Scripting, 24/7 call centers, and secret shopping with AnswerForce

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Every missed call is a customer who’s moved on, especially during peak seasons. To chat about all things call centers, including scripting, 24/7 operations, and the power of ’secret shopping’ your company, I caught up with AnswerForce’s Bethany Ripoyla. Below is our conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

You guys have worked with contractors in the answering business for 20 years. Can you share a top-of-mind observation that you’ve made? 

A lot of people don’t even realize they’re missing calls. 80 percent of the time that potential customers call, they won’t leave a voicemail. So sometimes business owners will call us and say, “Well, I don’t think I’m missing too many calls because I don’t have a lot of voicemails.”

What’s the first conversation like when you start working with a new contractor?

We really want to know how the office is set up and how they want their call flow to look, as well as how their membership and maintenance programs are positioned. What are they struggling with? What are their goals? And then we’ll figure out how we can build scripts around that. 

Can you give me some color on the “scripting” process itself?

We have a whole team of customer service reps who will do onboarding, and we have a myriad of templates. Some owners want us to have more conversation and dialogue with clients, and others don’t — they want quick transfers. 

With templates, some work really well for smaller locations, and others work for those who have multiple locations. We really see ourselves as consultants — we’re experts at answering calls, qualifying leads, and then getting it to the right people, because they’re the experts at their business. 

At a high level, is there something you consider a missed opportunity regarding how CSRs currently answer phones?

I think people get really wrapped up in “price shoppers.” If somebody calls in and immediately asks about price, there’s often an eye roll without taking the time to ask questions and being genuinely curious to better understand this person and what their problem is. 

They might be focused on price because they have limited funds, but they may not know you have the ability to offer them financing. So, I think too many times, we don’t get curious and continue the conversation. 

What’s a tactical nugget you’d offer a contractor looking to improve their call center experience? 

I think it’s really important to assess your customer journeys and understand what customers are experiencing by ‘secret shopping’ your business — before work, during business hours, and at 10 pm. How easy is it for them to get an answer? Then you can make tweaks and changes, whether it’s on your website or in the call center. 

What are you talking to contractors about now regarding the upcoming cooling season?

Systems — and having a proactive plan in place. When it’s mid-season, you’re in it and everybody’s really busy. It’s important to have on-call systems; a lot of times, people don’t have an on-call calendar, or they say, “Hey, can you take the lines this week or tonight,” and they may not know if the phones are actually being answered. I’ve seen that because there’s no transparency or tracking. 

So, having your team know what they can expect that week and that month, and incorporating them into that plan, is so important. 

Any takeaways from a good on-call calendar you’ve seen?

I’ve seen companies have a weekly rotation where certain people will be on follow-up calls for certain days, and others will be on call certain nights, and they rotate. 

I’ve also seen people, during busy season, when there’s no shortage of work, let people off on Friday who have been on certain calls throughout the week so they can take a long weekend. 

“Speed to lead” is obviously an important part of the business. How do you guys think about that?

We’re in a day and age where the internet has created the need and want for immediate satisfaction. We’re able to answer calls within the first couple of rings, 99 percent of the time, because our model allows us to have someone staffed 24/7 — and watching that number is our number one priority. 

Within five minutes, we’re able to call a client who’s filled out a website form, too. It’s just about making sure that you’re competitive, because, as I mentioned, people won’t leave voicemails — they’ll keep searching until they find an answer. 

Can you shed some light on how 24/7 logistics work with AnswerForce? 

Anytime we take an overnight call from a new or existing client, we’ll send a text or email to whoever’s necessary. It can be any list of people — often, we’ll have operations leaders or office managers on it. That way, everyone knows what happened overnight, including any notes and specific follow-ups. 

We can also integrate with most field service management softwares, so they can see it how they prefer. And our mobile app enables leaders to see what’s happening in real time while they’re out in the field.

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