How does a virtual receptionist service work?
In this series:
What is a virtual receptionist?
What can a virtual receptionist do?
Why use a virtual receptionist?
If someone calls your business when you are unavailable, their call will route to a virtual receptionist. The receptionist will immediately see your company information, and will answer the phone in the name of your business using whatever greeting you have requested.
You are in control over how your callers experience the service, as you decide what your virtual receptionist will say and which actions they can perform. You could allow your customers to leave a message, book an appointment, or place an order, and have them experience a professional service while doing so. Immediately after the call, you will receive a notification with all the relevant details.
There will always be staff available to take any calls that come in, so you will never miss out on any business opportunities.
You can decide how to forward your calls to a virtual receptionist – all calls, calls that come in if your main line is busy, calls you haven’t answered after a certain number of rings, or calls that come in after hours. You can also choose whether you would like the receptionist to make outbound calls on your behalf.
You could even set up call screening, where your virtual receptionist will only patch through the most important or urgent calls to you while they take care of everything else. You will set the rules for which calls you want to receive, and can quickly change your status through desktop or mobile apps to let your virtual receptionists know if you are in a meeting and don’t wish to be disturbed.
Getting set up with a virtual receptionist service is quick and easy.
The main thing you will have to do is to set up a script. Your client service team will help you to build a script that covers exactly what you would like your virtual receptionist to say when they answer your calls.
This is also where you will specify which services you would like your virtual receptionist to provide – such as appointment bookings, order placements, or standard message-taking – and when you would like them to take your calls.
You can set up a basic message-taking script in as little as five minutes. More complex scripts will take a little longer, but most accounts will be up and running within one to three days. If you prefer, you could use a free demo to see how you find the service before settling on a particular call plan, but it is easy to adjust your call preferences at any time.
As soon as you complete the setup process, phone lines will be live and active. From this point, someone will always be there to answer calls for your business. You can still answer calls whenever you like, but if you are not available, they will be directed to a virtual receptionist.
The details of any call your virtual receptionist has received will be instantly available to you, and you can respond to inquiries or follow up on leads at your convenience.
