Why the questions matter more than the demo
Every vendor's demo call sounds good. The demo is set up by the vendor, on a quiet line, with a caller who asks the easy questions. What decides whether the receptionist works for you is everything around the call: how you are billed when the phone gets busy, where a booking actually lands, who gets woken up at 2 a.m., and what happens to your number if you leave.
Ask every question below of every vendor you are comparing, and ask for the answers in writing. A vendor who answers clearly is usually one who has thought about your situation before. A vendor who changes the subject is telling you something too.
Questions about price
- What will I pay in my busiest month, not my average one? A good answer names a number. If the price is per minute, per call or tiered by volume, ask them to work it out from your own call count in your peak season.
- Do spam calls, robocalls, wrong numbers and hang-ups count toward my bill? On a trades line these can be a real share of calls. A good answer is no, or a clear rule for which calls count.
- Is there a setup fee, and is it quoted in writing before I commit? A good answer gives the number up front and says what it covers.
- Do nights, weekends and holidays cost more? Some plans charge a surcharge for the hours you most need covered.
- How long is the price fixed? A good answer gives a period in writing, not a promise that it rarely changes.
- What costs extra? Ask about Spanish, extra phone numbers, extra staff calendars, call recordings and connecting your booking software.
Questions about booking
- When you say it books appointments, where does the booking land? The answer you want is your real calendar or booking app, with the slot taken. An email or a text asking you to call the customer back is a message, not a booking.
- Can it book per staff member, with each person's own hours and services? If two techs do different work, the receptionist needs to know who can take which job.
- What does the caller get afterwards? A text confirmation with the day and time cuts down on no-shows and repeat calls.
- What happens when the calendar is full, or the job is one you don't do? A good answer is that it offers the next real opening, or takes a message, and never books work you turn down.
- Which booking software do you already connect to, and what does connecting a new one cost? Ask for the list, and ask whether a client uses each one today.
Questions about emergencies and after-hours calls
- How does it tell an emergency from a call that can wait? For a plumber, a burst pipe and a dripping faucet are not the same call. You should be able to set the rules yourself, in your own words.
- Who gets the emergency, and how? Ask whether it calls or texts your on-call person, what it passes on (name, number, address, what is wrong), and what it does if that person doesn't answer.
- What does it tell the caller while they wait? A caller with water on the floor should hear what happens next and roughly when, not just that someone will be in touch.
- Can I change the on-call person for a weekend without calling support? Rotations change; the setup should keep up.
Questions about your number, your data and leaving
- Do I keep my phone number? You should. Most setups forward your existing number, so customers keep calling the number on your truck and your Google listing.
- Who owns the call recordings, the transcripts and the customer details? Ask where they are kept, who can see them, and whether you can download them.
- How long is the contract, and what does it cost to leave? Ask what notice you must give and whether anything has to be bought back.
- If I leave, what do I take with me? A good answer is everything that is yours: your number, your customer list and your call history.
Questions about setup and changes
- How long from the first call to live? Ask what has to happen in between and what they need from you.
- Will I hear it before it goes live? You should be able to call it yourself and try the questions your customers ask.
- How do I change hours, prices or services, and how fast does the change take effect? Seasonal price changes and holiday hours happen every year.
- Who do I call when something is wrong, and how fast do they answer? Ask whether you reach a person who knows your account.
- What does it say when it doesn't know the answer? A good receptionist takes a message and tells the caller when to expect a call back, instead of guessing.
Answer these about your own business first
The vendor can only answer well if you know your own numbers. Before the first sales call, write down:
- How many calls you get in a normal week and in your busiest week, from your phone's call history
- When the calls you miss come in: during jobs, at lunch, after hours or on weekends
- What counts as an emergency for you, and who should get it at night
- The services you do and don't do, your service area, and how you quote
- The calendar or booking app you use, and whether each person has their own schedule
Answers that should make you wary
- A price that cannot be stated until after you sign
- Booking that turns out to mean an email you still have to act on
- No clear rule for what counts as a billable call
- A long contract with a fee to leave, or a phone number you cannot take with you
- Changes that take a week and a support ticket
- No way to try it on your own phone before it answers your customers
How B&G Solutions answers these questions
We would rather you asked us all of them. Here are our answers; your exact price comes in writing before you commit.
- Price: flat monthly, from $149 a month, set by your kind of business and how many calls you get, and locked for 12 months. No per-minute charge, and no surcharge for nights, weekends or holidays.
- Contract: month to month, or 15% off with an annual plan.
- Booking: into the calendar or booking app you already use, with a text confirmation to the caller. Connecting booking software we don't support yet starts from $500, quoted before you start.
- Emergencies: calls you mark as urgent go straight to you or your on-call person, with the address and the problem already taken.
- Languages: English and Spanish, included.
- Your number: you keep it and your carrier, and forward calls to us. If you leave, your number, website, Google listing and ad accounts stay yours.
- Setup: about 48 hours from the first call to live, and changes to your hours, prices or services are usually live the same day.