That’s twice as true if you don’t have a dispatch office, which means you have to take calls on the job. And while all is well if they want to book your next job, customers often just want to ask questions about your rates and availability before deciding on hiring you.
Being in the field service industry makes it tough to answer those calls at all times. As a result, insisting on taking calls on your company cell phone might harm your bottom line in several ways:
- Missing jobs – when not answering the phone due to other urgent tasks.
- Missing clients – when you are not available or answer impatiently due to other critical tasks on the field.
- Missing job satisfaction – because clients on-site want you to do your job and not talk to other clients.
And as you know, missed calls equal missed revenue opportunities because a competitor might respond to an inquiry quicker than you.
This is why, as they scale their operations, many field service businesses hire dispatchers to take care of their incoming calls. But while it is possible to ask your call center to work 24/7 in order to answer every single call, this solution isn’t always the best one. Why?
- Most dispatchers are paid by the hour, so you may end up paying them for hours in which nobody calls.
- Your technicians are mostly available during the day, which means that many jobs have to wait until morning.
- Even when answering the call, your dispatcher might be too tired from working all these long hours to provide good customer service.
All of this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t provide your clients with the option of booking your services at whatever time works for them, especially if the job is urgent. You can’t tell a customer whose refrigerator isn’t working to wait until morning, just as you can’t say to a customer who has been locked outside their car to hold while the line is busy. These customers are more likely to take their business elsewhere.
Workiz’s phone system helps you make sure no call goes unanswered in numerous ways, such as placing your clients in a queue and sending your dispatchers callback reminders. But if you’d like to also have human answering customer inquiries at all times, having a virtual receptionist is the solution that is both sufficient for your clients and cost-effective for you. Virtual receptionists are considered to save about 40% of operations costs while saving you the costs of benefits or taxes required by employing an in-house representative.
What is a virtual receptionist?
Just like in-house dispatchers, virtual receptionists can handle answering phone calls, transferring calls to you, making outbound calls, and scheduling jobs. They may not be as trained as your in-house staff, but companies can also narrow that gap down with a careful onboarding process.
Knowing you have coverage for calls can help reduce your budget and increase your revenue at the end of the day. A great call center will understand the field service industry and be trained to answer questions specifically tailored to keep your customers happy.
What virtual assistants should I hire?
If you’re using Workiz, don’t think too hard about where to get a virtual assistant. We have partnered with Nexa to provide you with the best, most valuable service in the field service industry.
From managing and tracking jobs and materials to communicating with clients and getting paid on time, Workiz aims to help you manage a complex business. By working together with Nexa, you can make sure you have phone coverage, whether it’s on nights, weekends, or even if you just can’t make it to the phone on time. Nexa’s virtual receptionists will book leads and scheduled jobs directly into your Workiz account without you having to speak to these customers yourself!
Want to give it a shot? look no further! Click right here or easily add the Nexa integration through the marketplace in your Workiz app.
