want to test your knowledge on the answering service industry? See if you can answer all 10 questions correctly. If you're feeling real lucky, test your knowledge with our telephone trivia quiz next! 1. When was the first call center created?    Show Me the Answer!  The answer is B. 1957 1930 1957 1985…

Whether you've just started using an answering service, or you've had one for years, you should be aware of the 5 most common mistakes businesses make that will result in an outsourcing epic fail. 1. Your Procedures are Too Complicated Every company wants their customers to be happy, and a factor in…

At Specialty Answering Service, we often get asked many questions regarding the ins and outs of how answering services work, what they do, and how much they cost - among other things. We thought it would be a great idea to consolidate our most frequently asked questions to help out readers like…