When Disaster Strikes!

When Disaster Strikes!

Dec 23

This blog post has been inspired by recent events for a number of Answer-it clients.

 

If…..

Rudyard Kipling famously wrote in his opening lines of ‘If’ ‘If you can keep your Head when all about you, Are losing theirs.’  We like to think that when the worst happens Answer-it offers a life line and helps to keep you and your business afloat in the interim until normal service can be resumed.  The service can be set up within minutes so a full on disaster can be averted swiftly.  The following are a few examples where Answer-it has been able to assist.

Choices.

There was the Brand Communications Agency, who had big problems earlier this year with their broadband connection and their telephones. At any one time only one or the other was working. Because they use Answer-it they were able to make a clear choice and make sure the phones were answered by the ‘Answerette Team’ and concentrate on  their web based work and responding to Emails etc…  All messages were Emailed through to them and they were able to respond by Email, or later when the phones were working again.  They did not have to run the risk of missing a call, a potential contract or worrying any of their clients when the phone was not working.

Huge Phone System Issues.

Another of our clients a new car dealership had huge issues both with their phone system and their telecoms provider. When the telephones went down they sprang into action and asked the provider to divert all their calls to Answer-it. The Answerette Team were able to take all the calls for the dealership and  help the client manage customer expectations in terms of when they could expect a return phone call, as the client also had issues with outbound calls.  Most of the callers were very accommodating even going into the 3rd day of the client having no telephones.  Answer-it were able to keep everyone informed and business continued very much as usual, with new customers, service customers still being able to book their vehicles in for work or get updates on the progress of work. The brand manager commented that without using the service, business would have been lost.  Using Answer-it  helped maintain the service levels and kept the business going on a lighter note he mentioned that without using the Answer-it Service things would have been very ‘peaceful!’  The telephones were restored by lunch time on day 3.

Flood!

An independent High St optician who uses Answer-it to take telephone calls when they are with patients and customers had a few issues caused by the recent cold weather, not least a burst pipe and a flood into one of the testing rooms meaning they had no power or phones and could not  record an answerphone message to keep people informed and  the shop had to shut. Using Answer-it off site meant that any phone calls to the shop were managed and all customers and patients were kept well informed.  Customer expectations were managed, for example callers who wanted to book appointments or find out if spectacles were ready or wanted to order contact lenses were made aware of the situation.  The owner of the business said that rather than have to worry about the phones or having to contact his telecoms provider to divert lines, he knew that 1 call to Answer-it was enough to know the team could take care of things, and he was free to concentrate on the bigger issues, like mopping up and cutting holes in his ceiling!

Br Prepared and Glide Elegantly!

So like the best Boy Scout or Girl Guide ‘Be Prepared’  Keep our details close at hand, just in case!  Your business can still appear as the elegant swan gliding along while all the  frantic paddling is going on out of sight.