PCN - Professional Communications Network

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of an online marketing company that provides web design and SEO services for small businesses.

What challenge were you trying to address with PCN?

The company is basically just me, so having PCN is great because I’m able to keep working while they answer my calls.

How easy was the integration?

It was extremely easy. They asked me some questions about how I wanted them to answer the phone and walked me through the entire setup in 10 minutes.

Did you have to train them on your specific business?

I change the script as I change promotions. For the most part, they ask who the person is with and what they need.

What was the main difference once you hired them from your business before?

It’s saved a lot of time because I get a lot of calls from people I don’t want to talk to or who are trying to sell things. PCN screens all of those out and also takes messages for me while I’m in meetings. It makes me seem like a bigger company. It’s nice to have somebody answering the phone professionally and making it sound like they’re a part of my office.

Are there any other services they provide for you?

They answer all of my calls. I get so many spam calls, but with PCN, I don’t have to worry about them. As soon as somebody calls, I get a text of what they said, and I can choose whether or not I want to speak with them.

How did you come to work with PCN?

I met the owner at a networking event and talked to him about their service.

What is the team composition?

The team rotates. I talk to one individual once every few months. She’s always available when I need her, though.

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

It’s made my customer service better. It’s so much better to have a live person when a customer calls. PCN answers calls quickly and professionally.

I had a guy that called in and wanted to know if the person who answered was an answering service or employee because he was also looking for answering services. He said he felt like he was talking to a big company.

What did you find most impressive about them?

They offer a higher level of service to me. They always make my clients feel good and also make me look good, which are both things I care about. I don’t get a lot of calls, but they take really good care of the ones I do get. I’m not sure I’ve gained any clients because of them, but I do know that I haven’t lost any, which is way more important to me.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, they’re perfect for me.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

Potential clients should ask a lot of questions as they sign up and make sure they understand what’s available. PCN does a lot of things, so it’s important for clients to make sure they’re getting what they need. They’re good at customizing their services.

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Optimum Property Management is an owner association management company. We’ve been in business since 1996 and currently manage close to 100 homeowners’ associations, including a couple of commercial ones in Southern California.

What challenge were you trying to address with PCN?

PCN is our answering service. While we’re open during normal business hours, we still provide a 24/7, 365-day-a-year service to our homeowners to reach us for emergency situations. PCN provides after-hours, on-call service.

How easy was the integration?

I’ve been with this company for 16 years and I don’t recall using anyone besides PCN.

Did you have to train them on your specific business?

They handle training, and we don’t provide any scripts. They have a lot of that knowledge because they’re professionals who provide this service to our industry. We do provide them with a list of particular vendors to use and what to use them for. We also provide them with special notes if there are any.

What was the main difference once you hired them from your business before?

It’s such a specialized type of service. We’d have to have our regular staff members working at night to take these calls if we didn’t use PCN. I can’t estimate how much time it saves us.

When they get the call, they send that information to the proper vendor (e.g., maintenance personnel or community managers). We then document what they did and follow through with each call the next day. We usually have between 0–4 pages’ worth of calls per day. They handle emergency calls after hours, which can be as many as 12,000–15,000 houses. It varies a great deal depending on the day. We sometimes get pages and pages of calls if there’s bad weather.

Are there any other services they provide for you?

They only provide answering services for us.

How did you come to work with PCN?

I don’t remember. I imagine another company in the industry referred them because there aren't many of these services available. I know that other competitors have used them.

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

Unfortunately, in this industry, we hear more of the negative than the positive. I don’t necessarily recall getting a positive comment from a homeowner or customer regarding an experience with an answering service.

The contracted employees’ comments vary. We’ve had some situations where a beginning operator at 3:00 in the morning didn’t handle the call correctly. I don’t think this is uncommon considering the volume. I do have regular contact with the supervisors to make sure things are addressed. We’ve had other managers who said they handled it great. Overall, their services have been good, which is why we have a long history with them.

They’ve been very responsive in communicating with supervisors, updating information, and answering questions. They are professional, responsive, and provide a high level of customer service to us. They also provide detailed information. I’ve never had an experience where they’ve tried to hide or deny errors. They always care about their customer.

What did you find most impressive about them?

I’ve been dealing with the same people for quite some time. Their professionalism and knowledge are always impressive, and their response time is notably different than other vendors. They seem to care about and get to know their clients.

Are there any areas they could improve?

I can’t think of anything. They record their calls so that we can take care of issues immediately. We get documentation of each call every day.

Do you have any advice for potential clients?

They need to make sure there’s an in-house, very well-managed source of information to provide to the answering service. An answering service is only going to be as good as the information that the customer provides them with. Incorrect information or information that isn’t updated in a timely manner may cause missteps.