Phone calls

johny

New Member
Hello !

Lets start with ,i am a busy man,i am never at home to answer business calls,i dont have an office with secretary,and i dont think any others in business here do. I have a caller id ,and have noticed lots of calls during the day,but nobody leaves a message.When my wife is home,she takes the calls and sets appointments for an estimate,when she isnt,i rely on answering machine.

Like i said lots of people dont leave a message,some do so.Good help stays busy,i guess they call somebody else who isnt and sits by the phone.
Question-Do you ever follow up # based on the caller id,like call the # and say,hey,where you interersted in an estimate????
I have done that a few times without much luck,got a few appointments for an est. but didnt get most of the jobs,so i quit doing that,no message no call back.I call them duds,what do rest of you think
Thanks
Johny
 

outlaw

New Member
I call them back, but a lot of the time I go to anywho.com and do a reverse look up on the number, not sure why I do this, I just guess I like to have an Idea before I call.
Gav
 

Michael T

New Member
the phone

Johnny, Get an answer service. Ive used one for a long time. Very professional, they answer call and screen out telemarketers. People are more willing to leave message with a live person. Its a cheap secretary if you ask me. They page me with an alpha page and then I call them back. It runs me less than $100.00 a month. But could vary in other areas.

Michael T / Centex
 

Flue Steam

New Member
How about call forwarding to your cell phone? Its a lot cheaper than a service and if you can only answer half of the forwarded calls (because your hands are full) thats more than your getting now!
 

timhays

New Member
my cell phone is my buisness number but i cant answer every call either,however the ones who do get through i get 85% of the jobs.
 

johny

New Member
Call forwarding wont work for me.I already have 2 remote call forw. ,numbers from 2 different towns ,local # and 2 cell phones.Man what a phone bill ,i mean 5 of them.Reason it wouldnt work for me is,lets say i am washing,staining or whatever,somebody calls.I would have to break out paper,pen ,take down info and set appointments.Not sure if it would work.I would never get any work done.I dont like to be stopped when working.
Lets say i apply chemical on the house,deck and a phone call.it would dry before i know it.Now if i had somebody working for me ,that would be perfect idea.
How can i get answering service??I cant afford to miss calls
Johny
 

Michael T

New Member
Answering service

Johny, Search your yellow pages, ask some apartment complexes and doctors offices. Get some references, see who is the best. doctors dont like to miss calls especially when they are on call. The service I have rents me a Alpha pager and I like it that way cause if I loose it Im just out 20.00 on the replacement. They screen all calls and take messages and rarely does anyone know its an answerservice. Ocassionally I get some one who wont leave a message and want an answer NOW. I get a few ASAP's and " Ill only be at this # for X minutes". But overall Its a cheap secretary. Ive used my current service for 5 years now love it. They are very professional and represent my business well.

Best Regards,

Michael T / Centex
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
I forward my calls to my Nextel......and answer them whenever possible. If I can't, I can't and don't sweat it.

Also, my phone has a vibrating ringer, so I can "hear" it when equipment is running.

I have four RCF #'s and an 877 number that all ring into my main line, and I forward my main line to the cell phone.
 

Jon

New Member
To change the subject just a bit I have to have a phone that vibrates strong so I can as Mike says HEAR IT.

Now what I am worried about is all the new laws that say you cannot hold a phone while driving or you must use those head phone things.

They don't vibrate nor can I hear very good with them, tried them.

So what would I do? Oh yeah I keep saying I cannot wait till California passes a law about that so I can take out a class action lawsuit on discrimination against the deaf and partly deaf.

Yeah I think I would do it too!

Hey ACLU are you interested in my case?

I have caller ID but notice here many don't want their numbers showing so if blocked would loose out on customers. Have tried it both ways, less calls when I block out then when not blocking.

Another thing to do is have voice mail on that cell phone line so if you cannot answer they will leave a message for you.

Jon
 

Michael T

New Member
virbating cell phone

Jon and Mike, Ive got a vibrating phone also. My hands free ear bud rings thru the head set. So I can hear it ring also. My phone I can set on automatic answer, so it connects without having to touch the phone. Making call while going down the road is always a chalenge, answering them is easy.
But Ive learned to drive with my knees, read the paper, eat , change CD's, and talk on the phone and take notes, all while drinking a glass of water. LOL. Drives my wife crazy.[spin]
Dont ya just love all these gadgets.

Michael T / Centex
 

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