customer success
24/7 professional live receptionists
Lead qualification and lead capture
Adjustable call scripting across franchises
customer spotlight
When choosing a contractor, customers need to feel confident that the contractor is not only reliable, but also trustworthy.
Trust begins with a genuine connection. There's no faster way to provide that personal, human touch than by answering every customer call with a live human voice.
Ace Handyman Services partners with AnswerForce to provide consistent round-the-clock customer service without resorting to automation or voicemail.
Our customers never hear more than four rings before speaking to a real person from AnswerForce.
John Berringer
Franchise Owner, Ace Handyman Services,
NW San Antonio and Boerne
I consider the service provided by AnswerForce to be as important as the laptop I have at work, and the tools my craftsmen have in their trailers. I just feel really strongly about it based on the results I have experienced.
growth journey
John Berringer knows that answering customer calls with a live voice is a key differentiator in the
home services industry. Discover how AnswerForce helps his business support all callers.
What led you to consider the benefits of working with a virtual receptionist team?
We follow a rigorous service path in order to provide quality experiences for our clients, and a critical part of that is the communication with our customers.
Customers are often surprised when they call up and a real person answers the phone on the other side. That's such an important positive. In this industry, being able to answer that initial call and avoid sending customers to machines or voicemail is a huge differentiator. We needed a call center that could help us provide that quality, constantly.
Was there a particular moment that highlighted the importance of a 24/7 answering service?
When we were looking for a call center, we wanted a hybrid approach. We needed a service that could handle national accounts, but also allow local franchises to answer their own calls, with backup support covering after hours.
Furthermore, we needed 24/7 availability. Approximately 25% of the calls we receive after 5pm are new service calls. We recognized that the consistency of capturing that extra business, day after day, would really add up.
Which aspects of an answering service matter to you?
As a small business owner, I need solutions that are easy to implement and affordable. For an answering service in particular, the human element is really important. I need my customers to feel like they're talking to someone local.
AnswerForce provides seamless connectivity, while aligning perfectly with our customer service methodology. We have a very defined process, and it was important to find an answering service that would fit into that environment without requiring us to change how we operate.
Which features have been particularly helpful?
Having the capability to handle our variable call volume has been super important. That doesn't just apply to after hours coverage; having call answering support throughout the day is an integral part of our daily work activity.
Call scripting has been great, too. It was a fantastic tool to have when we were transitioning to our new branding — we worked with the AnswerForce team to add in some verbiage to help bridge the gap and answer common queries.
And, of course, lead qualification is a huge bonus. I particularly appreciate how quickly the call agents can tease out the pertinent information from callers and give us everything we need to follow-up on new inquiries, fast.
What would you say to fellow business leaders who are considering a live answering service?
It's a no-brainer. To be specific, I'd say an answering service shouldn't be treated as a discretionary expense. It should be treated as required investment. Having that extra support also lets us gain back time that in-house staff would waste on spam calls that lead nowhere.
Plus, if I look at our current average revenue per job, I only have to capture two jobs per month for AnswerForce to pay for itself.
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Based on my experience, I'd consider an answering service just as important as my laptop in the office and the tools our contractors use on the job. The service feels like an extension of my team, and the AnswerForce support staff are great to work with.
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