FAQs and all the answers.

AnsweringService.com clients are predominantly small businesses, but we also provide virtual reception services for SMEs and corporations. This includes professional service providers such as accountants and attorneys, home service providers such as plumbers and roofers, cleaning companies, HVAC contractors, property management companies, realtors, IT firms, motor dealerships and more.

AnsweringService.com has been answering calls for United States businesses since the late aughts.

Phoenix, Arizona. However, our virtual receptionists answer calls for businesses right across the US and also in Canada. We provide answering services from Los Angeles to NYC, and from Miami to Seattle, Anchorage and beyond (including Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver).

Average Speed of Answer (ASA) is a key metric for any answering service and we proudly answer within 3 rings on average (less than 10 seconds), which is considerably faster than a typical call center.  This is achieved by using enterprise-grade software that enables seamless global call routing when required, such as during unforeseen peaks in call volumes. Calls are always answered by AnsweringService.com’s team of US-based receptionists whenever possible during standard office hours, with overflow to highly-trained receptionists in the United Kingdom, Australia and Jamaica occurring after hours or when a call simply can’t be routed to any of our local receptionists within an acceptable timeframe because they’re already all handling calls.

Yes, you can have calls answered by AnsweringService.com at any time of day or night.  We have virtual receptionists available around the clock and you simply need to advise us that you want after-hours answering turned on.

Sí!  We have bilingual receptionists who speak both English and Spanish, plus a team of Spanish-speaking receptionists who can handle calls to dedicated Spanish-speak phone lines, so we can absolutely answer inbound calls for your business if you have customers who are native Spanish speakers.  Our bilingual service is included with every account at no extra cost.

You betcha!  Whether you’re sending all calls to us or only the calls you can’t answer in-house, one of the huge benefits of using AnsweringService.com is that we have a whole team of virtual receptionists, so we can handle multiple calls to your business number at the same time.  That means calls you’d usually miss simply due to your line being tied up,  which you may not even realize has been occurring, will be answered.

Absolutely!  A call overflow service can easily be provided and controlled via your call forwarding settings.  Simply set your advertised business number to divert to your AnsweringService.com receptionist number only when the phone rings for a specified duration or if your line is engaged.

You absolutely can!  If you have a short-term need for help answering inbound calls – whether for a day, a week or a month – we can provide the solution.  Because we offer monthly subscriptions with no lock-in contracts and no cancellation fees, if you need a temporary answering service due to staff absences, an office closure, increased call volumes or any other reason, you can simply sign up for one month.

We sure can!  Our MessageExpress service is exactly that and it’s the most affordable answering service we have available.

Zero.  In fact, neither MessageExpress nor our Answer services have any set-up fees.

MessageExpress is a message-taking answering service, with no option for interaction with your caller beyond greeting them and asking if they can take a message.  The Answer service tends to provide a more seamless experience for callers, who are typically totally unaware the receptionist isn’t part of your in-house team or isn’t located within your business premises.

Certainly.  At least on any plan other than MessageExpress and depending on what the query is.  On our Answer plans, receptionists can answer common questions callers may ask in relation to your business.  On our MyAssistant plans, you can also provide receptionists with answers to more specific FAQs.

No!  On our solutions that include call transfers when appropriate, Answer and MyAssistant, you can list an unlimited number of staff or departments as internal contacts on your account.  Each can then receive call transfers (on landline or cell phone) and messages (via email or SMS).

Immediately.  You can modify your caller greeting and, depending on your plan, update your call transfer availability, message preferences and instructions for receptionists in real-time within our online client portal.

Yes!  Our receptionists always provide a warm call transfer, rather than a blind call transfer.  If a receptionist attempts a transfer and you pick up, they will introduce themselves and advise the caller’s name to enable you to accept or decline the call.

Zilch.  At least in terms of monetary cost!  You aren’t required to provide credit card details and there’s no strings attached.  There is of course a cost in terms of time, but it’s very minimal as our answering service free trial includes instant activation and involves a very simple set-up via our online client portal.

A few minutes, in most cases!  Our answering service free trial includes instant activation.  After that, simply follow the provided instructions to forward your number and our team of virtual receptionists can start answering calls for your business straight away.  Amazing, hey!

Signing up for our 7-day free trial will likely help you understand what your call volumes will likely be each month, as you can track every call answered and all messages received within our online portal.  Should you misjudge your call volumes initially, rest assured you can easily upgrade or downgrade your monthly subscription at any time without incurring additional costs.

Yes!  Whether you’re finding you’re getting more calls or fewer calls than originally anticipated, you’re expecting a temporary increase in call volumes due to a promo or seasonality, or your business is growing, you have total flexibility when it comes to upgrading or downgrading your plan.

You’re going to love this answer.  No! At AnsweringService.com your subscription simply continues month-to-month until you cancel and you only need to provide 30 days’ notice.  There’s no lock-in contracts. And no cancellation fees.

Yes.  In fact, you can choose the number to be associated with your service – whether a local number or a toll-free number, for which additional charges apply.  You can then advertise this number or, if you have an existing business number you already advertise, you then simply forward calls from that number to your AnsweringService.com receptionist number.

You certainly can.  Whether your business currently advertises a local number or a toll-free number, you can either:

• Forward calls from that number to the Receptionist Number associated with your AnsweringService.com account
• Request to port the number from your existing provider to AnsweringService.com, which may allow you to save costs

Certainly.  In addition to the number you choose when activating your answering service, you can add on as many additional business numbers as you wish – whether local numbers or toll-free numbers.  Most of the time phone numbers can be set up for you instantly, pending availability.

Our monthly billing cycle is fully automated, with invoices emailed to you and also available within your online client portal.  Payment by credit or debit card is required (we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover).

Yes!  Local phone numbers and toll-free numbers can also be ported out at any time, should you ever choose to discontinue using AnsweringService.com’s services.

AnsweringService.com currently provides answering services within the United States and Canada.

The AI receptionist listens to your callers’ requests, provides helpful responses and takes messages. If a caller’s needs are too complex for AI to handle, a live receptionist will seamlessly take over the call.

Our AI receptionist helps streamline call handling, reduces wait times, and ensures that no call goes unanswered. It offers an affordable solution that combines the efficiency of AI with the reliability of human support when needed.

If you’re a small to medium-sized business looking to cost-effectively handle your calls, an AI receptionist service could be a great fit. It’s ideal for those who want to try AI while still having access to live receptionists for more complex needs.

Keen to experience whether an AI reception service is a good fit for your business? Simply sign up for a one-month AI call answering free trial and our team will get in touch to help you get setup.

A call diversion service can provide a simple, fast and economical way for a business to appear larger or to expand its presence interstate or nationally. An entrepreneur who runs several businesses, each with their own advertised number, can also use a call diversion service to have calls for all businesses answered on a single number (whether a cell phone or a number at physical business premises).

Unless you have an associated live call answering service or voicemail-to-email service with AnsweringService.com, any unanswered calls will be managed by whatever existing solutions you have in place. As an example, typically on a cell phone, an unanswered call would go through to the telecommunication provider’s own voicemail service.

You sure can.  Very easily via your online client portal, with any number change taking effect immediately.  Additionally, during business hours our customer support team can make the change for you.

Voicemail is an electronic audio recording of a message left by a caller, commonly used on cell phones.  Our Voicemail-to-Email service enables voicemail messages to be sent to you by email.  This way no voicemail is ever unintentionally missed and you can save messages for as long as you need.

A voicemail message will be sent via email as a .wav file attachment immediately after someone leaves you a new voicemail.  To access, you simply need to open the email and double-click on the .wav file.  This will then play the voicemail message through your computer or cell phone audio.

Yes. When signing up for a live call answering service, call diversion service or voicemail-to-email, you can choose an exclusive phone number with a local area code for free. Or, for an additional cost, you can upgrade to a toll-free number. You can either advertise this number directly or forward calls to it from your existing business number. Alternatively, you may wish to port an existing local or toll-free number from your current provider to AnsweringService.com.

You sure can! AnsweringService.com can provide you with multiple numbers in different area codes right across the US. Advertising local numbers in multiple cities or states can give the impression your business is more established or has a larger coverage area. Alternatively, if you have a nationwide customer base, we can provide you with a toll-free number.

A toll-free number is ideal if you want to advertise your business nationally or allow callers to contact you at no charge.

Yes!  Local phone numbers and toll-free numbers can also be ported out at any time, should you ever choose to discontinue using AnsweringService.com’s services.