5 Criteria to Find the Right Answering Service for Your Clothing Store

Retail store owners have a lot to deal with on a daily basis, including all the calls that come into the store seeking information on your hours of operation, location, and other information that can only come from talking to someone at the store. What if you don’t have enough people at the store to handle the call volume? Or maybe you just want to invest in a service that will deliver 24-hour solutions so that you never miss a lead again. 

Whatever the case may be, there are solutions out there to help, including the investment in a dedicated answering service. You’re going to be dealing with inventory, stocking, store maintenance, in-store customers, and so many other things. How many times have you found yourself with a customer only to let the phone ring and ring until the caller gives up? Do they ever call back? How can you know?

When you invest in a professional answering service, you’ll have a dedicated team of agents to answer every single call and connect people with the information and resources that they need. No matter how busy you are, you’ll never miss another opportunity. 

Whether you’re working in the store or even trying to take a little time off and enjoy your life, having someone there to pick up the slack will give you peace of mind and allow you to relax a little. 

What’s in an answering service? Today’s providers have a lot of different options for the modern business, including those in the retail world. You can find customized solutions to handle everything from overflow calls and after-hours answering to things like scheduling, lead intake, and more. Your job will be to sort through the available solutions and find the ones that best suit your needs. 

To that end, here are five criteria that should be on your list when you’re trying to find an answering service for your clothing store. 

1. 24/7 availability

The Internet has created an always-on world where people want to be able to get in touch with businesses on their schedule. That’s why the first thing on your list needs to be open availability so that you never miss a call. 24/7 availability means that even on weekends, holidays, or at any hour of the day or night, people will be able to call and get information about your clothing store. 

You obviously can’t always be available. But you don’t have to be. With an answering service on your side, you can take a break, step away from the counter, and even take a vacation to refresh yourself and get back on track without having to shut things down or risk missing out on customers and calls. They’ll be there to field the calls so that you can focus on building a successful store. 

2. Transparent, flexible pricing 

There’s nothing worse than being told to “call for a quote” when you just want to get an idea of what people charge for something. Fortunately, most modern answering services have gotten wise to this and started offering information about their plans and pricing freely. Not only does this help you budget accordingly and see what you can get for your money, but it also proves that the company takes pride in what they do and stands behind their service. 

3. Customized solutions 

Even if you don’t know quite what you need when you’re first starting out on your quest for an answering service, you should know that customization will go a long way in helping you get more out of the service. See what kind of customized plans are available, how much you can scale their various services, and make sure that you’re not locked into a strict set of plans with limited features. 

Customization is the bread and butter of the Internet. Why not take advantage of it to improve your answering service solutions?

4. Scalable plans and services 

In addition to customization, you also need an answering service that can scale and grow with your business. As time goes on, your clothing store should be growing and changing. Naturally, the services that you choose for it also need to grow and change. When you choose the right answering service, they will be able to scale with your clothing store as you grow to ensure that you always have the best solutions for customer service and other support. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself switching services when your store outgrows itself and that’s going to be a lot of hassle. 

5. Professional, friendly demeanor 

Answering services make their living answering calls and providing various assistance to callers. It would follow that they should all be professional and capable of delivering the authentic experience that callers want when they reach out to your business. Take the time to look for an answering service that prides itself on service. Check out reviews and ratings of the services, too, so that you can choose the best one for your clothing store. 

One of the biggest complaints of answering services is that they often feel “scripted” and cold to callers. When you take the time to find a friendly answering service, you’ll eliminate this and give your callers a much better experience. See what kind of training and support the answering service offers for its agents to ensure that they’re getting the professional expertise they need to deliver the best solutions. 

Smith.ai has solutions for phone answering and more

When you’re busy building a retail store, you have a lot on your plate. The team at Smith.ai knows this, and our dedicated virtual receptionists can help take some of the work away. In addition to our 24/7 answering service solutions, we can also support your clothing store with things like lead intake, payment collection, and even live website chat. 

Plus, we’ll do it all with a custom solution to suit the needs of your clothing store, no matter what those needs might be. To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

‍