Telephone answering services can save your business a lot of money compared to an in-house receptionist and customer service teams. Medical answering service agents work hard to keep your existing clients happy and bring in new customers with their exceptional and excellent service.
However, choosing an incompetent medical answering service can cost your company a big fortune given that most consumers still prefer to interact with businesses over the phone. Below are some factors you should consider as you vet your prospective companies.
Language Skills
Do not expect your clients to be happy when they call and the phone is answered with a person who is struggling to understand them. Find a company whose agents understand the primary communication language of your customers.
If your business location is in the United States, then it is advisable that you engage a company whose operators live in the United States and can speak fluent English. If you are running the conventional brick-and-mortar business, then you may even want to find a company which is located closer to you so that the operators understand the specific regional needs of the callers.
Staff Training and In-House Management
Choose between onsite versus offsite answering services. However, it’s recommended that you go for on-site answering services where the company employs on-site staff and trains them according to your business’s needs and the needs of your callers.
The most significant advantage of the on-site arrangement is that your business will end up having better employee management, message accuracy, quick call turnaround times and quality assurance practices. This offers better service for you and your callers.
Services and Features
A good medical answering service should be ready to attend to all your clients promptly without excuses. Also, consider the package features that the company offers your business. These features may include web access to calls, and messages, call screening, appointment setting, and voicemail services. Your preferred company should also have an efficient call recording system in place which will record all the inbound and outbound calls for future reference when the need arises.
The Company’s Call Metrics
Before you decide to work with any call service company, request for some data showing their performance. The data should provide essential statistics such as how many calls has the company handled in the past one year? Also, check out for the number of operators available and let the company explain the measures it has in place in case there will be an increase in the call volume. Ask for data showing the company’s average hold time and hours of service in a day. These metrics should reflect tour business and customer needs.