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 widely used 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 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 told him about his own answering service. "I never really thought about anything like that," said Connelly. "I thought that was something only doctors did. 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, it gave me the incentive to stay on top of my call-backs, or else it would cost me money!”

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,” he said.

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 the might be able to help you.