AnswerForce

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

Renegade Services is an oil and gas service company offering wireline services and other completions services. I am a contractor in the role of Marketing Director for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnswerForce, and what were your goals??

AnswerForce acts as the answering service for our 16+ locations. They answer calls 24/7 for Renegade.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor and what were the deciding factors?

We surveyed a dozen answering services and even hired and were fully onboarded for more than 3 months with another prominent answering service/call center before we joined AnswerForce.

Describe the project in detail and walk through their service package, including any calling tools used.

AnswerForce answers calls for our 16+ locations across the US. Each location has a customized script and list of contacts. For some districts, they answer calls 24/7 and for others, they only get overflow calls. AnswerForc

Who did you work with and what was the feedback process like?

Nicholas and Fathima were phenomenal during our onboarding process. Our scripts are very complex and each one needed to be customized for each district/location. We have one script that has 40+ potential options. They worked together to create everything in the most simplistic way. We've been with AnswerForce for 8 months now. It has been a wonderfully smooth experience. The scripts flow nicely and the receptionists are able to get our callers to the correct POC with a high amount of consistency.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any measurable outcomes of the project or general feedback about the service?

In a large company full of people who do no deal with technology or change well, AnswerForce fits seamlessly into our daily operations and works for everyone on all levels. It offers all the features including a GREAT app for the technologically dependent AND is simple enough for the guys who "just want to get a phone call". Our professionalism for incoming phone calls as a company is substantially better.

Describe their project management style, including communication tools and timeliness.

I typically reach out via live chat. They are highly responsive via live chat, email and phone calls though. They are quick to respond and to resolve issues. They have also implemented requested features pretty quickly, which is really pretty impressive.

What did you find most impressive or unique about this company?

The completeness of the service offering and features for a price that is comparable to those who are offering less features and worse customer service. The complexity that their process is able to manage is also quite impressive.

Are there any areas for improvement or something they could have done differently?

I'm not sure what more I could possibly ask for. 110%!

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the chief security officer for an internet-based online payment portal for state and local governments.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnswerForce?

We wanted to give our customers a person they could reach 24/7 if they had issues making an online payment.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we had a discovery call where I explained how our company flowed. Then, we set up a phone tree with different extensions for our business. Next, we gave them a script to follow. Every time they take a call, we get an email where we can give feedback and comments.

What is the team composition?

I worked with one supervisor from their billing department.

How did you come to work with AnswerForce?

We found them online and they came highly recommended. We chose them because their pricing fit our budget.

How much have you invested with them?

They charge us at the end of each month based on the call volume. I’m able to adjust the bill and roll it over to the next month if I want.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in July 2016, and our work is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Customers appreciate that they can call late at night and get a live person to help them pay their bills. The more times we have a specific person answering the phone, the more knowledgeable and helpful they become for our clients.

How did AnswerForce perform from a project management standpoint?

They do well. Everything is done online and they’re pretty receptive whenever we submit a ticket. The team usually responds in an eight-hour workday.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their responsiveness stands out. Whenever we ask for a change or to speak with a manager, they’ll usually call us the next day during business hours.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could lower their rate. I don’t really have any other complaints.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

My advice is to spend the time upfront to explain your business. Give them as much information as possible so they can craft an effective script and try it out. Have your business partners get involved and see what they think before you go live.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the manager of the congregational care and life events team for Christ Presbyterian Church, a large church in Minnesota that serves a congregation of about 5,000 people.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnswerForce?

We wanted our pastors to be accessible if people in our congregation had an emergency or life event that needed to be addressed immediately. For example, we wanted people to be able to contact our pastors at all hours if there was a death in the family.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnswerForce helped us set up a management system so our congregation could reach our pastors in case of emergency. On a rotating basis, pastors will take turns being on-call once a week for 6–8 weeks.

Through our web portal, we can see what times the calls came in, who called, what their reason was, and how quickly they were answered. It also keeps track of recordings for each call so we can review them and answer questions if needed.

What is the team composition?

We worked with a salesperson and we work with customer service as needed.

How did you come to work with AnswerForce?

I wasn’t part of the selection process, but I’ve heard that we selected them because their price was competitive, they had a good reputation, and they could integrate and customize the solution for our needs.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve had two different payment plans. From the beginning of our engagement until June 2018, we were spending $95 per month, and that rate incorporated everything. Our volume of calls wasn’t that high, though, so we started paying per call. Now we spend about $50 per month. (Approximately $2,400 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in November 2017 and the project is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

We now have a professional system that helps us get back to the people in our congregation quickly. We’re also really happy with the web portal because it’s really important to us for having an ongoing record of each call in case anything comes up. For example, if someone asks why we weren’t able to get back at them, we can listen to the recording and identify the issue.

How did AnswerForce perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed well. I am new to this position, and when I came on, they led me through two training sessions. Even though we were on the phone, there was a live person walking me through instances that were specific to my organization.

I’ve contacted their customer service department via email a few different times and they’ve been very quick to respond to me. They always take care of the situation no matter what it is.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They respond promptly to our inquiries, their billing is very efficient and easy to understand, and the training they provided was excellent. They made sure that I knew all the different ways I could use this tool, and they followed up with me to answer any questions and make sure everything was going well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. We’ve been very satisfied with their service.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Make sure you understand all the different ways their products and services can be used. They’re multifaceted and they can serve you in ways that might not be clear at the beginning of you’re engagement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CFO for an HR and payroll consulting firm.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnswerForce?

We were working with another answering service, but our clients began complaining when they called in. I went through 3–4 answering services before I found AnswerForce.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We’re a small company and don’t have a full-time receptionist, so all of our incoming calls come in through AnswerForce. When we first started working with them, we wrote a script so we know what their receptionists are going to say on each call.

For every incoming call, they try to solicit what kind of services the callers looking for, and then triage them based on what they need support with. Then they pass the call along to me and send me an email with the information.

What is the team composition?

Every time a customer calls, it goes to a different representative. I deal with their customer service team when I have an issue.

How did you come to work with AnswerForce?

I found them through a Google search.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend $129 a month (approximately $8,300 in total).

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in October 2015 and our partnership is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

They’ve handled everything perfectly. Occasionally I listen to their recordings, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how well their representatives handle our calls.

How did AnswerForce perform from a project management standpoint?

They’re very responsive. Since we started working with them, they’ve upgraded their system. Now they have a well-established dashboard where I can see all of the calls, listen to recordings, and view who the representative was for each call. Over the years, their service has continually improved.  

What did you find most impressive about them?

They’re very professional. I seldom have to contact them about an issue.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They could always put more effort into training, but I rarely have a complaint.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

They’re very dedicated to providing high-quality service.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am Rob, President of TeamLogicIT in NW Phoenix and Northern Arizona. I am responsible for delivering world-class managed IT services to business clients.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnswerForce?

We hired AnswerForce to assure our clients received a personal response to calls rather than use voicemail in high demand times and after our office hours.

What were your goals for this project?

Personal and professional phone management assuring our clients that their needs, problems and concerns had been heard by a competent and carting person and that those challenges that they may be experiencing would be effectively communicated to my staff for follow-up.

SOLUTION

How did you select AnswerForce?

We had been using a few different outsourced services to support lower priority and easier issues. Those services were more expensive than I had been prepared to pay and most everything was escalated back into my team. I discovered AnswerForce through a peer recommendation.

Describe the project in detail.

I contacted AnswerForce. I was called within an hour an offered a detailed overview of their intuitive program and interface. I made the purchase decision while on that call. A short time later, I was contacted to set-up the account. We built scripts based on the consultants vast experience. The solution was put into action and worked perfectly on the first interaction. Consultants have contacted me proactively and periodically to suggest improvements in scripts and flows. My clients often ask about the service and some have inquired directly.

What was the team composition?

My VP of Technical Services and I were the only team members from my company to put the simple solution in place within our organization. AnswerForce had two initial consultants support us and a couple more came in for tuning at other/later times.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

We never miss a call or have one go to voicemail. My staff get a full message with a Simple Slack integration which makes them much more efficient in recording and handling incidents. I estimate that staff efficiency improvement at around 10%. You can't put a value on good customer service.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

Set-up was incredibly simple and thorough. AnswerForce consultants were incredibly helpful in scripting and integration set-up. AnswerForce and our staff work seamlessly together.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone we have encountered at AnswerForce is incredibly customer focused. They are clear, concise and delivered tremendous value for the time we have spent with them. They solved my challenge of handling high or peak call volume times as well as enabled a much broader after hours on-call solution for my team via answering and Slack integration. We no longer miss SLA's.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No, we are very satisfied with AnswerForce service, reporting and billing. Integrations have never failed us. They don't miss a beat.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work for Ace Handyman Services and I’m the operations assistant.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnswerForce?

We wanted an answering service to answer any calls we might miss, pick up calls on our weekends, and we wanted to extend the offer to our franchise owners.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They answer our overflow calls, and, recently, they’ve started to help our sales department by calling leads for new franchises. They do those initial calls and verify people before our staff gets involved. They also have to look up zip codes, so when a call comes in for franchising, they need to let the caller know whether a franchise is available in that specific location.

The script and language has changed a bit. Until this year, we had a new name, but we were acquired, so they came up with a new script. They explain to callers that we’re the same company, we just have a new name.

What is the team composition?

I work with the owner of AnswerForce, and we have a designated account person.

How did you come to work with AnswerForce?

I was looking for an answering service that could be flexible with the script.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend between $700–$1,000 per month now, but we spent about $300 per month when we first started working together. In total, we’ve spent about $200,000. We have a grandfathered plan. They’ve helped us overcome some challenges regarding pricing as well. It’s difficult to find an affordable answering services and their prices don’t jump around.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working with them since June 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our call volume has doubled. I’ve listened to calls, and they follow the script, they’re respectful, and they’re nice on the phone. They’re able to update the script on a whim, which is very valuable for our business. Working with them prevents us from missing calls and losing customers.

How did AnswerForce perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve performed really well, especially since their whole team works remotely. We use a dashboard to see all of the conversations and the scripts they have prepared. It’s very user-friendly and easy to use.

I just send an email to them when we need to get in touch, but if it’s urgent, I can just give them a call. They’re super responsive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

It really comes down to the script. The ability to change and update the script is a big deal for our company. They need to go to our website and search for a location with the zip code, and it’s a lot of work, but they do a good job.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There’s nothing on my end.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be honest about what you want, and they’ll work with you to reach that goal.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

My company is Tutordoctor, and I’m the president.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with AnswerForce?

We needed help with inbound client management.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

AnswerForce is the first interaction that clients have with our company. They help answer inquiries of clients looking for tutoring support. This includes new and recurring clients that are interested in knowing about our services and pricing. AnswerForce schedules consultation appointments, forwards current customers to me to answers their calls, and those types of things. They have a pretty robust system that is linked in with our calendars so that once they schedule someone, it just shows up on my calendar. They can adapt to our CRM. 

What is the team composition?

I have a main point of contact, and they have a team that works just for our business and answers our calls.

How did you come to work with AnswerForce?

I searched online for call centers. I have a background in call centers – that was my corporate career for 25 years – so I knew what I wanted to see as far as capabilities. When clients call, I want them to think they’re calling me.

How much have you invested with them?

We spend about $100 a month, so about $1,200 a year. That gets us about 100 minutes, which is about as much as we need to handle our volume. 

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working together in 2017, and it’s ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

They usually succeed in having a client book for a consultation. Last time I checked, they were at 93% of booking the consultation once the person called. I’ve gotten feedback from clients that they didn’t even realize they were calling a call service, which is what I was looking for.

I’m the type of business that when someone calls, they want the call answered, or they’re going to move on to the next company. AnswerForce answers every time, and they answer quickly. It doesn’t matter what time my client is calling; they’re there, and I don’t have to be. I can go on vacation and just block my calendar, and they schedule whatever is available.

How did AnswerForce perform from a project management standpoint?

Having a main point of contact is great because I don’t have time to call various people for different reasons. Their turnaround time is same day or as quickly as possible. If I have feedback for an associate, they follow up and let me know that it’s been addressed. I’ve yet to have the same issue occur more than once. Perfection is about how you respond, and that’s what’s important to me.

I communicate with my regional contact through text, call, or email. My preference is texting or calling; it just depends. You can also chat with them through their app. I like that I have a choice. Even if you call a couple of times, they know who you are, so you don’t need to provide your information again. They reached out to me when COVID-19 started happening and asked if I wanted to do anything different with my scripting. They looked to see what worked best for the business and for me. They’re proactive.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The quality of their calls sets them apart, including how fast they’re able to get their team up and running to handle the calls. We can change our script in real-time, so if I just need to change 1–2 things, I can go in and make the changes myself, and they’ll be reflected in the next call. I can export and listen to recordings of the calls at any time. The app that they have also sets them apart. Their fluidity and adaptability are great.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I think they understand the importance of that first contact with clients. I’m much more gracious with any learning curve because I understand what it takes. I’ve been impressed by how far their reach is to be able to support the team. I just hope they’re able to keep that versatility going.

Any advice for potential customers?

Trust their process; they can tailor to your needs. It’s hard for an owner to hand off that first point of contact, so make sure that they really understand and trust that they’ll be able to do it. I didn’t believe they’d be able to start taking calls the next day, but sure enough, they sounded like they’d been doing it the whole time. They want the experience to be good.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I am HVAC contractor and I am the owner

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire AnswerForce?

Answer service was hired for:

1. Answer phones that I can't answer
2. Take most inbound calls
3. Warm calling, using a progressive dialer, outbound those calls to existing customers try get a hold of customers, book appointments or send me an email with customer requests and question.

What were your goals for this project?

the Goal was to get my customers call answered and book a appointments

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I found them on Google search and they promise the best prices

Describe the project in detail.

Answerforce answered the phone calls, they should take all inbound calls, after the call they suppose to collect data and email me the information needed and book me a meeting on outlook calendar.

What was the team composition?

The suppose to get $1.0 a minute for the time they spend with customer over the phone.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

The project was a big disaster.

1. They emails where uncleared with broken english.
2. They send me an email after each dialer call that wasn't answer, I got 300 emails a day, and I need to go thru all of them to see if 1 customer did reply.
3. They had errors when the Dialer was calling but they didn't answer, still I got the emails.
4. The got billing issues that I called many time to correct but they keep forward me to persons that cant help.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

The workflow was a nightmare, I spend hours talking with them on the phone, always someone need to get back to me and it was a complete waste of my time.

They can't send a clear emails after they speak to customers, they could not do a proper booking even to put a meeting description, they don't do call recording so I don't really know what happened in the meeting, they don't do break down for bills, very bad place to work with, completely unprofessional.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Absolutely nothing, they smooth talk you over the phone but they are completely incompetent when its comes to answering service.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I was a 100% unhappy customer and based on what I wrote so far, they should do a major makeover to the way they do business.

Company Responses

The vendor responded on April 8, 2020.

Dear customer,

Thank you for taking the time to share feedback. We regret not meeting your expectations and would like to talk with you further about your experiences. I warmly welcome you to give us a call on 1 (800) 461-8520 and ask for myself, Bethany.

One of the points you raised concerns the high number of call summaries you received via email. As a solution, we recommend customers download the AnswerForce app to easily manage messages. Customers can also set up email filters or dedicated inboxes to help manage these notifications.

In addition, we have an obligation to ensure all of our customers receive business notifications in a timely manner — each business can then decide how and when to act on these.

You also wrote about not receiving call recordings. We can provide these for inbound calls, when requested by the customer. Call recording capability is typically explained during the customer onboarding process. In general, call recordings function as a setting that can be enabled at the start of your contract, or later as requested. 

Outbound calls would not typically be recorded. This is because the receptionist would have to make a call recording statement at the start of each call, which can lead to a poor customer experience.

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. On behalf of AnswerForce, we are glad to have had the chance to support your business.

Kind regards,

Bethany (bethany.ripoyla@answerforce.com)

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a handyman services business in the Northwest San Antonio and Boerne areas. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge your company was facing that incited the need for this answering service solution?

We needed to answer every single phone call we received.

SOLUTION

How did you integrate the answering services into your company’s operations?

Answer Force emails and texts us client messages.

Why would you recommend this answering service over comparable companies?

Answer Force is more scalable than its competitors. They answer the phone consistently.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to use this answering service?

We spend $225 per month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any success, metrics, or overall results of your integration of this service?

Our overall result is that it has become more convenient to get messages from customers not only after-hours and on weekends, but also when we miss calls during the day.

Were there any features/tools that you were really impressed by offered by AnswerForce?

AnswerForce's staff is courteous. I haven't heard many complaints about my answering service.

Looking back, are there any areas of the service that you feel could be added or improved upon?

No.

Have you had to interact with the answering service’s support team or reference their support resources?

Yes. AnswerForce is good at working with us.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Fish Window Cleaning is a franchise business based in Loganville, Georgia. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge your company was facing that incited the need for this answering service solution?

We needed call overflow support. We are a small business providing window cleaning services to our local area. A part of my activity is providing estimates, and I have found that people looking for pricing will hang up and move on to the next business if they can't speak to a real person immediately. I wanted to find a way of having our phone answered all the time.

SOLUTION

How did you integrate the answering services into your company’s operations?

We have a 10-second period to answer the phone at our office, after which the call is directed to AnswerForce. They are our overflow service, including for evenings and weekends.

We needed ways in which to get the customer information back, so we've used Evernote for routing the call-answering information to our new requests folder. This gives us a centralized way for dealing with requests.

Google Calendar is typically used for scheduling our van fleet. AnswerForce also provided a calendaring system called SetMore, which provides a standard way for their team to make reservations for us. This way, if someone already has an estimate and is looking to schedule, they can do so.

The third issue was credit card payments. We need to process payments even when no one is in the office. We use USAePay as a provider and have given AnswerForce the login information for our account. As such, AnswerForce is not only answering phones and providing estimates, but they're also helping schedule customers and are taking payment information.

Why would you recommend this answering service over comparable companies?

When I first started looking for answering solutions in April 2016, I requested information from 10–15 companies. In the end, I was looking to accomplish a simple task and not pay a lot for it. Given my inexperience with call centers, I didn't want to become locked into a contract, and also didn't want to pay large setup fees.

AnswerForce provided free set up, no charge for the first 30 seconds in cases of people hanging up, as well as the ability to not work under a contract and to change the plan from month to month. Our busiest season will be from April to June, so I've appreciated AnswerForce's flexibility in terms of payment and setup.

We signed up with AnswerForce at the beginning of May 2016, just before Memorial Day. AnswerForce took four phone calls on that occasion and even scheduled an estimate.

It was also a requirement for the team to sound fluent in English. I'm located in the South, and many people here prefer to speak to fellow southerners.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to use this answering service?

We've spent between $300 and $400 per month on AnswerForce's services. I compared this to having a full-time administrator in the office, and $100 per week for full coverage, including nights and weekends, is great.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Were there any features/tools that you were really impressed by offered by AnswerForce?

Beyond being a calendaring service, SetMore also allows us to put a widget on our website and Facebook page, giving us added functionality for people wanting self-service.

AnswerForce also implemented a chat function, allowing people to go to our website and have the same conversation over chat, as they would have had over the phone.

Looking back, are there any areas of the service that you feel could be added or improved upon?

AnswerForce has had a learning curve during the setup. I've had to go back to them and specify that names and emails should actually be validated, not only guessed. I've found out that some companies don't want to pay for validation because it takes up more time. Being able to know that the name was spelled correctly spares me from an awkward situation with the customer later on. It happened the first few times, but AnswerForce corrected it.

Have you had to interact with the answering service’s support team or reference their support resources?

The only thing I've had to do on the support side was to update and modify scripts. As we've progressed, we've added a few things. Every time this happened, I could send AnswerForce an email or contact them through chat, and receive confirmation of it being implemented. They've been very responsive, and I haven't had any technical problems.

At one point, our credit card password expired. AnswerForce reached out and contacted me proactively about it. We reset the password and were on our way. There haven't been any issues on the support side.