Karen Madler, owner of the Therapeutic Massage Center, knew that as one of 42 licensed massage therapists in her community, she needed to do something special to make her business shine.

Karen also knew her clients. She treated a number of clients who suffered from symptoms associated with migraines, tension headaches, fibromylagia, chronic back pain, and whiplash injuries. She also saw a number of regular clients for stress reduction and relaxation. Karen valued every one of them and treated each person with the highest level of service she could provide.

One aspect of that service was ensuring that no client's time would be interrupted. A source of constant frustration for Karen was her telephone. Unfortunately, as a small-business owner, Karen's budget did not allow for a full-time receptionist.

Karen knew that she needed to make her business stand out from all the others in her area. To do so, she knew she must  provide her full attention to the client in her treatment room. Initially, Karen installed an answering machine to take messages while she was in a session.

She soon learned that many of her prospects would hang up without leaving a message. Karen knew that her total dedication to personal-client attention was being misunderstood. She needed a real person handling her calls; the machine had to go.

She mentioned her problem to her accountant, also a small business owner, who told her that she could afford to provide each and every caller with the personalized attention that she desired. Karen, knowing that cash flow was always a concern, was skeptical.

Smiling, her accountant explained that she should hire and answering service. Best of all, he explained, they could provide those services beyond the standard 8 to 5 workday, and do so at a fraction of the cost of hiring a dedicated employee. By the end of that day, Karen was all set up. Her calls were answered by real people and all of her messages were sent to her email.

Two weeks later, Diane, one of Karen's regular clients, came in for her regular session. As Karen worked on Diane's back, Diane remarked "You know, this is the third place I've used. It's also the only one I've come back to."

"Well, that's nice to hear," Karen said. "Why is that?"

"When I go for a massage or to get my haircut, it's the only thing I do just for me. When I get that time to myself, I want it to be mine. I want to feel like somebody is paying attention to me for a change."

"I think," said Karen, "that the way we treat others says something about who we are. If we respect and value each individual, we are respected by them in return. I try to send that message here, and in everything else I do. I try to respect people."

"It certainly shows," said Diane, "and I keep coming back."

Learn more about telephone answering services and discover how the might be able to help you.