How to Outsource Your Customer Support to Smith.ai

The Smith.ai virtual receptionist service is designed to field calls so you and your staff can focus on running your business. No matter what industry you operate in, our receptionists provide a first point of contact for your callers, whether they are new leads, existing clients, vendors, business associates...you name it. We can collect information, answer essential questions, transfer calls down proper channels, and even pass data into your CRM, calendar, and more.

In a lot of ways, we embrace the “old school” dial-the-operator-first model (a friendly, live greeting goes a long way), but with far-superior technology than the rotary-telephone days. Answering calls is our core service, but we have the capabilities to do so much more than take notes, make transfers, and schedule appointments. We can even handle your first tier of customer service or technical support. Here's how.

A Human Receptionist vs. The Mechanical IVR

The modern IVR is ideal for larger businesses with high call volume, so customers can easily find answers or direct themselves to the proper department. However, not all inquiries fall into a cookie-cutter pattern, which is where the lacking human element causes the system to fall short. What if your package says it was delivered but can't be found? What if the online directions to install your printer driver just don't work on your laptop? The help forum isn't cutting it. You want to talk to someone. Anyone.

Our receptionists can serve as a first line of support for your customers, often providing answers to simple questions that require little to no training. It's just about getting answers to a set of questions that allow the customer to be directed to the right specialist on your team. That specialist is the one who will solve the problem. We can handle routing the customers to the right place. 

This only allows your staff (whose time is precious) to focus on solving the actual problem rather than spending time on the discovery portion of whatever the caller may need. We'll do the discovery, create the helpdesk ticket, triage the call to the right department, so your team can work efficiently. 

Let's take a look at four scenarios where the human element of our virtual receptionist service contributes substantial value where either an IVR falls short or productivity is lost when skilled team members handle elementary tasks.

4 Ways to Outsource Customer Support to Virtual Receptionists

Scenario 1: Wrong numbers

One of our eCommerce clients at Smith.ai has a name that's often mistaken for another company. They get a lot of calls from this other business' customers, which, if answered by their actual customer support team, would waste a ton of time and clog their phone lines. It's not great for morale if your support team is repeating, "No, you've called the wrong business, this is Tomato company, not Potato company." You get the point. We can filter out these calls, so only customers of your business get through. 

Scenario 2: Information gathering and helpdesk ticket creation

For those callers who are real customers, we can even determine which department they need help from and create a helpdesk ticket with all the pertinent customer information. That package that was delivered but not found? Your shipping team can troubleshoot it, armed with all the relevant details we collected, for a speedy resolution.

Scenario 3: IT technical support triaging

IT support is an area where a high skill level is needed, and support staff is very specialized. Maybe your business supports both Apple and PC clients, but you have a team for each. We can gather information from callers like their operating system, their device, the issue they're experiencing, and more. We can even relay the costs, if any, of your business helping them. If they can't pay, we've saved you time speaking to an unqualified lead. If they can, we've passed a qualified lead to the right person, with all the information they need to secure their business. Sales calls go to salespeople, Apple calls go to Apple support staff, PC calls go to PC staff, and so on. An IVR can route calls, but it can't assess their quality or conditions.

Scenario 4: Quick answers to recent developments, outages, and other urgent matters

When there's an outage, emergency closure, or other development at your company that may impact customers, we can serve as your first-line of support, providing stock answers to common questions about the situation when people call in, or even reaching out to a specific "call list" proactively. You can call or email us with your directions, and we'll relay the message to affected individuals, saving time and preventing unnecessary tickets from being created when a "standardized" answer is available.

Contact Smith.ai For Custom Solutions

We can’t fill the shoes of your legal team, billing department, or IT people, but we can be a valuable asset as a first line of contact for your customers. Whether you’re a new or an existing client, Smith.ai can customize the way our receptionists handle your calls to best suit your needs. Either give us a call at (650) 727-6484 or email us at support@smith.ai and we'll help you solve bottlenecks and inefficiencies in your phone communications.