When you check out answering services for your business, you have two basic options for fee structures. First, you can pay as you go, which means you’ll pay a minimum fee for so many calls or minutes, and then it will cost you more when you go over this limit. The second option is a flat rate answering service which bills you one low amount each month no matter what services you use. Let’s take a closer look at each option to see what each one has to offer.
Pay As You Go
Pay as you go services have some benefits. For example, they may provide human operators instead of automated systems. This gives patients a chance to talk to someone in a personal one on one manner. However, there is a downside to personal communications, because there is always the inherit possibility of human error.
What happens if a medical message center operator does not believe a caller and thinks the call is non urgent when in reality it is urgent? This could create a huge headache for the medical professional and this is only one possibility. An operator may be lazy or disinterested and tell a patient to take some aspirin and go to bed. However, this could result in disaster when lay people dole out medical advice.
A “pay as you go” service can be full of surprises and most of them are not pleasant. For example, you might be charged $400 for your first 150 calls. After this, the charges can escalate dramatically. So what happens when you have a very busy month, your answering service fees skyrocket.
With these services, you can never be sure what the charges will be from month to month. As a result, this makes planning and projecting a budget, very difficult.
Flat Rate Answering Service
When you choose a flat rate service for your answering needs, there are no chances for human mistakes, because most of these systems are completely automated. The system functions as it is programmed and always does the same thing in the same manner. You receive consistent service you can depend on.
Your flat rate answering service offers some of the most affordable options on the market today. Instead of paying hundreds of dollars for services, you pay a small fee each month, and it can be as low as $65. This makes budgeting very simple and it will be easier to end up in the black each month, once you lower your expenses.
If you would like to learn more about the advantages of a flat rate answering service, come to No More Phone Tag. We offer a free 14 day trial and no contracts to sign.
