Finding/ Transitioning to an Office Assistant

Really? The one I'm on about makes it sound like you're actually calling the tree service office. They don't say that they're an answering service.

How do you know they're a service? Do they announce it?
 
Mine works part time. She wasn't too interested in the early days and I'm glad of that now. I wouldn't want to have to justify everything.
 
What kind of questions are you asking?

All the "Secretary" has to do is hook you up.

Do you expect whoever answers the phone to be a Master Arborist Tree Surgeon?
 
Nope, just Secretary stuff. People shouldn't need a call back to schedule a job, a bid, make a payment etc. When they call it should be taken care of
 
That's cool if it works for him.

I've hung up many times when I ran into a service answering, and called elsewahere...I had questions I wanted answered while I was calling.
 
It always seemed like it would be helpful if an answering service told you that's what they are, before you go into a lengthy enquiry about something that they have no way to answer, rather than after.
 
Most people think it's my wife answering. They're pretty good, all my details come up on their screen when they answer and they just say what they need to and tell the caller I'll ring back as soon as I can.

Might not work for some but it's worked for me for a long time, and it's not expensive. It'd cost about the same to divert calls to my mobile and that goes to message bank while I'm working anyway, the service answers all calls personally.
 
My experience is that they tell you it's an answering service if you ask something that they can't answer. Is there some rule about not saying that up front, it seems like it could save some wasted time on the phone by quickly asking for a return call.
 
Then what's the point of having an answering service? Sounds like he could've taken the call anyway. The point for me is I don't have to call back, saves me sooo much fishing time...
 
I'm not sure what all questions you guys are being asked and answering over the phone. Even when I talked to custys still I always tried to keep it short and sweet. Most of the questions they would ask on the phone couldn't be answered by me without having already seen the tree. So I don't see the big deal. The big thing is having someone answer and even if they don't know squat are able to let the person know when someone will get back to them and copy down the details.

It would go like this imo:

Best-a secretary that runs your business so knows some ins and outs and can immediately book things

Second best- an answering service where a live person answers at least and can take custy info and let them know when/how they will be contacted

Dead as in beat to death piss you off last- the voicemail where they have to leave a message, even worse if you get drunk after work that day and don't call back for a day or two.
 
Maybe you should get a Ruby Receptionist

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TxeePhi8upw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>


love
nick
 
squisher said:
Most of the questions they would ask on the phone couldn't be answered by me without having already seen the tree. So I don't see the big deal.
Click to expand...

The big deal is why spend your time on the phone with things you can't answer? Let someone at a lesser rate take care of that. That's time you could be bidding, or working or fishing. The phone only gets answered M-F 8-5. I bid M-F 9-4. Outside of normal working hours is my time generally. I might do maintenance and such after hours but I kinda enjoy that.
 
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