Does Answer United offer its services nationwide?

Yes, because of Answer United’s advanced technologies, it does not matter where your business is physically located.

How long does it take to have my account activated so you can receive my calls?

Depending on your needs and the complexity of your build, once all information is provided to Answer United and you approve your profile, most accounts can be activated within 2 business days.

How quickly do you answer my calls?

Answer United maintains high service levels by consistent monitoring.  We measure call handling times every hour of every day and make any necessary adjustments to the schedule to maintain the highest level of quality. No matter how busy your calls will not ring more than three times before our agent or the system answers it and puts it in a queue for the next available agent.

How will my calls reach your call center?

You will call forward your line to a toll free, unique telephone number Answer United will provide.  When your phone is forwarded and called, it rings at our center and your account information is automatically displayed to one of our agents.

How do I forward my phone line? Can you forward my phone lines for me?

There are several ways to forward your phones to our telephone answering service.  The most popular method is to use a call forwarding option from your local telephone provider.

You can also set it up to forward automatically when all the lines are in use or you do not answer within a certain number of rings.

If you have a complex phone system, your phone equipment provider may set your phone to route automatically or with a press of one button.

The forwarding feature and process is a function of your specific circumstance.

How will I get my messages?

There are several options for receiving your messages.  We’ll tailor your account to fit your specific needs.  Your messages can be set to a secure app, emailed, texted, faxed, available in our online web portal, called out to you, or you can call in and retrieve them.

For emergency management messages that you instruct Answer United to keep calling until delivered, you can use our secure app, where we can see when you read the message, or we can  send you a text or email that you can simply reply back to.

Our “on-call” personnel are always changing, how does Answer United keep up with these changes?

Simple.  An optional time saving method is to utilize our state of the art web access portal.  This allows you to enter the changes and update your account information on line.  The information is immediately available to our agent stations.

If your system goes down, how can I be assured that my calls will still be answered?

Most answering services and call centers are not prepared for a system failure or disaster recovery.  Most do not have a full-time IT personnel or a backup generation in case of a power outage.  Instead, they rely on outside consultants.  Answer United has a full time IT Department staffed with technicians as well as programmers to ensure that if a problem arises, Answer United will be ready!  In case of a power outage, our backup generations are able to power our call center indefinitely.

What are your rates?

Rates vary depending on your answering service or call center needs, the number of operator minutes used and a variety of other factors.  Our lowest rate plan starts at $49.95.  A small price for 24 hour seven day a week coverage.  For pricing and a custom proposal please schedule a quick demo Answer United to determine the plan that is best.

Are you HIPAA compliant?

Yes, as one of the nation’s leader in the medical answering service business, we are dedicated to providing confidentiality and adhering to all HIPAA privacy rules.

What is a Live Answering Service?

At its core, a live answering service gives businesses access to specially trained, professional telephone agents who know precisely how to meet the needs of callers. Most importantly, they free up the valuable time of a business’ actual employees so that they can focus more of their attention on those matters that really need them.

What is the Difference Between an Answering Machine and an Answering Service?

When you let callers go to an answering machine, they often have very little faith that they’ll get a call back. They certainly have no idea when someone may reach out to answer their questions or address their concerns. With a live answering service, someone is always on-hand to greet these callers – creating a much more personal experience that is reflective of the impression you want to convey of a brand.

Are Answering Services Worth It?

In a word – yes. Live answering services help prevent potential customers from going elsewhere by making sure that representatives are always available to answer a call in a collected, professional manner. They’re also ideal for call overflow situations, absenteeism management and even general customer service concerns.

What Types of Companies Use Call Centers?

Call centers can make a positive impact on virtually any type of business. If an organization frequently deals with calls from their target audience and other members of the general public, they can absolutely benefit from all that call centers bring with them.

What Does a Virtual Receptionist Do?

A virtual receptionist is a software-based solution that helps to guarantee that no customer call ever goes unanswered. Features include the scheduling of appointments, the routing of calls to employees who can best address a given situation, helping customers get specific account information and more.

Can Small Businesses Benefit from Answering Services?

Small businesses in particular stand to benefit a great deal from all that answering services have to offer.

Small to medium-sized businesses tend to lack the resources to handle high volumes of calls – especially during peak periods or other seasonal fluctuations. They could hire their own in-house employees to address these customer concerns, but they would be doing so at a significant expense. With answering services, on the other hand, they have access to a solution that allows them to virtually guarantee that all customers are satisfied by way of live, professionally-trained agents.

More than that, answering services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Not only is this an ideal way to maintain customer relations and create a much better experience on behalf of your brand, but it’s also a way to help increase sales through superior customer support as well.

What is a Medical Answering Service?

As the name suggests, a medical answering service is a solution that allows practices to accept messages and other calls from patients who may attempt to make contact outside of normal business hours. These agents can provide industry-specific information to both current and potential patients to make sure that their needs are attended to, all while also making sure that they can get into contact with a medical professional should the situation they’re calling about be serious.

Can Call Centers Handle Customer Service & Help Desk Calls?

Call centers can absolutely handle customer service and help desk calls – often far faster and more efficiently than traditional employees can. They’re designed to help make sure that someone is always available to address a customer’s needs with no exceptions, which in and of itself may be the most important benefit of all.