What is an answering service?

An answering service is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone. An answering service can also be referred to as a call center.

An answering service administers incoming product support or information inquiries from callers and can be used by large or small businesses to answer their main lines or any number of telephones within the company.

An answering service is connected to a telecom switch. One or more supervisor stations, agent work stations, and a majority of services are computerized. Increasingly, the voice and data pathways into the answering service center are linked through a set of new technologies called Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) and also through Digital T-1 Circuits.

Most major businesses as well as some small businesses use answering services/call centers to interact with their customers. Examples include utility companies, mail order catalogue firms, and customer support for computer hardware and software.

How can an answering service help my small business?

Answering services can help you increase sales and lower costs. With call answering and forwarding you can forward your main business line whenever you need a service to answer your calls based on a script that you create.