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Bill Connelly, owner of Connelly's Specialty Crane Service, relies on
a professional telephone answering service to help him and his small crew
serve their unique clients. Connelly's business specializes in small,
maneuverable cranes that are used often in the motion picture industry.
“We only have a few staff members, so getting our calls handled properly
was essential to the success of our business,” said Connelly. “When we
began, we were relying on a basic answering machine and returning calls at the end of the
day. As we grew, it became more important for
us to have a timely response for our customers to book the highest
possible number of hours on our equipment to yield the most profit. Back
then, it could make the difference between breaking even or taking a
loss.”
“So, we went
to using cell phones. That was okay; I got all the calls
myself, but if my line was busy, that was just too bad. Other times, I'd
be at a location coordinating equipment and I couldn't really give my callers
the service they expected. It was worse than the old way with the
answering machine.”
For a short time, he
reverted to the old system. That is, until a business acquaintance
suggested he use an answering service.
"I never would have thought about anything like that," said
Connelly. "I thought answering services were something only doctors used. Boy, was I wrong."
Working with his answering service, Connelly crafted a unique
promotion to highlight his newly improved customer service. “Working
with the telephone answering service, we began promising callers that their calls would be
returned in one hour or less. If I couldn't get back to them in less
time than that, we'd send them a $20 gift certificate to a local
restaurant. It bought me the time I needed to get myself organized
before I'd call back. When I did, I was ready to listen to them. Plus,
I had incentive to stay on top of my call-backs, if I didn't it
would cost me extra!”
The plan has been in
place for 18 months. In that time, Connelly has only had to give out two
gift certificates. Both times, he was involved in delicate safety
checks. “It’s a small price to pay when you are working on something
that can affect health and safety.”
Connelly credits the plan and his answering service with helping put
him at the head of his local crane market. He's even begun to branch
into specialty construction crane services.
Connelly’s cranes are now also used to set custom-built architectural
elements into schools, community centers, and shopping malls. “Branching
into the construction market is something we never could have done
without fully trained professionals answering our calls,” said
Connelly.
Learn more about telephone
answering services and discover how they might be able to help you.
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