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When you walk into the Glendale Bakery, you are overwhelmed by the scent
of fresh bread and sweet pastries. As you continue to look around,
nestled in a corner is a beautiful display case filled with wedding
cakes. Nearby sits an intimate bistro table, on top of
which sits a photo album of more elaborate, one-of-a-kind wedding cakes.
Brooke Hiam, owner of Glendale Bakery, specializes in special occasion
cakes. Her shop is always busy. She has managed to develop her passion
for creating decadent wedding cakes into a major profit center for her
small business. It might surprise you to learn that an important element
of her success has been a telephone answering service.
“When I bought this place," she recalls, "I was
doing it all myself: managing purchases, meeting with clients... I did
everything you can imagine.”
“I always loved creating special occasion pieces. That's
my real passion. When we first started the bakery, I did a few wedding cakes
that
first summer. Then word got around and pretty soon I was doing more and
more.
I learned that you need to listen carefully to clients to create the perfect cake
for them.”
Brooke sighs, "In
the beginning I only had two part-time employees and I discovered that
spending an hour with the bride, her mom, or even members of the wedding
party was taking more time than I could afford. I wanted to keep doing the special
occasion pieces, since that's what I love to do, but I couldn't keep spending an afternoon on each job. There is just too much for a
small-business owner to do, and soon I was overwhelmed."
“In May of the second year, I hired an answering service to handle my
calls. That took
a lot of the pressure off me, but I had no idea how much else they could
do! After the first three months or so, my account rep met with me
to evaluate how things were going. She helped set up a system where all special occasion callers go
through a special process.
“The answering service asks them a series of questions that used to take me
quite a while to go over in person. Then, they schedule appointments for
me to meet with the
bride about a week in advance.
“By the time we
meet, I've already got quotes
together, samples ready, and some photos in my portfolio that might
interest them. The whole meeting is done in half an hour. Now, I'm doing what I love. I've
got four full-time employees and I'm managing my time so much better,
profits are climbing; I
couldn't be happier."
Learn more about telephone
answering services and discover how they might be able to help you.
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