Using an Answering Service to Make Appointments

Posted: Nov 11, 2010 |Comments: 0 |

Many who provide services for a living, such as doctors, lawyers, consultants, and accountants, rely on constantly making new appointments to continue to have work. Many who work out of an office alongside other professionals hire a receptionist to manage their incoming phone calls and set appointments. Others, especially those who work independently or out of their homes take on this responsibility. Quite frequently, however, many of these individuals run into trouble when a client calls to schedule an appointment and they are unable to answer the call. Other times a caller may wish to schedule or reschedule an appointment after business hours, but they are unable to because they cannot get a hold of anyone.

Whether it's an existing customer who is frustrated by repeatedly reaching your voicemail or a potential new customer who instead chooses a competitor they are able to get a hold of immediately, you may be regularly missing opportunities because of missed calls. One way many businesses avoid this situation is by hiring an answering service to function as a receptionist and appointment setter. For example, a doctor in Oakland, California well known for the time and personal attention he gives to his patients would silence his office phone whenever he was giving a health consultation. When he was free, he would check his phone to find that there were several missed calls and few, if any, voicemails left. As a result he found a reliable answering service to take messages and set appointments 24 hours a day.

Many people find an answering service can offer high-quality service at a much lower cost than hiring their own receptionist. Beyond serving solo practitioners, businesses with numerous staff frequently use a provider such as California Answering Service as well. One such example is a medium-sized corporate law firm located in Los Angeles that has the service's operators greet clients, ask who they wish to speak to, and then transfer the call to the appropriate contact or department. When a potential client of the law firm needs to schedule an appointment with someone, the operator has instant access to the firm's appointment book and can schedule a time that both works for the caller and is available.

A common misconception about this sort of service is that the operators simply email the office with the time and the date the caller wishes to schedule an appointment, requiring the office to call back and confirm or reschedule if the time slot is unavailable. A good answering service supports web-based appointment books that are updated in real time, eliminating the need for the office to check availability before an appointment is made. In addition, the same call center staff that makes the appointments can be instructed to call and remind of appointments at a later date, reducing the number of missed or late appointments. Also, you can choose to have notifications sent by email every time a new appointment is made or an existing one cancelled.

A good appointment setting answering service will work to accommodate your existing appointment system. Modern call center technology can access your web-based appointment service or proprietary software you host in-house. Usually you only need to create a user in your system for the operators give the call center the login information in order for them to access your appointment book from their terminals. Of course, if you do not currently have a digitized appointment book, your answering service can likely provide you with some recommendations. Although customized software can run into the thousands of dollars, a good web-based appointment book service is usually within any company's budget.

Questions and Answers

Ask
200 Characters left
Rate this Article
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 0 vote(s)
    Feedback
    Print
    Re-Publish
    Source:  http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/using-an-answering-service-to-make-appointments-3651461.html

    Article Tags:

    answering service

    ,

    appointments

    ,

    call center

    The pay as you go telephone answering service model is a bit different from the standard contractual answering service. The service is paid for on a lump sum debit system with reducing units, much like a pre-paid mobile phone or phone card. Pay as you go answering service may be the best option for your company, depending on your needs.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Business> Outsourcingl Feb 27, 2012

    Before deciding on which specific company to use for your answering service needs, it's important to figure out exactly what type of call center service you need. Make sure the company you use is the best fit by doing thorough research, and even meeting the potential new staff you'll be indirectly employing.

    By: K. Leedsl Business> Outsourcingl Feb 17, 2012

    Hiring managers are stressing the need to be a self-starting multi-tasker, and are proclaiming the need for that skill in bold print across the web, and in your local newspaper classifieds. Companies and medical / legal practices alike want to get the most out of their hired help. Unfortunately, most...

    By: Robert Porterl Business> Managementl Mar 01, 2009 lViews: 540

    This article tells how the doctors answering service companies help to connect the doctor and the patients and maintain accuracy in the role they play. It also discusses the compulsion of hiring reputed and experienced physician answering services.

    By: benjaminl Business> Customer Servicel Oct 31, 2011

    Answering services are call centers that take calls from customers after your office has closed for the day or when you're otherwise not available. These services work for a wide array of businesses, but for the purpose of this article we'll be specifically discussing medical answering services. These services take calls directed to your office when you're unavailable to answer in the same way most services do, but differ in a key way.

    By: Kurt Duncanl Business> Customer Servicel Dec 06, 2010

    With too much of globalization and modernization, business has progressed leap and bounds. Phone answering services have also become an integral part of many businesses. But do you know how phone answering services can keep businesses connected with their target audiences. Let this article be a quick guide to all your queries.

    By: Anser Servicesl Business> Customer Servicel Apr 17, 2012

    In USA, one of the leading brands that offer diverse and high quality products promoting proper hygiene is Difresh USA. If you are looking for the best opportunity to grow and have the opportunity for a new business Difresh USA can help you for they are looking for Exclusive Local Distributors

    By: danieltorrisl Businessl May 31, 2012

    Getting clean and refresh doesn't sacrifice the place where you are for it should be a habit. Having a healthy body will allow you to do things right and good. And no matter where you are you should practice a healthy and proper hygiene even in little things you do.

    By: danieltorrisl Businessl May 31, 2012

    Maintaining a healthy and proper hygiene badly needs products that are truly effective and could truly answer our need for this. No matter where we are and at anytime we want to get clean we basically need these products right away and only Difresh USA can supply these in a very easy way

    By: danieltorrisl Businessl May 31, 2012

    The key reason why some firms thrive while some implode during an financial recession is still a puzzle to many people business-owning business owners. Some wrongly assume that all businesses should suffer via recessionary cycles. But the truth is that some companies are usually essentially recession-proof, and it is not necessarily because they are much larger, better known, or a lot more generously capitalized.

    By: danhoh75rel Businessl May 31, 2012

    Companies like Arch Coal (ACI) and Massey Energy (MEE) watched his or her stock climbed.

    By: pennystockegghead49l Businessl May 30, 2012

    Get informed on everything you need to know about viral marketing. This article will help business owners understand the importance of marketing and how it can help your company flourish.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Businessl May 10, 2012

    SEO companys offer businesses a great deal of services that are bound to help their commpany's flourish. However, it is important that these companies are avoiding mistakes because their business is at stake. There are many common mistakes that are made in the SEO industry so it is important for them to steer clear of all these possible dangers.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Internet> SEOl May 07, 2012

    Properly staging a home for sale is important because buyers largely rely on their initial reaction from their initial walkthrough or open house when making their decision as to whether or not they should put in a serious offer.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Finance> Real Estatel Apr 24, 2012

    A sump pump is a relatively small appliance installed in the lower part of buildings, or homes. It is essentially a pump put in place to pump out water. The purpose of a sump pump is to eliminate or reduce the risk of flooding.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Home Improvement> Tools and Equipmentl Apr 17, 2012

    Starting the day off right with a solid breakfast can make your day go a whole lot better. This is especially true when you have an active day ahead of you, such as attending a family reunion, business conference, or golf outing. For this reason, breakfast catering is an excellent choice for an event.

    By: Nicolas DAlleval Food and Beverage> Main Coursel Apr 17, 2012

    Discuss this Article

    Author Box
    Articles Categories
    All Categories
    Quantcast