Tagged with: live virtual receptionist

Ruby is Partnering with Dell to Help Even More Small Businesses!

By | 08.11.2011 |

Small business owners wear many hats, and the Ruby® Receptionists team adores helping these busy professionals look good by handling their calls with care. That’s why we’re excited to announce that Ruby’s virtual receptionist service is being featured on all of the new Dell Vostro models starting this August!

The Vostro line is optimized for small businesses and comes with the My Business Toolkit, a helpful bundle including offers from Ruby Receptionists, Web.com, Trend Micro Anti-Virus, Dell DataSafe Backup, and FedEx. Vostro users will be treated to live virtual reception, website hosting, and automatic data back-ups, among other benefits.

Our live virtual receptionist team helps small businesses across the nation improve their image and provide dazzling customer service. We are looking forward to being able to provide our friendly, professional service to even more companies through this partnership!

Share

How a Virtual Receptionist Service Can Bring out Your Inner Don Draper

By | 07.13.2011 |

Photo by Jonathan Mueller

If you’re an ad exec or work for a creative agency these days, you may covet Don Draper of AMC Mad Men‘s coolness factor. He’s slick, he’s hip, he says all the right things. But let’s face it, he has a lot of help. Would he still be so mysterious and cool if he were answering his own phone? Or worse yet, if he were available 24/7 on his cell phone?

These days you don’t need an in-house pool of receptionists to help you achieve the professionalism and charm of Sterling, Cooper, Draper, Price; Ruby can help! Here are five ways a friendly virtual receptionist service can help your agency:

Appear more professional. Most of the time, people don’t expect to get the head honcho on the phone immediately. Since the time of switchboards, it’s become the norm to speak with an intermediary before reaching your desired party. You may not have the need or budget for an in-house receptionist, but with a virtual receptionist service like Ruby, your callers won’t know the difference!

Enhance your company’s image. With the technology available today, you may work with designers who are spread out all over the country. Whether you’re under one roof or work with a slew of remote employees, Ruby can present a unified image for your business. Every call is answered with the enthusiasm and care one would expect from a posh agency, at a fraction of the price of an on-site receptionist.

Work where you’re inspired. To get those artistic juices flowing, sometimes you need to break out of your normal routine. You may want to work one day at a local coffee shop, energized by the bustling crowds (and, of course, caffeine) and the next you may want to brainstorm in a park. With our handy whereabouts tool (and iPhone app!), our virtual receptionists are able to transfer calls to wherever you are.

Manage interruptions. Of course, you’d like to take calls when you can, but when you’re on a creative roll or stepping into an important meeting with a client, feel free to let our virtual receptionist team know. We’d be happy to hold your calls while you create your next Glo-Coat-like masterpiece.

Increase productivity. With our virtual receptionists as a resource, you’ll be able to manage your time more wisely. We can even make outbound calls on your behalf to relay information or confirm appointments! You can then block out your time to make the best use of your talent.

And since your virtual receptionist service is helping you be more productive…maybe you’ll have a little extra time to catch up on episodes of Mad Men!

Share

An Unbeatable Team: Virtual Receptionists and In-House Staff

By | 03.10.2011 |
Virtual receptionists and in-house receptionists: an unbeatable team

Photo by Michael Pujals

We’ve talked a lot about how a live virtual receptionist service can make a great first impression for your business. However, what if you have already have someone in-house who can answer phones? Here are four reasons having a backup phone answering crew can help your business:

Your in-house receptionist needs to focus on a project. The beauty of having support on-site, is that he or she can also do side projects that an answering service or virtual receptionist service might not. If those projects need special attention to detail or require them to run an errand, though, that leaves the phone in the lurch.

Someone’s at the door. In the same vein, an in-house receptionist is a friendly face for anyone walking into your office. While they are helping visitors and clients in person, Ruby will answer your calls — your clients are taken care of, no matter where they are.

There are simply too many calls. No doubt every small business owner dreams of hearing the sound of the phone ringing off the hook. But are some of those prospects slipping through your fingers because of long hold times or when calls roll to voicemail? If your receptionist is tied up, our team will seamlessly spring into action, answering and routing calls without you having to worry about what you’re missing.

Your staff needs to eat. Let’s face it, no one person can work 13 hours a day, five days a week (plus Saturdays!) — but Ruby can! Our virtual receptionists are like your own friendly, cheerful reserves, ready to step in whenever your in-house help needs a break or time off, or just isn’t feeling her best. And rather than paying salary and benefits for another employee, Ruby only charges for the time the virtual receptionist is involved.

Many of our clients utilize Ruby® Receptionists as a helpful and convenient back-up, including Oklahoma law firm Parman and Easterday.

Elizabeth Gillum, the firm’s Director of First Impressions, says, “The friendly and accommodating voice that consistently answers the phone and introduces themselves as ‘Ruby’ makes our callers feel confident that their issues and concerns are going to be taken care of. If our receptionist is in a meeting or away from her desk, and we are expecting an important call, we are completely comfortable knowing that Ruby Receptionists will be handling that call with professionalism, grace, and accuracy.”

She went on to say that “clients often ask about ‘Ruby’ and compliment her on her cheerfulness, helpfulness, and willingness to help them!”

Our friendly virtual receptionists thrive on being an extension of your team, working together with you and your staff to keep clients and customers happy. Want to find out more? Check out our helpful FAQ or post your question below!

Share

Meet Kate and Christina: Your Newest Client Services All-Stars!

By | 03.08.2011 |
Former live virtual receptionists and newest Client Services Associates Kate and Christina

Introducing Kate Carroll and Christina Messinger!

If you’re a client of Ruby® Receptionists and have called to speak with a member of our skilled Client Services department recently, you may have noticed a few new voices on the other end of the line. We’ve recently added two new full-time Client Services Associates to the team: Christina Messinger and Kate Carroll! Both of these talented team members started out in the role of live virtual receptionist, honing their customer service skills by answering phones with the best of them. What better way to get to know them than with a Q&A in their own words:

What appealed to you most about a position in Client Services?

Christina: I knew when I started as a virtual receptionist that I just had to build a career here. Ruby Receptionists has such an amazing culture — I’ve never felt so genuinely cared for by an employer. Client Services really just seemed like the obvious choice for me — I absolutely love being a problem-solver and thinking on my feet!

Kate: I am someone who loves to solve problems and make people happy. My new job is a beautiful combination of these two things. Clients contact us with challenges they are facing, questions about the way we handle their calls, or changes that they’d like made to their account. The client services team gets to WOW them by coming up with innovative ways to fix problems, answer questions, and tweak our services in order to best meet the their individual needs.

What do you think makes Ruby’s Client Services department so special?

Christina: It’s hard to narrow it down to just one thing, but I would say it’s each person’s dedication to a high level of service. Every member of the Client Services department has one priority: to give our clients the red carpet service that they deserve!

Kate: The people. The people, the people, the people. Ruby Receptionists is a company filled with fantastic people who always are willing to go out of their way to help with anything possible. As a virtual receptionist, I got to see this in action as it related to our callers and coworkers. Now, as a part of the Client Services department, I am getting to see how we extend that helpful attitude to our clients as well — constantly going above and beyond to make sure that they are getting exactly what they need and are making the best use of the services we have to offer.

What are you looking forward to in 2011?

Christina: 2011 is going to be a great year for Ruby, we all have so much to look forward to! Personally, however, I’m most looking forward to getting married on July 1st!

Kate: A new job, a new apartment, a new side of town…all sorts of good things!! Oh, and summer’s coming. I love summer in Portland.

Share

Ruby Takes #2 Spot at the “100 Best Companies to Work For” Awards!

By | 03.04.2011 |

“You want to know how to get a crowd going? Say one word: Ruby.” 

That’s how Oregon Business Editor in Chief, Robin Doussard, kicked off her presentation last night night amidst cheers… and this was even before we learned where we ranked! The whole group from Ruby® Receptionists was absolutely thrilled when they announced that Ruby is the #2 medium-sized “Best Company to Work For in Oregon!” 

Almost forty of Ruby’s virtual receptionists and support staff attended Oregon Business magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon” event last night, and I’m sure we made quite an impression. We brought our usual Ruby enthusiasm to the whole night: enjoying our coworkers’ company after a break from answering phones, making new friends with the other nominees, and listening to some wonderful speeches, including inspiring remarks from local grocery chain New Seasons Market’s President Lisa Sedlar.

In 2010 we earned the #19 spot in the Small Companies division of the list and were extremely happy to have made it on the list on our first try. After experiencing some phenomenal growth over the last few years, we were excited to take the plunge in the Medium Companies category (described as 35-99 employees). Aside from being ranked second among other medium-sized businesses, we were proud to learn that this year we also ranked #1 in Performance Management, #2 in Career Development and Training, and #3 in Benefits and Compensation in the medium category. This is definitely a tribute to the hard work our Receptionist Services department does every day; checking in personally with each virtual receptionist and providing on-going training through “Ruby University.”

What makes the “100 Best Companies to Work For” award particularly meaningful to us, is that it’s based on survey responses from our staff. We were especially touched to see the video interviews from Staff Manager Ang Gray and virtual receptionist Sara-Lee. Check out their thoughts as well as those of employees from a number of other top companies on what makes a great place to work:

We’d also like to give some shout outs to a few of our fellow “Best”-ers: Congrats EO friends Michael Leland of Mortgage Trust and Jim Smith at McKenzie Books! Both nabbed spots on the list, and it was great to have the opportunity to spend a little more time with them. Congratulations as well to Emerick Construction for making the list! It was great to meet you! And who could forget Stumptown Coffee Roasters? We’ve been asked a few times what is in the water up here in Portland to make us so darn friendly, and, you guessed it, a couple caraffes of piping hot Stumptown at the ready definitely keeps us smilin’!

Thanks again to everyone who makes Ruby such a great place to work, and congratulations to everyone who made the list!

Share

Answering the Phone: Easily Confirm Information with a Spelling Alphabet

By | 12.21.2010 |

Do you keep a spelling alphabet at your desk? If you answer telephone calls and take messages, our expert virtual receptionists recommend it! The live virtual receptionists at Ruby® Receptionists often use these guides to confirm spelling when they are handling calls and taking messages.

Just what is a spelling alphabet, you ask? It’s a list of words used to clarify letters: A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo, C as in Charlie. You’re probably somewhat familiar with the International Civil Aviation Organization alphabet used by the police and military during radio communication (and often referenced in cool action films). We equip each new virtual receptionist at Ruby with a copy of the ICAO alphabet. Check it out on your left! We also give our phone answering experts a copy of the list you see on your right, which we tweaked ourselves — we like to have options, because after all, asking “Was that P as in Papa?” might sound weird, right?

Creating a spelling alphabet of your own can be fun.  When crafting a spelling alphabet, be sure to pick words that capture the unique sounds of letters. P as in potato is great; P as in peach is not, because peach rhymes with beach, and P rhymes with B. The point of a spelling alphabet is to make distinguishing between similar-sounding letters a cinch, so take special care when picking words for sound-alikes such as M and N, P and B, and S and F. Whether you use the ICAO or make your own, a spelling alphabet is a great way to improve your phone answering and message-taking chops!

Share

Small Business Tip: How to Plan an Inspiring Incentive Campaign

By | 11.04.2010 |
Incentive campaigns keep our virtual receptionists sharp

Photo by Steven Depolo

Oh, the incentive campaign. The mere mention of an incentive campaign, and you’ll either be a kid in a candy store, or you’ll be shakin’ in your boots. I myself get giddy just thinking about the potential. Incentive campaigns are one of our favorite motivators here at Ruby® Receptionists; our team of virtual receptionists are top-notch because we support them in developing their phone answering skills while fostering a little happiness in the process.

Think you can’t host an incentive campaign because of the size of your company or your limited budget? A little goes a long way! Here are four tips on getting started:

Set clear goals. What are you hoping to achieve with your incentive campaign? Are you trying to increase your numbers, move a certain product, build teamwork, improve a particular skill set? Let that be your starting point to build the game.

Know your team. Don’t just make some generic campaign — really think about your audience and who will be participating. What motivates them? Think carefully about the tasks as well as the reward; it will make them feel invested and the participation level will be much greater.

Pick the right reward. It’s true that we all love a monetary reward, but cash is not the only motivator. For example, because our virtual receptionists are female and quite a few of them are novice chefs, kitchen gadgets — and prizes such as manicures and spa days — are always favorites at Ruby. Consider what you want to achieve when you set prizes as well — would a group prize (like a pizza party or a new fun toy for the break room) or an individual prize be more fitting to your campaign?

Build a budget. Incentive campaigns do not have to be expensive. No, really — they don’t! Small tokens of thoughtful appreciation are so important to morale; just focus on the little things that make people’s days better. Small prizes like a long lunch, ice cream parties, gift cards, etc. can be really well-received if you present them thoughtfully.

I’ve already shared a few of our campaigns – like Random Acts of Happiness and Rubies for Rubys. What are favorite campaigns that you’ve hosted or been involved in?

Share

Three Reasons to Call When You Need to Say “No”

By | 11.02.2010 |
Dazzle callers like Ruby Receptionists' live virtual receptionists

Photo by Michael Pujals

In addition to answering phones for clients, we also make a fair number of outbound calls here at Ruby® Receptionists. Our talented live virtual receptionists often make outbound calls to relay information or confirm appointments on behalf of clients; our Sales team regularly makes calls to potential clients in order to answer questions about how we’re different from an answering service; and our Client Services team makes calls to current clients to follow up on how the service is going and to make changes to clients’ accounts. Our team also writes a lot of emails, but we’ve found it’s best to call when we need to say “no” for any reason, even when responding to an email or online query. Here are three reasons why we think you and your team do the same:

1. It’s easier to convey tone over the phone. The tone of an email can easily be misconstrued, and even the most carefully-crafted written response can fall flat when it contains disappointing news. Furthermore, a “no” can seem like a dead-end — even if you send the perfect message, you might not get a response when it contains a ”no.” When you call, though, you get the chance to converse, and a pleasant back-and-forth is easier to achieve in conversation than in email. Calling increases your chances of having an upbeat exchange.

2. Calling is a great way to WOW. What if your company doesn’t offer the service someone is seeking. So what? Any opportunity to communicate is an opportunity to showcase your company’s integrity and dedication to customer service. Calling doesn’t take a ton of effort, but it does take more effort than replying to an email, and that extra effort shows you care. It’s an easy way to make a great impression.

3. You just might get a referral out of it… or learn something, or make a new friend — or who knows! Sure, you’re saying “no” to something, but you’re also reaching out to a person who is interested in learning more about your business. Who knows where a friendly chat will lead! Even if you end up leaving a voicemail, you’re likely to stand out when you call. When you stand out, you and your business are likely to be remembered. And when someone has a positive image of you and your company, they’re way more likely to send business your way.

Bottom line: we’ve found that calling to deliver a “no” can’t hurt, and it can actually help in a lot of ways.  Give it a try, and let us know what reaction you get!

Share

Three Ways to Prepare for an Employee’s Perfect First Day

By | 10.14.2010 |

The Ruby welcome gift every new virtual receptionist receives

At Ruby® Receptionists, we understand the importance of making a great first impression. Our clients count on us to do just that, and our remote receptionists deliver stellar first impressions with every call they answer. But our dedication to great first impressions isn’t limited to telephone answering – we aim to ensure that every new employee receives the best introduction possible. Where first days are concerned, we’ve found that a little planning goes a long way. Try these three preparation tips to ensure that first days are fantastic at your office:

Create a game plan. Who will greet the new employee? Who will give the employee a tour? Who will train the employee, and what materials are needed? It may seem excessive, but a first-day game plan is invaluable. Sketch out a schedule, and prepare any training materials beforehand. And get started on the game plan early–as soon as you know you’re hiring someone new, ideally. If you feel unprepared, your employee will most certainly sense your apprehension, and that does not make for a good impression. A new employee should know that your team is hardworking, organized, and efficient from the moment they walk in the door, and there’s no better way to send that message than by treating your employee to smooth, thorough first day.

Make a shipshape workspace. Is the new employee’s keyboard a little dusty? Get to dust-busting! Nothing makes a poor impression like an unclean office. Make your new employee’s workspace is spic-and-span, and while you’re at it, stock your employee’s desk with supplies. Test your employee’s telephone, headset, computer, and any other equipment, and make sure all necessary software is installed and working properly. Set your newbie up for success!

Add a personal touch. At Ruby, we place a welcome gift on each new employee’s desk, along with a handwritten notecard from the employee’s manger. These touches serve to make a new employee feel like part of the team from the get-go. You may not have room for a gift in your budget, but be sure to place a welcome note on any new employee’s desk. A heartfelt hello does wonders without costing a penny!

If you have any first-day tips to share, please comment–we’d love to learn how you welcome new employees to your team!

Share

Receptionist Etiquette Tip: Three Phrasing Musts

By | 09.28.2010 |
Old school virtual receptionist; aka, an in-house receptionist

Photo from the Seattle Municipal Archives

The remote receptionist team at Ruby aims to sound stellar during every call we field.  Try these three tips from our telephone answering experts, and you’re sure to make a great impression over the phone! 

1. Avoid filler words such as um and like, uh-huh or mm-hm.  Using fillers can be a tough habit to break, but it’s a worthy goal to work toward.  Cutting these expressions out of your vocabulary is a surefire way to exude professionalism. 

2. Pronounce words fully, and try not say anything you would not write. Here are a few guidelines to help keep you sounding superb: 

     Say yes. Skip yeah and yep. 

     Say no. Skip nah and nope. 

     Enunciate going to rather than saying gonna. 

     Enunciate to rather than saying ta. 

     Enunciate supposed to rather than saying supposta. 

     Enunciate could have and would have rather than saying coulda and woulda. 

     Replace mmkay and ‘kay with okay or yes. Better yet, try absolutely or certainly. 

3. Our live virtual receptionists know that being positive is a key part of being professional.  Make the most of positivity, and use expressive words when you have the opportunity. Saying wonderful, fantastic, and great shows enthusiasm and care, and as mentioned above, affirmative words like certainly and absolutely make a great impression.  Give these exuberant expressions a whirl!

Share