Businesses need to have calls answered live to provide excellent customer service. Two ways businesses can provide live customer service are by hiring employees in-house or outsourcing to an answering service. 

Both approaches have pros and cons, but using an answering service is more cost-effective than hiring additional staff.

Using an Answering Service vs. Hiring Staff

Answering services use what is known as usage-based pricing. This means that businesses only pay for the services they use. No need to worry about benefits, vacation time, or other employee-related costs. This makes answering services a more affordable option for small businesses in particular.

When comparing the cost of using an answering service to hiring additional staff, it is important to consider all the associated costs. In addition to salary, businesses must also factor in the cost of benefits, vacation time, and other employee-related expenses. When these costs are taken into account, it is clear that using an answering service is the more cost-effective option.

Hypothetical Example: Comparing the Cost of Hiring a Receptionist to a Live Answering Service

The following hypothetical scenario illustrates the cost savings of using an answering service over hiring a receptionist.

Assuming an average of 12 calls per day at 3 minutes each:

Monthly Cost of an Hourly Receptionist

• $16/hour x 8 hours/day x 5 days/week = $640/week
• x 4 weeks = $2,560 per month

Answering Service Monthly Cost

• $250/month base for the first 280 minutes (then $.83 for each additional minute)
• 30 x 12 = 360 calls a month x 3 minutes = 1,080 minutes per month – 280 base minutes = 800 additional minutes at $.83 = $664
• $250 base rate + $664 = $914 a month

As this hypothetical scenario shows, using an answering service like Absent Answer is cheaper than hiring a receptionist, even when considering the cost of additional minutes used. Over a month, businesses would save nearly $1,600 by using an answering service.

That’s over $19,000a year!

This is a significant cost saving that can be used to invest in other areas of the business.

The Bottom Line

Answering services are a cheaper and more cost-effective way to provide live customer service than hiring additional staff. When all the associated costs are considered, it is clear that businesses can save a significant amount of money by using an answering service.

If you are interested in learning more about how Absent Answer can help your business, please contact us. We would be happy to answer any questions you have about our services and discuss how we can help you deliver a human touch 24/7!