Just curious what others do.....

[sythai]

Well been set up doing my own thing for just over a couple of years now - and off to Thailand for a well deserved break soon, few weeks with no phone, paperwork, internet = bliss

The question is what do I do with my answer phone message:

Option 1 - leave as it is ".... this is Simon from..... sorry I cant take your call I'll get back to you on my return.."

Option 2 - change it ...saying I'm on my hols and give a date I'll be back.

What do others normally do ? I'm not going to be checking my messages till I'm back either.

Many thanks,

Sy

 

[Guest123]

Dont go on holiday.:wink5::wacko:

 

[cbw]

I am in the fortunate/unfortunate position of havcing several staff now.

However, in the early days, I had subbies

Some of these were really good.

Do you ave a 'friend' you can leave in charge?????????

 

[cbw]

I LOVE Devon, perhaps I could come and stay down south with my family in your house and take care of Emergencys for ytou?>??????

 

[sythai]

Dont go on holiday.:wink5::wacko:

Well over due :ihih:

However, in the early days, I had subbies

Some of these were really good.

Do you ave a 'friend' you can leave in charge?????????

Do have a couple of subbies I use, but worry enough about what they're up to when I'm in the country.... so no go on that one really.

 

[sythai]

I LOVE Devon, perhaps I could come and stay down south with my family in your house and take care of Emergencys for ytou?>??????

Yeah like that one, I'll just put it past the Mrs :bucktooth:

 

[cbw]

House/business swap????

 

[cbw]

Perhaps its not such a pants idea.....I adore your part of the country.......

 

[JD6400]

Hi Simon
We all need a break from it now and again , none more than sole traders !
But the way i see it , if you were my sparks and I rang up with a break down / emergency and got either of those messages , you would no longer be my sparks !
Can you not find a fellow sparks that you could ask to cover at least breakdowns ?
I know you run the risk of them poaching customers but it would only be the ones that would probably of jumped ship anyway , and they might be looking for the same but have never had the bottle to ask anyone .
You could say on your answer phone message that you are away and that the number is only for absolute emergency's .
We have done this before for a local sole trader and i would hope it has helped him out .

 

[cbw]

Thats me.....We will come down and stay!!! I will cover you emergency call outs

Then you can come stay here, in sunny Suffolk......

 

[sythai]

Thats me.....We will come down and stay!!! I will cover you emergency call outs

Then you can come stay here, in sunny Suffolk......

Yeah I'll leave the dog for you also, and you can give my van a quick run the the block after a week or so. Got an occupied rewire thats gonna need first fixing.....

 

[sythai]

Hi Simon
We all need a break from it now and again , none more than sole traders !
But the way i see it , if you were my sparks and I rang up with a break down / emergency and got either of those messages , you would no longer be my sparks !
Can you not find a fellow sparks that you could ask to cover at least breakdowns ?
I know you run the risk of them poaching customers but it would only be the ones that would probably of jumped ship anyway , and they might be looking for the same but have never had the bottle to ask anyone .
You could say on your answer phone message that you are away and that the number is only for absolute emergency's .
We have done this before for a local sole trader and i would hope it has helped him out .

Problem sorted - thank you....

The only other sparks mate I would pass stuff onto is going away with us lot (stag do + wedding first followed by hols with Mrs)

But he's got a couple of chaps back here working for him and he's happy for me to give out his number for emergencies

Panic over

 

[DurhamSparky]

i use a nice answer service who take all my calls 24/7 and email me the customer detaiils!! NEVER MISS A CALL!

and tehy can explain that office is shut and if its an emergency they can ring xxxx which is a mates number!

 

[hydeselec]

Say you are going on holiday and the date you are returning. How annoying is it when you get to an answerphone that says they are unavailable and no indication why or when they will be available !!

Go on holiday and enjoy Thailand

 

[parker56]

I've got one of those, it's called her indoors:ihih:

 

[a12jpm]

What answer service do you use Durham if you don't mind me asking?

 

[llywelyn111]

Thailand. You never loose your Girlfriend, just your turn :angel_smile:

 

[Silly Sausage]

sythai, as Lenny says, don't go, the 5WWs might have taken all your business off you by the time you've come back!

Have a good trip!

 

[DurhamSparky]

What answer service do you use Durham if you don't mind me asking?

Call Answering Services | UK Call Handling | Call Centres Outsourcing UK

been using it for coming up 2 years!! if i could name a product that benefited my business this would be it!

 

[TaffyDuck]

Well Im lucky, when I was on my own I had a mate who would cover emergencies. Message went something like this. " Thanks for calling ****** Electrical Services, we are on leave for 2 weeks from (Date to date). If your are an existing or previous customer only and you have an electrical emergency please call my collegue ****** ******* on ***************** or alternatively leave a message and I will call you on my return" This cut out all the rubbish calls thats ****ed off my mate who was covering for me.

 

[Midwest]

I would be careful about saying you away on holiday, some 'customers' might take advantage and call round your house and relieve you of it's contents (if your address is advertised).

 

[Megavolt]

Call Answering Services | UK Call Handling | Call Centres Outsourcing UK

been using it for coming up 2 years!! if i could name a product that benefited my business this would be it!

Durhamsparky

How does this work how do they pass a messages to you. Very interested as we have a AM slote in office becoming available and this sounds like a good service that should save money

 

[Megavolt]

I would be careful about saying you away on holiday, some 'customers' might take advantage and call round your house and relieve you of it's contents (if your address is advertised).

Dam busted

But sadly true

 

[DurhamSparky]

Durhamsparky

How does this work how do they pass a messages to you. Very interested as we have a AM slote in office becoming available and this sounds like a good service that should save money

they basically answer the phone as YOUR company...! between you and the provider you design a simple script for advisor to follow...

mine basically asks them if it is an emergency call out or if they require quote.... end result is i get an email capturing all the details of customer address/tel and what they are after..! you can opt for text as well but i get emails to my phone so i dont bother..!

if its a call out i opted for the text service and also to pass my mobile number to client.


you canalso ask them to forward calls (at cost if you want)

 

[Megavolt]

they basically answer the phone as YOUR company...! between you and the provider you design a simple script for advisor to follow...

mine basically asks them if it is an emergency call out or if they require quote.... end result is i get an email capturing all the details of customer address/tel and what they are after..! you can opt for text as well but i get emails to my phone so i dont bother..!

if its a call out i opted for the text service and also to pass my mobile number to client.


you canalso ask them to forward calls (at cost if you want)

Sounds just what I'm looking for. What is your normally monthly cost for it

Thanks