Problems with Answering Service

[Scott Eisenmann]

I recently sent out thousands of postcards to absentee owners and hired a very expensive, REI-focused answering service to answer the calls for me so the callers can speak to a live person instead of having to leave a voicemail message.

To my surprise, this answering service is only answering about half of the calls and letting the rest go to voicemail. Yesterday they only answered 3 of the 7 calls that came in.

Worse yet...

• They have been rude to a customer 
• They answered a call with "Hello" instead of answering in a more professional manner and with my company name
• At least one call-taker sounded like she just woke up when she answered the phone
• One caller said she had to call six times before someone actually answered the phone.
• Another caller just wanted to leave his name and number so I could call him back, but the call-taker got upset that the seller wouldn't answer all of her questions, so she angrily told him that she would just take him off of our list!

All of this and more was recorded on my CallRail account, so there is no way that they can dispute any of this if this becomes a legal matter.

My concern is that I have spent thousands of dollars to find these motivated sellers and this answering service is not consistently treating them professionally and with respect. I am also concerned that their poor performance is negatively reflecting on my business and damaging the reputation that I am trying to build in the community. 

If I could do it all over again, I would save the couple of thousand dollars that I am spending with this company and just let the calls go to my own voicemail for free when I can't answer.

What has your experience been with answering services? Have you found one that actually answers the calls reliably and professionally? Or are you or an employee just answering the calls yourself?