This guide contains:

Background on answering services
Features and qualities to look for in answering services
How to find the best answering service for you

This short guide was created to help you understand the basics of answering services, and to help you choose the right answering service for you. We do not offer any answering services ourselves, so you can be assured that all of the information in this guide is independent and unbiased.

Background on answering services
At their most basic level, answering services provide a live contact so that people who call your business will reach a person instead of an automated system or voice mail. The words (script) used to answer the calls, as well as the process used to handle the calls, are all decided by you, the customer.

Features and qualities to look for in answering services
We have compiled a list of the most important features and functions of answering services so that you can understand your options and identify those qualities that are most important to you. Here are some common options and features available:

Call Transfer/Patching
When the caller has reached the answering service operator, the operator has the option of transferring the call to a phone number (cell phone, home phone, voice mail) that you specify.

Messaging
You can have the answering service send you a message (via fax, email, pager, etc.) based on criteria that you set. Voice mails can be forwarded via email for playback on your computer.

Call Screening
Calls can be screened for special handling; e.g. send certain calls directly to voice mail, send others directly to your cell phone.

800 Service
You can have the answering service handle your toll free calls; you usually have the option of using your own toll free number, and sometimes the answering service has a bank of toll free numbers you can use.

Multi Lingual Service
Many answering services provide operators that are fluent in other languages to help handle all types of callers.