Virtual Receptionist

    I despise calling the bank, drugstore, VA, or any business/agency with an endless web of an answering service. I really dislike the one’s that prompt me to speak the commands. Maybe it’s my fading Alabama accent, but I usually have to repeat the command several times before the Virtual Nazi either moves on to the next stage of the voice web or hangs up on me.

   It seems that most companies are replacing real people with phone forwarding and answering technology. Live receptionists are becoming a thing of the past.  Furthermore, if you happen to be the lucky one to finally speak to a “real person”, they are usually sitting in a cubical in India or the Philippians and barely speak English; that’s another story.

   Although many of us are very annoyed at this technology, John Dodge of SmartPlanet (http://www.smartplanet.com) identifies some benefits for having virtual receptionists. In his article, “Virtual Receptionists Replacing the Real Thing”, he points out that, unlike human receptionists, virtual receptionists have the capability of working 24/7 for a fraction of the cost and no benefits. For the business person, they can screen and forward calls no matter where you are. In line with his view, I think this technology is cost beneficial for companies. Onebox Receptionists Service costs $50 to $100 per month depending on the number of extensions. Not only can their virtual service screen and forward calls to your cell phone, they can also forward calls to your email. Another service provider, Voiceshot, allows you to manage your account on the web. The premier service provider I found is Davinci Virtual Receptionist. Their features include personal appointment scheduling, order processing, customer service, and live outbound and sales calling. Companies can hardly pass up these high-tech cost savings; especially in today’s economy.

   Overall, I can see the benefits of a virtual receptionist for any company or agency; however, I would like to see a study on how much business is lost because of this. There have been a couple times I have moved on to a competitor because of a non user-friendly voice web. One occasion, I was on hold for so long with a government agency, I sent them a fax (while remaining on hold) stating how long I had been on hold and the nature of the call. A real person called me back within minutes on my other line. I placed them on hold to disconnect from their virtual receptionist who I think was sleeping. Therefore, as a customer, I would rather talk to Big Bertha on a Friday evening who’s rude, crude, in complete relapse and late for an AA meeting in which she is the chairperson. I don’t like the Virtual Nazi.