During our busy, short excavating season my phone just seems to ring all day long, nonstop. We currently just purchased a existing gravel pit along with its business and I am not going to be able to keep up with all the phone calls for gravel deliveries on top of excavating requests. What I am hoping for, is a answering machine that says our greeting and then something like "press 1 for excavating requests or 2 for gravel requests" and I could route the number 2 call to our pit foreman. Anyone use anything like this or have any recommendations? Thanks
Why not get an office clerk? That way all calls are answered and you can pick and choose who you get back too.
A good office clerk could keep up on the paperwork and free you up to make money also. Personally I try to do business with folks that answer a phone. Them phone message systems in which you have to pick thru options drive me nuts and I often hang up if I have an option. Its hard to beat personal service.
I like the idea of an office clerk or whatever you want to call it. The pits I hauled out of all had scale houses so that would be a no brainer. Another option, especially since people *hate* answering machines, voicemail, press 1 for english, etc. would be a live answering service that can prescreen your calls and forward the live ones where they're supposed to go. Good ones are not cheap but less money than an employee and they can loop into your existing phone numbers. And they're there 24/7 to handle calls when you're having dinner or catching Z's. I have used them and customers much preferred talking to a live person and most customers never knew they were talking to a service.
We use Fortinet. https://www.fortinet.com/products-services/products/business-phone-systems/fortivoice-fortifone.html I hear the people that say get a secretary, and we are working that way, but so far I haven't found the right fit.