24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Daycare call answering service with appointment setting

It takes a village, so while you handle the kids, let Smith.ai's daycare answering service handle your calls. We set appointments and capture leads too.

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Incoming calls are unpredictable.

Calls come in, but you're not always available to answer them. We capture leads, book appointments, collect payment, and log details instantly in your systems.

Create lesson plans while we handle the calls.

There’s too much to do, and you can't delegate a day care provider's work. Hand off "the rest" to our receptionists. We capture leads, set appointments, and follow-up to win business.

We provide 360-degree coverage to manage both your inbound and outbound customer engagement.

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Make better business decisions with real-time call data, visualized in every Smith.ai client dashboard. Every call summary is enriched with metadata including actions completed, caller disposition, priority, relevance, call recording and transcription, and more. See the big picture with historical tables and charts to predict business growth, costs, and ROI with superior accuracy.

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Smith.ai receptionists make calls on your behalf, improving your speed-to-lead and unburdening staff who need to reach out to clients. We'll call-back online leads who complete web forms, contact donors for donation renewals, chase down payments on unpaid invoices, and more. We'll even send follow-up emails and texts after every call to ensure a connection is made. Learn more.

82%

of consumers expect an immediate response to a sales inquiry

50%

of lead generation budgets are wasted on leads who are never contacted

79%

of marketing leads never convert into sales

67%

of customers who receive excellent service spend up to 14% more

Capture and book appointments with 24/7 Live Chat.

Keeping a day care center up and running can be time-consuming. Our 24/7 live agents respond instantly to chats and texts, so new online leads are converted while you stay focused on important work.

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Outreach Campaigns

Where we reach, engage & qualify leads to build your book of business.

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Web Chat

The best channel for sales, service & support by utilizing bots, humans, or both.

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Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

5.0 stars

4.9 stars

5.0 stars

4.7 stars

“Smith.ai is our inbound sales team. Having a trained and personable voice transforms our ability to answer the phone and convert callers to clients.”

Jeremy Treister

CMIT Solutions - Chicago Downtown

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Improve customer experiences with 24/7 engagement. We offer features and pricing for organizations of all sizes.

North America-based agents
Best-in-class AI technology
Live-staffed website chat
Bilingual services
Sales development & outreach
Rich call intelligence

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END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

Calls, chats & appointments are automatically logged in your systems. Real-time syncing with over 5,000 integrations.

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end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

All activities — from calls and chats to appointments and payments — logged in your firm's preferred software.

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Frequently asked questions

The best day care answering services do much more than pick up phone calls and take messages for home and office. At Smith.ai, we provide virtual receptionists capable of a wide range of services from call handling, to scheduling, to lead intake, to website chat, and more. Whether you need a virtual receptionist for full-time call handling, overflow support only, after-hours, or triage, here are the answers to the most common questions we receive from day care providers and preschool teachers.

Families put their trust in day care providers to provide a safe and nurturing environment for their little ones. It's only right that they receive the best service possible so they can know without a doubt that their child is in good hands. But the day-to-day life of day care teams can get pretty hectic. From supervising particularly hyperactive toddlers to major clean ups after playtime, day care providers have little time left in their schedule to take on administrative tasks, like appointment scheduling or call answering. That leaves loyal clients and interested families left hanging. In comes a reliable day care answering service to save the day. A reliable answering service provides professional day care providers with the exact support they need it, whether that's call answering, lead screening, or appointment scheduling, so they can have one less thing to worry about. Below are examples of just a few benefits that day care providers can expect when hiring an answering service like Smith.ai:

Expanded availability‍

With an answering service manning your phones, your clients will always talk to a real human being, regardless of whether your day care center is busy, closed, or your team is otherwise unavailable. With a dedicated professional on the line, your day care's customer service will be impeccable, and your leads will notice.

Increased lead captured

Missed calls equal missed opportunities. Don’t allow leads slip through your fingers when you can't get to the phone. Answering services provide nighttime, overflow, weekend, and after-hours availability, so any interested leads will be nurtured without you having to divide your attention from your more important work.

Boosted work productivity

By handing over call-handling duties to an answering service, your staff will spend less time on the phone and more time on productive work, like comprising lesson plans. With more billable hours spent on real work, your day care's productivity levels will soar in no time.

Enhanced client satisfaction and business reputation

Smith.ai is an expert at forming memorable customer experiences, so whatever your business size, our virtual receptionist got you covered. All of our virtual receptionists are highly proficient and well-versed in customer service, so your clients are guaranteed to be well-taken care of. Let us put our award-winning practices to work for you.

Get more for less

For the price of a gym membership, gain a dozen highly-trained in-house receptionists combined into one easy-to-use service. Customers who use Smith.ai instead of hiring in-house receptionists can save well over $30,000/year, not to mention precious office space and training hours.

Keep up with leads and clients

Phone answering services can provide detailed call summaries after each call, and even offer chat and text message answering, so your clients have more than one way to get in contact with your center, giving them the the option to choose whichever communication option they feel most comfortable with.

A live day care answering service can revolutionize the way you do business in the best of ways. Smith.ai's virtual receptionist services are specifically designed to prioritize your unique business needs. Whether you're on a limited budget, overwhelmed by growing business demands, or simply looking to enrich your customer service, Smith.ai can provide the support you need wherever you need it. All the advantages of an in-house receptionist and more will be available at your fingertips, and with dozens of helpful features for you to take advantage of, Smith.ai can easily equip your day care center with the tools it needs to reach new, unprecedented heights.

Smith.ai’s answering service can offer day care centers much-needed services, like…

24/7 availability

After-hours & overflow answering

Bilingual answering

Outbound call-backs

Spam blocking

Appointment scheduling

Sales development

Payment collection

CRM Integration

Lead development

And much, much more…‍

With a lengthy index of features and resources, Smith.ai’s answering service is the clear choice for day care providers hoping to enhance their center's long-term productivity, revenue, and outreach. Smith.ai is proud to dedicate their time to offering comprehensive administrative support to day care teachers like you. For years now, our staff has been able to provide our award-winning services to countless satisfied clients. Read some of the 5-star reviews from clients like these to learn why day care centers from all across the nation trust Smith.ai to deliver exceptional virtual receptionist services.

For those in the childhood education industry, "front desk" support is unquestionably necessary, and when deciding between an in-house receptionist and an answering service, it's important to consider what will fit your budget. Keeping cost low and quality of work high is crucial for any business looking to bring in administrative support, but with an in-house receptionist, you might not be getting as much as you could be for what you'd be paying. To give you a better understanding of the cost comparisons, we've compiled a brief list to demonstrate some of the common expenses day care providers will have to dish out when hiring an in-house receptionist.

The average salary nation-wide for an in-house receptionist is about $37,000 and they usually come with pricey (frequently unspoken) fees, such as:

Medical, dental, and vision insurance, costing about $11,000/year
Life and disability insurance, costing about $2,000/year
401K’s, retirement and pension plans, costing about $2,000/year
Paid sick leave, holidays, and vacations, costing about $5,500/year
Commuting reimbursement, costing about $5,000/year
Child care subsidy and parental leave, costing about $3,000/year
Health and wellness programs, costing about $1,000/year
Bonus pay, costing about $2,000/year
Company retreats, team bonding events, and employee outings, costing about $4,000/year
Free lunch, snacks, and drinks, costing about $3,500/year

Total Cost in Addition to Salary: $77,000/year

If your day care center is located in any large city, that final price is likely to be a lot higher. And with all the time you'll have to spend on-boarding and training your new hire, the costs for this in-house receptionist up-front will be enormous. And unfortunately, one person can only do so much, and when your receptionist inevitably comes in late, calls in sick, requests time off, takes personal leaves of absence, goes on vacation, etc., your business will be the one who pays. Contrarily, Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can complete pretty much the exact same amount of tasks as an in-house receptionist can, and they may even do them better. Our virtual receptionists are also much more affordable because our receptionists' benefits or salaries are never your responsibility.

Smith.ai’s answering service costs as little as $285/month, with no hidden fees. Ever. By hiring an answering service instead of an in-house receptionist, your business could save over $33,000/year on salary alone, and possibly up to $40,000/year in benefits beyond salary payments. Not only will you save tons, but you'll also enjoy a distinguishable boost in your team's overall productivity, lead conversion rates, and net profit. Unlike in-house receptionists, virtual receptionists can answer calls outside of normal business hours, enabling you to capture and covert nearly 27% more leads. Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can even respond to live chats and texts, which is how 46% of customers prefer communicating with businesses, allowing for hundreds of potential leads you may have never known existed to find and get in contact with your day care center.

Virtual receptionists also offer additional sales assistance as well by making outbound calls to capture potentially interested leads, which is bound to impress the over 67% of clients who base their decision to hire a business on the initial responsiveness to their call or email. With potential clients receiving the timely, professional responses they expect, your business will certainly see a drastic improvement in the leads you're able to convert and retain. With Smith.ai’s trusted day care answering service, you can experience all the benefits of an in-house receptionist without the cost. Read our article to learn more about the differences between an in-house vs. a virtual receptionist.

Day care providers have plenty on their plate to get done. From completing daily errands to supervising general business development and growth, day care providers have no shortage of projects that require their attention. With bustling work environments like this, issues often will sneak up when you least expect it, but smart day care owners can save their teams from a mountain of worries by bringing in outsourced support to help them effectively tackle those problems as (and before) they happen. Common scenarios that we've seen day care providers struggle with that have required a virtual receptionist service's assistance for are:

I need administrative support, but can't afford it

"Front desk” support, in any form, is a necessity for any childcare-based business. Handing off your administrative responsibilities to a group of trained professionals can take the weight of the world off of stressed day care providers. Sadly, the high price of in-house receptionists nowadays push day care centers away from receiving the valuable support they need.

Constant phone calls distract from work

Calls come in whether you're available to answer them or not. When day care teachers repeatedly have to take time away from their schedules to pick up the phone throughout their day, it can be distracting. When it takes, on average, about 23 minutes to get back to a task after being interrupted by a phone call, day care teachers fail to remain productive, during and outside of class, and the kids under their care won't receive the best quality of care from their teachers.

Growing business demands are overwhelming

Businesses grow and while that growth can be wonderful for any number of reasons, that growth means more: more calls to answer, more kids to care for, more schedules to plan. That can easily become overwhelming for already-busy staff. To-do lists will expand by the minute, and when the pressure continues to get added on, teams might just crack.

I can't offer the around-the-clock availability clients want

When the work day ends, day care teacher deserve to go home and spend time away from the kids they care for. But just because you clock out for the day doesn't mean your clients just disappear. And when you're unavailable to answer their calls, you miss the over 27% of leads who call outside of regular business hours. Many day cares would like to offer after-hours answering, but just can't afford overnight in-house receptionists or expensive call centers.

If any one of these scenarios sounds familiar to you, an answering service is the answer to your prayers. By entrusting professional virtual receptionists to handle administrative duties on your behalf, you'll receive high-quality support wherever you need it while the families you care for will enjoy top-tier responsiveness 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Smith.ai's virtual receptionists are on stand-by, ready to help you get whatever you need done and provide your clients with the exceptional customer service you want to be known for. So whether your day care would use a little help screening leads, sending invoices, or simply answering calls, our team of well-trained receptionists can provide you with the unique support you've been searching for in order to keep your client base growing and your day care thriving.

In this day and age, even the best business plans tend to go astray, no matter what industry you're in or company size you have. The harsh reality is many businesses get stuck in tricky situations that require outside support, and childcare-centric businesses like yours are by no means an exception. A few of the most commonly reported problems we've seen numerous day care providers and teachers desperately need virtual receptionist services for are:

I'm unable to offer the responsiveness leads demand

Hectic schedules leave even the most experienced day care teacher with hard-pressed for time to allocate towards anything other than childcare, especially customer service. Responsiveness has been proven to be undeniably crucial for any and all client-facing businesses, but when days are as jam-packed as they often are, day care providers fail to have the time to offer the responsiveness that leads want.

I'm struggling to get productive work done

Rising costs for in-house receptionists force many day care providers to try and take on administrative duties themselves. But with a long list of responsibilities, day care providers who choose to tackle these administrative responsibilities themselves have a hard time balancing their regular childcare duties with endless administrative demands. Needless to say, in cases like these, productivity drops big time.

I can't get to new leads in time and it's costing me money

Answering calls can be a major obstacle for busy day care providers, especially when they're preoccupied overseeing lessons, cleaning up messes, or chasing after younglings. Squeezing in time to provide customer service in between juggling childcare duties can be an absolute nightmare, and in the end, call handling and lead screening duties usually fall to the wayside when schedules are tight, leaving leads ignored all together.

My competitors are responding to potential clients faster than me

Day care centers often note how difficult it is to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Of course, providing outstanding customer experience through immediate, thoughtful responses can place any day care in good standing with leads, but delivering decent customer service takes time that a lot of day care providers unfortunately can't afford to take away from their daily schedules.

Capturing and converting leads is challenging

The only way to build and sustain a successful business is by finding and converting new clients regularly. But for busy day care providers, lead generating and screening is simply not a top priority. And when left unanswered, leads will quickly turn their attention to the nearest day care center they can find that's available to answer their questions.

I don't know how to keep track of all of my clients’ data

Maintaining detailed phone records and call summaries isn't as easy as it may appear, and for day care centers who, like many other client-facing businesses, disperse client data across varying software platforms. Understandably, knowing exactly how, when, and why clients call is critical for day care providers hoping to establish and expand their customer base, but when information about a customer's experience is mishandled or lost, day care providers lose out on lead generation and conversion opportunities.

If you or your staff is currently experiencing difficulty with any one of these incredibly common issues, know that a virtual receptionist service is uniquely equipped to help you address and resolve problems like these. One of our clients' favorite features of Smith.ai's answering services is that our virtual receptionists direct their attention towards tackling the specific problems your team is challenged with. This means that our virtual receptionists will spend time where you need it most, whether that's something as simple as call handling or something slightly more complex, like outbound call-backs. Smith.ai is available to cater to your business needs. Sign up risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee and experience first-hand how Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can handle even the most challenging issues your day care faces.

When considering a virtual receptionist service, a great place to start is to consider which areas of your day care center could use a little extra help in. To figure out which services you and your team might benefit from the most, think about which problems or challenges appear to be a on-going issue for you:

Does sending out invoices take up too much time in your team's day?
Could you use some lead screening support?
Do you have a tough time dealing with rude clients?

One of the most beloved aspects of Smith.ai lies in the fact that our virtual receptionists are able to tweak their service to fit your needs, whatever they may be.

Once you've identified some of the most challenging issues Smith.ai receptionists can help you resolve, consider your day care's activity level:

Do you receive more Facebook messages than phone calls?
Does appointment scheduling overwhelm your team?
Would your business benefit from 24/7 phone answering or would you prefer a particular time frame, such as 9-to-5, for answering calls?

Whether you get twenty calls a month or 2,000, Smith.ai can customize your virtual receptionist service to fit your business activity so you only pay for what you need.

All you have to do next is sign up. Getting started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service is quick and simple. No annual contracts, no hidden setup fees, and no scripts required.

To sign up with Smith.ai, follow these three easy steps:

Customize your instructions – Just answer a few, quick questions about your team and the preferences you have, and we’ll get you started. We’ll use your answers to customize the way our virtual receptionists answer your calls and your clients’ questions.
Send your calls to us – We work with every major phone system and can set up customized rules for when we answer your calls, or we can answer every call, 24/7!
Try risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee – Fully experience our call answering, scheduling, payments, and other phone services completely risk free for 14 days. If you find that we're not the right fit for you, you can receive up to $1,000 back within the first 14 days.

Whether your day care is looking for front desk support in the form of a full-time virtual receptionist or just an overflow or after-hours call answering service, Smith.ai can offer you the custom-tailored assistance you've been looking for with quality customer service, lead screening, and sales development, among dozens of other useful services. When you choose Smith.ai, you aren't just gaining a virtual receptionist service, you’re gaining a professional, reliable, and friendly team of highly-trained experts who can reshape the way you do business for the better. And once you start using Smith.ai's virtual receptionist service, you'll wonder how you or your team ever got by without it.

‍Learn how to get started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service.

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24/7 VIRTUAL RECEPTIONISTS

Daycare call answering service with appointment setting

Incoming calls are unpredictable.

Create lesson plans while we handle the calls.

Powerful call intelligence gives your business the lead

Outreach calls and campaigns speed-up sales and support

Capture and book appointments with 24/7 Live Chat.

Get the most out of Smith.ai

Outreach Campaigns

Web Chat

Smith.ai is trusted by 3,000+ businesses

TALK TO OUR TEAM of experts

Book a consultation

END-TO-END INTEGRATIONS

We play well with your software

end-to-end integrations

We play well with your legal software

Frequently asked questions

What are the benefits of a day care answering service?

How much money will I save by hiring an answering service for my day care instead of an in-house receptionist?

What kinds of scenarios do day cares need virtual receptionist services for?

What are some of the common problems that indicate my day care could use a virtual receptionist service?

What do I need to prepare to get started with a day care virtual receptionist service?

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