When you ditch the traditional landlines for a cloud-based PBX, you’re bound to have some questions about your new virtual business phone system. Trained technical support over the phone is a very welcome feature. After you set up the system you will have some questions about the new environment. So it’s helpful when a company offers explanatory articles on its website, and - even better - hands-on support from customer care agents. Bearing these requirements in mind, we evaluated the providers based on the availability and quality of customer support.
Majority of businesses today will have some sort of an IVR system in place to direct callers to the department they need to reach. Unfortunately, a common issue we face is that menus don’t align with what you’re looking for or they don’t align with the current business strategy. How many times have you sat through a menu waiting for the right number to press only to realize you absolutely need to speak to an agent?
.
With over a decade of VoIP service provision, Vonage offers customer service via chat, available Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., ET; and a toll-free number staffed Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to midnight, and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., with emergency on-call service outside of regular hours, and a good array of technical support topics. You can also complete an electronic service ticket at your convenience.
Vonage Business plans go down in the price per line the more phone lines you have. For example, for 1-4 lines, plans start at $19.99 monthly per line. For 5-19 lines, plans start at $17.99 monthly per line. For 20-99 lines, plans start at $14.99 monthly per line. Learn more about Vonage’s Business Cloud plans and pricing here, and the state of Vonage Business here.
16. “Hi, you’ve reached [company name]. Sorry, you just missed us! We’re open from ([hour] to [hour] [time zone]) Monday through Friday [optional: hour to hour on the weekends]. In the meantime, you can also visit our website [website URL] to reach out via live chat, text, or email [email address]. If you’d like to leave us a message, tell us your name, number, and reason for your call after the beep. We will give you a call back later on today.” Let your caller know your exact office hours so you skip the “phone tag”. They’ll appreciate knowing when to expect a return call. Just keep in mind that the timeframe should be realistic so you live up to customer expectations.Voicemail greetings for holidays
If your business is more on the casual and relaxed niche, then your tone, although professional, should also be casual. If your business is highly technical and formal, then that’s when it also becomes right to inject a hint of formality.
Good day, you have reached the office of [Name]. I’m away for the weekend. If you require my immediate assistance, please call 555-555-2345. Otherwise, if this is a casual call, please leave your name, number and a brief message, and I’ll get back to you on Monday.
We’re keeping it simple with this one. Just a few basic elements to help you get started. As long as you know who your audience is, the message you wish to convey, and the information you need from the caller, the rest should fall into place quite nicely. Let’s face it, a voicemail greeting for a lumber company will probably be different than that of a psychologist’s office. One greeting is aimed at securing potential customers, and the other is geared towards appointments, more or less. Once you are certain who your caller is, the better your voicemail. Center on your audience, first and foremost. Knowing what to relate ensures that your caller will leave the right message. For instance, if you’re a retail store, you would include your hours of operations, and perhaps any specials that you’re running. If you are a therapist’s office, then you’d need to include an alternate number in case a patient is having an issue and requires immediate help. Again, this will vary depending on the business. Here, a therapist would definitely request the caller leave their contact information. However, a retail store chain might not request that. There are also complex voicemail systems such as those used by mobile phone services, which ask you to press a certain number on your phone, where you are asked to leave your account information. Again, as you can see, it all boils down to the demographics of your callers, and what you need from them to conduct the best business possible. Depending on the situation, your caller might be in a good mood or not. In either case, they’ll probably be eagerly awaiting your call. So, it stands to reason that you only promise them a call back if you can deliver. In other words, if you’re a small shop and you’ve decided to close due to a much-needed sabbatical, then don’t leave a voicemail greeting where you promise them to call right back. However, if you have an active customer service staff, then you can promise to return their call within the same day.
Are you struggling to come up with a voicemail greeting that you believe in? Do you find that everything you record comes out too casual, overly professional, or doesn’t seem to touch all of the bases that you want it to?
While it’s not necessary to memorize the script, it’s an added advantage when your call representatives have practiced reading it over and over again. By doing so, the flow of the script is clear to them. This familiarity can avoid confusion or dead airs during the call when your callers may be confused as to what the next word may be, for instance.
Users of VirtualPhone.com applaud the company for its international calling features. Some users report frustration with customer service delays. These delays seem to be especially frustrating for customers experiencing billing issues. This problem should probably be considered when deciding between this and other companies.
Lix faxing, landlines are quickly becoming outdated technology. After all, the features offered by landlines are limited, and communications companies continue to increase pricing. Every cost increase eats into your bottom line as a small business owner, and if you’re like many savvy business owners, you’re always looking for ways to save money. VOIP has all of the features you’ve come to expect from a landline at a more reasonable price point. Being easier to manage is just an added bonus.
Therefore, as a rule of thumb, it has been advised that business professionals should return calls within 24 hours. If for any reason a prompt callback is not possible, for instance, if it is known that the call may be lengthy and the individual does not have time to talk until another day or so, they should still leave a brief voicemail message to acknowledge receipt of the call and advise when they anticipate being able to have the discussion. Additionally, voicemail messages should be checked at least once a day, if not more.
• Uniform Distribution: routes calls to the first available line in the group that has been idle the longest.
The Plus package is the most popular package and contains everything in the Basic package, plus the following phone services: Two local or toll-free numbers Unlimited text messaging, including SMS and MMS messages Three account users Three voicemail boxes Customized caller ID name Auto attendant/IVR call menu Single-digit phone extensions Call blast Live call transfer Ability to configure hours of operation
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.
Your office phone can be the best technology investment you’ve ever made because it affects sales, marketing, operations, and customer service. Check out our latest guide to ensure that you get the best office phone system features available.