A phone answering service can be the ideal solution for many companies. It represents a way for companies to maintain relationships with their customers without getting the hands “dirty” so to speak.
Running a receptionist’s desk or a help desk is a more serious task than many people think. It is not merely the act of putting a phone in front of someone and saying “answer the phone and be nice”. The person answering the phone is really the face of the company at that point. If they mess up, you lose a customer or worse they go and badmouth you and you lose several customers.
To avert this mess, there are companies that offer solutions for different situations. Whether it is a customer service solution that you need, a medical answering service, or a simple telephone answering service they are quite capable of providing you with what you need. They are able to give you a guarantee of service and provide you with monitoring reports on calls as well.
However, to get a good company you have to sift through the hundreds that are out there. Visit a few forums initially to get a feel for who is good. Once you shortlist a few companies, do a little bit more digging to find out if they have any horror stories. Once you settle on a final few companies, then think about costs and decide on that. Till then you should make quality your only concern.