A caller who reaches a dead end at seven in the evening often does not wait until morning. They try the next business on the list. For service businesses especially, the after-hours call can be the one that matters most.
I am Vice President of Operations at DirecTech Connect, a Nashville-area provider of business phone systems, managed IT, websites and digital marketing. I oversee our managed VoIP and telecommunications services, managed IT for small and medium-sized businesses, and client project delivery, so these are questions I deal with every week.
After-hours handling is a common request when a business moves to a modern phone system, because it is one of the things hosted phones make much easier than old equipment.
Start with a clear greeting. Even a simple recording that states your hours, says when you will call back and offers an option for urgent matters is better than endless ringing or a full mailbox.
Use scheduled hours. A modern phone system can switch to an after-hours routing on a schedule, including holidays, without anyone having to remember to change a setting at closing time.
Route urgent calls. If you handle emergencies, decide who is on call and send those calls to a cell phone. Many systems can ring a list of numbers in order, so a call is not lost if one person does not answer.
Make voicemail useful. Voicemail that arrives as an email, often with a text version, lets you see who called without dialing in. Check it first thing in the morning and respond quickly.
Offer a text option. Some callers would rather text than leave a message. If your business texting is set up, an automatic reply can acknowledge the message and say when you will respond.
Consider an answering service. If calls are frequent and each is valuable, a live answering service can take messages for you. Weigh the cost against the value of a captured job.
Whatever you choose, test it. Call your own number after hours from your own phone and hear what a customer hears. Then fix whatever sounds confusing, and review it every few months.
Danielle Lemons is Vice President of Operations at DirecTech Connect, a Nashville provider of business phone systems, managed IT services, websites and digital marketing. More about Danielle.
