Monday, December 2, 2013

The Importance of Owning Your Business Toll-Free Number

The Importance of Owning Your Business Toll-Free Number

Potential clients frequently ask me if we provide a toll-free number as part of our service.  


This is probably a common question because providing clients with toll-free numbers is common practice in the answering service industry. However, what most business owners don’t realize is that it is not good business practice to use the toll-free number an answering service provides, as your main business number.

There are several reasons why this practice is not a good idea, but one reason stands out above all the others ... read more.

Friday, November 15, 2013

How to Provide Top-Notch Customer Service During the Busy Holiday Season

Today’s customers expect nothing but the highest level of service, and during the holidays they are looking for even more enthusiasm and friendliness to spread the holiday cheer.


During the busy holiday shopping season it is even more important for businesses and customer service agents to maximize satisfaction for overwhelmed consumers.

Read more...

Friday, October 18, 2013

Show Your Customers You Care

Great customer service is the backbone of every consumer-oriented business.

At AnswerFirst, we’ve been perfecting the craft of customer service since 1985, and our clients know they can trust us to provide their customers with the highest quality of service. When it comes down to it, customer service is all about showing customers that you care. Everyone wants to feel valued, especially when they are spending their hard-earned money – customers want to feel appreciated for their patronage and loyalty.

Read more...

Friday, September 20, 2013

HIPAA & Answering Services: How Will This Change Our Service?

We have been talking a good deal lately, in our office meetings, about the new HIPAA “Omnibus” Rule and how it will affect the way we do business with medical professionals and facilities that handle Patient Health Information (PHI).
Under the new rules, it is not just the medical professionals and facilities responsibility to comply with HIPAA standards.  We, as the answering service, are also directly responsible for compliance. This means that any transmission of PHI, must be encrypted, on both sides.

Read more...

Monday, August 12, 2013

Feeling Overwhelmed By Your Inbox?

What if you could outsource your inbound email processing, the same way you outsource your inbound telephone calls?  Imagine, never having to worry about checking your email again?  In our technologically advanced climate, this seemingly impossible feat, has become a wonderful reality.
How Does It Work?
Click here to read more...

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Small Business Owners: Spend Less Time at the Office with These 4 Tips

Here at AnswerFirst, we work with small business owners and their customers 24/7.
Our clients save time and money by using our AnswerFirst answering services, but we know that they still spend countless hours devoted to their businesses.

With the following four time management tips, small business owners will find time to accomplish more business-related tasks, while also making time to enjoy life outside of work.

Click here to read more...

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Why We Don't Discount Our Services

Sometimes potential clients ask me to discount our answering services or our set-up fees as an incentive for them to do business with us.
I won’t say that I’ve never offered a reduced rate to a potential client because there are times when it makes sense to do so.  However, it’s very rare that I am willing to budge on price and I’ve got several reasons for this mentality.  Instead of explaining myself, I’m going to share a few emails that were exchanged between me and a potential client.

Read More...

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

What Happened to Customer Service in the Healthcare Industry?

Customer Service in HealthcareI might be stating the obvious here, but it seems to me that businesses in the healthcare industry provide some of the worst customer service, ever.

Recently, I have dealt with several doctors' offices that take messages, but don’t return phone calls. I actually had one doctor's office tell me that the person that handled referrals was let go so they switched me into someone else’s voice mail that never called me back.
I wasn't even a patient yet and they were already dropping the ball.
Read More...

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy Valentine's Day from AnswerFirst Answering Service


Are you tired of being tied to your office phone?? When you're ready to move on, give us a call at 1-800-645-2616 to learn about how our services can help set you free.

Our call centers are U.S. based and staffed with English speaking customer service professionals 24/7/365. No contracts or long-term commitment required. Pay only for what you use and no hidden fees. No additional charges for nights, weekends or holidays.

For more information, please download our Pricing & Info Packet: http://www.answerfirst.com/pricing or call us at 1-800-645-2616. 

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Get Out of Your Office!

With the growth of social networking, advances in smart phone innovation and overall increased mobile computing capabilities it’s becoming nearly impossible to step away from our work.  Answering emails from your phone while you wait to meet with a prospective client, tweeting with customers while you ride the subway to a meeting and responding to your clients on Facebook while you’re having a drink at a bar are all becoming commonplace practices.

There’s no denying that internet and smartphone technologies have positively affected the way we do business by shortening the sales cycle and allowing us to build stronger relationships with our customers, but balancing work and personal time has become more difficult with the increased demand for responsiveness.

Friday, February 1, 2013

AnswerFirst Communications Launches New Website to Market Phone Answering Services

AnswerFirst Communications, an international live telephone answering service and customer service solutions company specializing in answering services, messaging services, virtual receptionist and call center solutions announced this week that they’ve launched a new website to market the phone answering services segment of their professional contact center services.

According to their website, AnswerFirst, “provides complete contact center and customer service solutions to more than 1700 companies around the globe.” AnswerFirst’s Marketing Coordinator, April Gillmore, said, “Many of our clients know that we are a full-fledged contact center and that we actually provide many other services outside of live telephone answering services, including inbound email processing, social media monitoring and customized customer service solutions.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

AnswerFirst's New Call Center & Corporate Headquarters

Future AnswerFirst Employee OfficesDemolition in ProgressPhase 1 = DemolitionAnswerFirst's New Call Center in Ybor CityThe Future Home of AnswerFirst Corporate Headquarters

We're excited to announce that we've recently purchased a building to serve as the future location of our new Call Center and Corporate Headquarters. The building is located just outside of downtown Tampa in beautiful historic Ybor City. We've got a few months of work to do before we can move in, but we'll keep you updated with our progress here and on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/answerfirstinc