Companies that can provide excellent customer service over the phone can often retain customers even when that customer calls in unhappy. Conversely, a customer can be 100 percent satisfied with your company, and one bad customer service call can drive them away forever. Here are the best practices to assure your company is on the right track with your business telephone answering service.

Manage Your Call Volume Effectively 

If calls go unanswered, this sends the message to your customers that you don’t care about their calls. When current staffing is inadequate to manage high call volumes, invest in an answering service for additional support. Customers who can’t get help from your company will find somewhere else to do business.

Be Clear and Understandable 

Do the people who answer your customer calls speak clearly and distinctly? It’s sometimes difficult to hear over the phone, especially if callers are working in busy or noisy environments, or if they have hearing difficulties. Make sure your customers can clearly understand what call answerers have to say from the beginning of the call all the way to the end.

Make Sure Your Call Answerers Know Your Policies and Procedures 

The goal should be that a caller receives the same answer to a question, no matter which person answerers the phone. Your policies and procedures should be so ingrained in your call answering staff that there is no need to clarify any of the common issues that arise. Having consistent policies and procedures assures a predictable and satisfactory customer experience across the board.

If you’re not sure whether you’re following these best practices, review your goals and policies with your call answering staff. Make sure everyone is on the same page regarding how to manage callers.