Ruby Receptionists is a company that has been on my radar for quite some time.
Up front, they offer an answering service for a business, but what they truly do is so much more.
Let me say, first of, they are not the cheapest option out there, but they are not unaffordable either. In this case though, you truly do get what you pay for.
Your Customers Probably Won’t Even Know!
I have used them in 3 different businesses now, and I haven’t heard any of my clients or customers complain about them or even realize that we are using an answering service. To me, this is the absolute best part about them and I think it’s the biggest hurdle for using an answering service.
As a business owner, I don’t want people thinking they have reached an answering service, I want them to feel like they reached an actual person at our company.
I have even heard clients ask how many people work for us because each time they call they get a different person. Lol – I have told them we are growing, but we do use an answering service, so they may hear a new name from time to time.🙂 – But, what a great compliment to Ruby.
Getting Messages to the Right Person or Department
A great benefit that Ruby also offers that I use is their call-routing, depending on who a client asks for or what department they ask for, Ruby can try to connect the call to the person directly (via a direct line / cell phone). Or if it’s for a specfic department, or even perhaps after-hours emergency support calls, they can connect to different people at different times. (Ruby is available 24/7 to answer calls, which really can help to take that first step to offering 24/7 support to your clients, if needed).
Additionally, they can also inform your clients of what ever you need them to on the call. If it’s for after hours support they could say something like, “Sure, let me connect you to after hours team, and just so you’re aware, the hourly rate for this support is $350 per hour. Is that something you would still like, or i can take a message and have them contact you first thing in the morning.”
Have Ruby Make Actual Appointments For You
Another great feature is their tie into calendars like Calendly. Depending on your needs, you may not want them scheduling everything, but we use it for scheduling initial call-backs for our sales team (if they truly aren’t available to take the call). This saves a step and gets them on the calendar and notifications go out.
If you haven’t used Calendly or services like it, basically it’s linked to your calendar (Google / Outlook..) and you determine the time slots available. So if you book something on your Google calendar, the time slots it covers are no longer available to book via Calendly. So, Ruby would use your Calendly link to book things on your behalf. Just be sure to think through if that will work for your needs.
Other Services to Consider
I have a service based business, and I did have the initial thought that Ruby could book service calls on our behalf, but unfortunately, there’s too much specific information that is needed to determine how long a service call would take, and we decided against the scheduling part for that department, but we do use it on the sales end.
Additionally, they also can call clients on your behalf to schedule things or to relay information on your behalf.
And they have a website chat service available to so that there’s always someone online to chat and engage with your customers.
I haven’t used those last 2 services personally yet, but for everything else they have done, I have been very impressed and truly do enjoy the service I have received from them.
I hope you give them a chance and check them out here (at Ruby.com)!
