Many business owners might realize that it’s hard to balance running the business with doing day-to-day tasks like answering the phone. So, if there was a way to help alleviate any of that stress, would you do it?

In order to cut back on the worry of having to constantly answer the phones, many business owners will turn to answering services. These services will work for you and answer all of your phone calls, giving you time to step away from the headset. But, when you’re looking for a phone service to work for you, there are a few questions you should ask.

The first thing you can ask is “How many reps do you have answering phones?” This is an important question to ask because it determines how many people will be available to answer your business calls. Some centers, unfortunately, may tell you that they answer the phone on the first ring, but then they’ll put the customer or client on hold because there isn’t enough staff to talk to everyone. About 80% of people say they will hang up on a business if they are sent to voicemail, which is something you want to avoid Make sure you can find an answering service that will answer the phones and stay on the line with the customer until the issue or reason for the call has been resolved.

It’s also a good idea to ask the call center what their hours are. Do they offer after hours phone answering services? Does their phone service open up at 8:00 a.m. or later? When do they close and when can your customers expect to get a busy tone? You also have to ask them what time zone they are in. This all depends on where your business is located as well because you’re likely to get the most customers located in your time zone rather than another.

Once you’ve figured all of that out, it’s important to figure out which services they offer. Ask them if they will book appointments for you. Find out if the people working in the center can speak different languages. This is helpful because you might have multilingual clients calling and they’ll feel the most comfortable talking to someone in their native language.

Phone services are a big help for a business owner. Just make sure you’re asking the above questions when looking for the perfect service for you.