Why Use Us?

At AnswerLIVE™ we understand something that far too few in our industry fully appreciate: the very survival of your business depends on us. Everything we do revolves around the fact that we are the difference between satisfied customers and lost revenues.

While we are very cost competitive, we also understand that poor performance from your telephone answering service costs you infinitely more than you will ever pay in fees.

Our number one priority is that you are never embarrassed in front of a customer, and that you never miss a call. Our telephone agents are highly trained professionals, and with our state-of-the-art redundant technology platform, everything possible is done to ensure we never go down.

In business since 1977, we have over 1,600 satisfied clients across North America and in many industries, and our average client has been with us for over seven years. Although we are quite large enough to provide you with outstanding reliability and professionalism, our many call centers throughout the country are all small operations, giving you the friendliness, flexibility and accessibility of a small business.

We offer the most comprehensive portfolio of services in the industry, so no matter what you might need in the future, you can rest assured you won’t have to go somewhere else. And we are always eager to work with you to develop new services or tailor existing services to your specific needs.

At AnswerLIVE™, we are the business behind your business, always at your service, 24/7. Give us a call at , and let us show you how we can serve you.

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How to Select a Teleservice Provider

No matter who you choose, please don’t make the mistake of choosing a provider based on price alone. All teleservice providers are not created equal, and there is nothing more expensive than a cheap telephone answering service.

Remember that as far as your customers are concerned your telephone answering service is you. A poorly trained, poorly spoken, difficult-to-understand or even rude operator will cost you customers and can destroy the image you work so hard to present. Ring-outs (where the call is not answered) long hold-times or lost (or useless) messages will make your customers dissatisfied with you, damaging the perceived quality of your product or service.

Unfortunately, the teleservices industry is filled with fly-by-night providers of low competence and with questionable ethics, and if you choose based on the lowest price, you can very easily wind up with a disreputable firm, and the worst part is you won’t know until it is too late.

We also recommend you ask your prospective telephone answering service the following questions:

• Will my calls be answered in North America or overseas?
• Can I have my calls recorded?
• May I have a few names and numbers of clients, so I can call in for them and check your quality?
• How long have you been in business?
• How long has your average client been with you?
• Can you give me a few names and numbers of clients who have left you?
• Does your technology protect me from service outages? How so?
• What happens if I decide I don’t like your service? How long does it take to cancel? Is there any penalty?
• When is the last time you raised your rates?

Investigate all your alternatives carefully, considering all the costs and benefits, and we’re highly confident you'll choose us.

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Beware of the “Fixed-Rate Scam”

“Any number of messages for $25!” Ever heard this one? It sounds too good to be true, because it IS too good to be true, and the worst part is that the unfortunate business that uses one of these services doesn't learn the truth until it is already too late.

After all, how many messages could a telephone answering service possibly take for $25 and still make a profit? 50? 500? 1,000,000? The truth is, one of two things typically happen: the customer will use less than what he is paying for (not good), or more than he is paying for (much worse). Generally the customer with “too many” messages will be hit up for a higher fee, which he will have to pay if he is to avoid the inconvenience and disruption of finding another service. Even worse, his calls and messages can simply be dropped, cutting the provider’s cost but costing you dearly in damaged reputation and lost business.

Moreover, providers that operate these structures often minimize cost by operating on a shoestring, which means poor quality and reliability. Remember, as far as your customers are concerned your telephone answering service is you. Do you want your business represented to your customers by someone like that? How much can a lost call, missed message or offended customer cost you?