Why Virtual Receptionists Beat In-House Receptionists

Many busy business owners seek a receptionist to help them manage incoming calls and book appointments. If you're in need of a receptionist, learn why a live answering service staffed by virtual receptionists beats hiring in-house staff. Here are 3 ways virtual receptionists are superior to in-house receptionists:

1. Pay per call, not per year

At Smith.ai, you pay per call. With an in-house receptionist, you have to budget the cost of their annual salary (and benefits and 401k contributions and sick days...), which isn’t dependent on the amount of calls they take. Using Smith.ai gives your business flexibility and closely ties your costs to the growth of your business. Plus, you're never charged for spam calls, so the calls you do pay for are only calls that are meaningful to your business.

During off-seasons when you have low call volume, you’ll pay less. On the other hand, during busy seasons, you’ll never have to stress about who will be available to handle the higher call volume.

Plus, no prior planning is needed: If you suddenly experience an uptick in calls due to a local press story, or you start a new advertising campaign, our virtual receptionists can answer more calls for you immediately. An in-house receptionist who gets inundated with lots more incoming calls simply has no alternative but to send some to voicemail. Missed calls mean missed business opportunities.

2. There’s always someone to answer and return your calls

In-house receptionists can only take one call at a time. As a virtual receptionist service, we can answer several calls at a time because your line is never blocked when someone's on the phone; you can always receive more calls, and they'll be answered by a live person, not your voicemail greeting. Each caller gets the experience of an in-house receptionist, but without the wait.

Keep in mind our services run 24/7. Unlike an in-house receptionist, we operate throughout the day and night, including weekends. If a customer makes a call outside of business hours, it’s most likely an urgent matter and having someone available to support them is critical. If you don’t answer, it’s likely your potential customer may move on to another business. This is especially true when your customers may need urgent service. For example, a plumbers answering service or a HVAC answering service are extremely beneficial as these professionals might not have the time to answer the phone and book appointments, as they are spending most of their time on service calls. With virtual receptionists, you get a team who can simultaneously answer incoming calls and make call-backs on your behalf.

3. No gaps in coverage due to vacations, illness, or personal leave

With virtual receptionists, if someone takes a vacation or parental leave, has an emergency or gets the flu, there's a whole slew of receptionists to step in and take your calls. We never skip a beat. If your in-house receptionist has to be out of the office, you're left with holes in your phone coverage. Who will handle your communications and schedule your appointments? You, most likely. Let us handle your customer communications so you can focus on running your business.

Try Smith.ai risk-free

If you’d like to learn more about how Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can help your business, sign up for a free consultation with our team or get started risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee.