Here are some of the best customer service tips our Team has compiled for your business to reference:

• Realize that, try as you might, you may not be able to please everyone. Some customers will never be satisfied no matter how many times you say I’m sorry or how many ways you offer to fix the problem. Don’t let these people affect the way you do business with the rest of your customers. Do your best to solve the problem, but let go of what you can’t change, and greet the rest of your customers with a friendly smile.
• The correct answer is never “I don’t know” unless you add to it, “but I can find out for you.”
• Do you know who your customers are? All of us like to feel important! Calling someone by name is a simple way to do it, and lets them know you value them as a customer.
• Remember there is no way that the quality of customer service can exceed the quality of the people who provide it.
• Accept returns without question, or at least with the smallest amount of questions as possible. In the long run, accepting a return is much less expensive than finding a new customer.
• Follow up with previous customers. Make sure your products and services work well for them. If they don’t, show concern and fix things cheerfully.
• Address complaints like a first responder. Learn the art of small business triage. Negative comments and complaints need your immediate attention, so treat them like the emergencies they are.
• Integrate “Service With a Smile” into your business. Customers appreciate interacting with someone who comes across as friendly and happy to be assisting them.
• Avoid having one tone when speaking with a customer. Make sure to sound interested and enthusiastic about potential business or finding a solution for your customer.
• Respond to clients as soon as possible. Speed is everything, especially when a client is requesting something that is time-sensitive. Even if you can’t work on the task right away, at least let them know you got their request and give them a timeline when it will be completed.
• Go the extra mile to show you appreciate your customers. Include a thank you note in a customer’s package, send a birthday card, clip the article when you see their name or photo in print, or write a congratulatory note when they get a promotion.

As always, AnswerNow is here to help! If you feel your customer service is suffering due to an overload of tasks, consider handing off some of them to us! Contact us today <link> to see how we can effectively assist you!

Valerie has an amazing ability to relate to her fellow Team Members, as well as our callers, which creates a warm and welcoming environment for everyone she encounters.  She is extremely Team-oriented, and is always looking for ways to challenge herself and her team, focusing on providing the highest level of customer service available, while still maintaining AnswerNow’s precise technical procedures and documentation.  Valerie never seeks out the spotlight, and in fact, always prefers that praise be directed toward her team members instead.  That being said, we simply couldn’t resist the opportunity to recognize Valerie for being such a strong and dedicated member of the AnswerNow team!

A few words from Valerie:

I’ve had the pleasure of working for AnswerNow for six years. The skills that I have learned since working for AnswerNow in a leadership position have developed in ways that I’ve never thought possible. This is all capable because I truly believe that the company has confidence in in my ability to grow and stands by their employees to assist them in accomplishing their goals. I’m lucky to say that I have a job that I enjoy coming to every day! I work with amazing people and for a company that values their employees. I look forward to the many great years with the company!

• Create a plan with key employees for how to respond if the power goes out.  Knowing which employees should be focused on which task saves time and also provides a much more calm environment when an outage occurs, simply by being prepared.  Your main priority should be making sure everyone is safe and turning off power sources.
• Know where electrical supply panels are located for your building, and where power switches are located for your machinery and be sure to turn everything off.  If you leave everything turned on, you may experience a surge when the power is restored, which can damage equipment.
• Make sure you have a backup generator to ensure emergency lighting maintained, as well as any crucial equipment that cannot be off for a prolonged period of time.
• Make sure to check for downed wires outside before allowing anyone to exit the building.  Once this has been determined, check on your neighboring businesses to see if they need any assistance.
• Once everyone has been determined to be safe, and the situation is under control, have a nonelectrical alternative to your cash register available so that guests may complete any final purchases.  Do not allow new customers into the store until power has been restored.
• Create an emergency kit containing the following items:
  • Flashlights
  • Battery-powered radio
  • Phone numbers of emergency contacts (including your electric company, so that you can get an estimate as to when power may be restored).
  • Bottled water and non-perishable food items (based on the size of your business, and the reason for the outage, you should store enough of these items to make sure you have a sufficient amount in the case that your staff and customers are not able to leave the building at the time of the outage).

If summer storms or power outages are common in your area, you may want to consider partnering with AnswerNow to handle your phones when your power is out.  While you are focusing on taking care of your in-house customers, staff, facilities, and equipment, we will make sure that the customers calling in do not experience any disruption in service.  Rest assured, AnswerNow will provide your customers with the highest level of customer service, despite what may be going on at your company’s location!  By being prepared, and following an established plan, your company should be able to minimize losses and maintain the high level of customer service you aim to provide!

That being said, we also strive to live up to the same standards we provide advice and assistance with. At AnswerNow, our company culture’s motto is “our product is our people.” We achieve every goal as a team and support each other. No matter what time our call center Team is working, there is always a designated Account Manager on the floor to assist with questions, challenges, and to provide overall support.

We are also proud to offer our Team a wonderful, relaxing break experience. During their lunch or breaks throughout the day, we provide them complete access to our full kitchen and quiet room, where they can relax in lounge chairs, watch television, play games and talk with co-workers.

If our organization sounds like a great fit for you, and you are considering joining the AnswerNow team, please visit our website and complete an application!

AnswerNow could very well be the missing link in bringing your office to complete productivity and efficiency! Your office may have one or many issues, but AnswerNow is ready and willing to help! If you are frequently out of the office for business meetings and cannot always have the phones covered, we make sure your customers are taken care of around the clock with 24-hour messaging. We can even act as a full-service virtual receptionist, allowing you to save thousands of dollars every year! Our professional answering service providers will take messages, forward calls, and manage your other virtual reception needs for less than an on-site receptionist. Even if you are overwhelmed with your call volume, as well as needing reliable bilingual coverage, AnswerNow can provide you with overflow call support and bilingual answering services to drastically cut down customer wait time and increase overall customer satisfaction!

No matter your situation, AnswerNow has a stress-free solution for your business! Contact us  today for a custom quote and make sure to share with us on our Facebook page!

Here are a few tips found on Stop Stressing Now  to increasing your office’s positive energy and keeping stressful triggers at bay:

1. Frequently acknowledge employees for their extra work, and make them aware of how valuable they are and how much they are appreciated.

2. Provide employees with support to excel and succeed in the workplace, encourage them to inquire about career advancement, and inspire and motivate them to achieve these goals.

3. Encourage employees to take short time-outs. Rather than ruminate and stew over your workload, sometimes just taking short walk down the hallway can help us rejuvenate and refocus.

4. Meet regularly (weekly) as a group to discuss stressors in the workplace, and come up with solutions to help mitigate the stress, rather than sweep problems under the rug.  Even if the stressful problem is unavoidable, regular meetings will foster feelings of trust and improve team building.

5. Organize “after work” activities such as a walk or hike, or a meeting at a healthy restaurant. Studies suggest that people tend to drink and smoke to mask the feelings of stress.

6. Encourage employees to join local gyms at subsidized cost (if possible) and enroll as a company group for an evening spinning, kick boxing or aerobics class (improves health and promotes camaraderie).

As always, AnswerNow is here to provide you with some relief, whether that means extra phone coverage while your employees take a much needed break, or to help alleviate the pressure of many tasks. Contact us today for more information and start building your customized stress-reducing plan!

With the help of Global Data Vaulting, we’ve accumulated a list of Disaster Recovery fast facts for your business to consider:

1. 60% of companies that lose their data will shut down within 6 months of the disaster.
2. Companies that aren’t able to resume operations within ten days (of a disaster hit) are not likely to survive. (Strategic Research Institute)
3. 93% of companies that lost their data center for ten days or more due to a disaster filed for bankruptcy within one year of the disaster. (Source: National Archives & Records Administration in Washington)
4. 55% of small businesses rated themselves as “fair” or “poor” in terms of having a documented disaster recovery plan, or do not have one at all.
5. A single incident of data loss costs a business an average of $10,000. (Price Waterhouse Coopers Survey)

Don’t let your business fall short after a disaster; contact us to start your plan today!

In a recent poll, 55% of small businesses rated themselves as “fair” or “poor” in terms of having a documented disaster recovery plan, or do not have one at all (source: Global Data Vault). Arranging to have an off-site answering service to handle your phone calls, take orders, make appointments, as well as respond to customer questions and concerns is a crucial step in creating your disaster recovery plan. AnswerNow will make sure there is always someone available for your customers during this time of rebuilding.

Don’t be part of that 55%, contact us today to make the first step in creating an effective disaster recovery plan!

Preparing your Business for Disaster

Have you thought about what your business will do in case of an emergency? Should hurricanes, earthquakes or any natural disaster occur near you, who will help you keep your business operational? Even large companies with in-house call centers need some sort of back-up plan. To be effective, it must be well thought out and detailed! For example, should AnswerNow lose power, our diesel generator automatically starts providing backup power at our location.  For tips on getting your plan started, check out “The Importance of a Plan”.

Let AnswerNow Help

Using AnswerNow as your off-site answering service, your business is guaranteed to receive the highest level of quality service. Our Team is available to you and your customers 24 hours a day and is fully equipped to handle your phone calls and appointment scheduling. We can quickly pull any needed resources to help keep your business on track until you’re back up and running.  We offer peace of mind for your customers, demonstrating you will always be there for them, regardless of the situation.

Contact us today and we will be happy to help you create a recovery plan that suits the needs of your business! If you have any tips about a recovery plan, we’d love to hear them! Share them on our Facebook page!

Providing articulate bilingual answering services and customer support for your customers is our priority! Just like our English-speaking team, our Spanish-speaking Team Members are extensively trained, friendly, and knowledgeable. Your customers will feel more comfortable when they are able to communicate in their native language and will still receive the highest level of customer service!  Your business won’t need to spend extra money hiring full-time staffers to communicate with your Spanish-speaking callers. By outsourcing your calls to a bilingual answering service, you’ll have instant access to both English and Spanish-speaking live operators who are ready to handle your calls.

Our bilingual answering services can handle a variety of functions including order and message taking, updating contact databases, scheduling and confirming appointments, event registration, and other telephone tasks. Hiring a bilingual answering service will create and retain many more business opportunities. The best part of our bilingual service is not only are our Spanish-speaking Team Members  available to you 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, they are of no additional cost to your business!

Contact us today for more information and start building your customized plan!