What is the Difference between Answering Services and Virtual Receptionists?

It is a misconception to consider answering services and virtual receptionist as the same thing. They may sound and seem similar, but there is more to what meets the eye. Yes, of course, they attend the calls when it rings, but the functions of a virtual receptionist is what outlines the difference. Read on for the comparison and contrast of phone answering services and virtual reception services. The aim is not to convince you to hire a virtual receptionist but rather on the differences between the two so as to acquaint you to what you are going to deal with.

Answering calls

Both the subjects are solely responsible for attending calls, with an aim to performing it quickly. This is the simplest part of their job, attending the calls, and this is the main purpose of a phone answering service. What events take place after that very call is where the things begin to make a difference and why virtual receptionist is costlier than a phone answering service.

Solving customer queries and requests

If you just need someone for the purpose of answering the calls, then you should hire a call answering service. But what if the customer has a query about the product or service your company offers? What if they are looking out to booking an appointment? In such cases, virtual receptionist is the best choice. These services are fully equipped with all kinds of software, technology, and people. This guarantees that every business can offer particular deets about their products and services in such a way that each virtual receptionist can manage the basic questions and even book an appointment for you. These kinds of services are not offered by a mere phone answering service.

More than just taking a message

If you are selling your product over a call, providing customer support or booking appointments with clients, these tasks are solely compatible for a virtual receptionist. There are a plethora of tools and services available online, it is easy to attend those queries, book appointments or even operate the transactions just with the help of internet. But, this is where virtual receptionist comes to the rescue by differentiating itself from the call answering service. Imagine them as your receptionist, but just right in your office.