The Need For Live Operators During Emergencies

For a lot of companies and service providers, using an auto answering service makes a lot of sense for many reasons – economic, connectivity and management reasons including. It makes sense for companies and service providers to use such a service because it also means that they need not invest in full time office assistants and yet get all the benefits of being in touch with clients and other business. Most auto answering service companies can also offer niche services in terms of industry. Thus you can look for medical, contractors or utility answering services.

With an auto answering service, the users can also get customized answering services. Depending on the brief you give to such an auto answering service, you can get operators who will respond to customers in the precise way that you want them to. An auto answering service will need the involvement of a trained operator during emergencies – regardless of the nature of emergency. Natural disasters, automobile accidents, medical emergencies or even children in trouble will need the interactive communication mode deliverable by a live operator. However, most auto answering service companies also have agents trained to take care of such emergencies up to quite a large extent.

Another aspect of answering services is by the use of voicemail systems. Again, such a system may not be able to replace live operators completely during an emergency but if one were to learn about voicemail systems then one can use it in a manner that makes communication processes more effective. Voice mail enables the user of such a system to record messages that get played back to every single caller. Such a system can be used to deal with fundamental emergencies, it can be used to sell a company’s products and services and it can also be used to troubleshoot many customer related problems. For emergencies however, one thing we can learn about voicemail systems is that a machine cannot completely take over the abilities of a live operator.

Voice mail services are available on cell phones, corporate telephone exchange systems and with other service providers as well. With such a system, you will also learn about voicemail systems that you can use to ensure that not a single call goes unattended. Every caller will get to interact in some form or the other with your company and services. You can also personalize the voice mail message to make it more interactive and effective.

Emergency paging systems make it easier for customers to reach companies and services when they are under some kind of crisis. This crisis can be medical, crime related, service related and even because of some accidents like fire and natural disasters as well. Thus, emergency paging systems can enable a person under duress get in touch with your services that much quicker and get help. The best possible combination here is that the use of such emergency paging systems leads to the caller getting in touch with a live operator as soon as possible.

Such a live operator can then direct the caller accordingly and ensure that the message gets across to the right kind of service provider (doctor, police, fireman and so on) for prompt action. Most such services are heavily reliant on standard operating protocols which direct the agent in handling such calls. Emergency paging systems can be made to work in sync with existing systems and live operators as well. Thus the caller can use text messaging, web related methods or pagers for getting his emergency message across and the system will take care of it immediately.

Perhaps the need for a live operator is most felt when people use cellular telephones to make emergency or 911 calls. Cell phones and 911 calls enter into the slightly grey zone of location identification. When a person uses the landline to make 911 calls, then his location automatically shows up on the screen at the emergency center. But with the use of cell phones and 911 calls, the caller will have to ensure that correct and precise details on his location are given the moment he calls otherwise it might take a long time for the emergency help to reach him.

Users of cell phones and 911 operators will need to communicate more intensively simply because of this locational ambiguity. While 911 operators are trained to take such calls of distress and respond most effectively when it comes to cell phone users, it is important to know that it is essential to give the location details and nature of emergency immediately, after that the cell phone user needs to stay as calm as possible and answer the 911 operator’s queries as clearly as possible. Sometimes, cell phones and 911 calls connect via recorded messages. The biggest requirement here, again, is the ability to listen carefully to such messages and respond accordingly.

Will Automated Answering Services Replace Live Operators

Communication skills are rated, rightly so, very high in the world. Whether you are running a business, or are applying for a job or are into any kind of transaction whatsoever, the right kind of communication skills helps greatly. One of the biggest public relations avenues exist in the way your front office or customer service personnel deal with people who call your company. Aspects like non- availability of an actual person picking up the telephone, bad communication skills and incomplete or wrong information being imparted can mar your hard earned reputation.

So how can one ensure 24/7 telephone connectivity? One of the ways is by choosing an auto answering service. It might be essential for you to have 24/7 coverage but sometimes it is also simply too expensive a proposition. You can enhance your customer relationship management by choosing an auto answering service company to act as your front office assistant. With such a service, you will be able to get appointment scheduling, interactive voice response services, conference calling facilities and so on. Depending on the level of sophistication required, an auto answering service can help you streamline communications between your company and your clients.

Another effective way of replacing live operators is by using voicemail. To learn about voicemail systems you can do an extensive search online. Here are a few details to get you started on installing or choosing the most effective voicemail option. Typically, to learn about voicemail systems you could look at the simplest definition of the same. This is one of the communications systems that are used by businesses to help in receiving, storing and transmitting messages. Thus, when a caller dials a telephone number, he or she can get to hear a pre- recorded message which can give the caller an interactive guide to knowing more. For instance, when you call a telephone service company, you may be prompted by a voice message asking you to press ‘1’ for English, press ‘2’ to know about your current bill, press ‘3’ for call plans and press ‘4’ to speak to a customer service person and so on. Going through such a voicemail system will help you resolve your problems without even coming into contact with a live operator.

As to the question whether this kind of a system can replace a live operator? Up to a point, the answer is a qualified yes. For a lot of us, it is disconcerting to be in a communication mode with a machine. One would rather speak to a real live operator right away. But for the modern generation, speaking to or getting spoken to by a machine is rather normal.

One area where it is difficult to do away with a live operator could be in the domain of emergency paging systems. It may not be possible for a person going through some crisis to listen to a recorded message, press a series of numbers and then find the right service support.

Emergency paging systems can thus be deployed in accidents, fire break outs, crime, medical emergencies and even distress calls. For instance, if a person about to commit suicide calls a telephone help line, he may be guided back to life with the interaction of a real live operator trained in this area rather than by a machine asking him to press a series of numbers. Similarly, in the panic of a medical emergency, the last thing on a person’s mind is to press more than one number and sometimes, he or she may not be in a physical condition that allows him to even speak. Emergency paging systems thus come into play in more areas than one. There are various devices in the market that allow easy and one- step transmission of emergency messages to a multitude of devices thus helping in timely response to the situation.

Another closely related area is 911 calls. Again, here the services of a live operator cannot be dispensed with. Typically, 911 calls that originate from a land line or fixed line help the operator in getting a fix on your location as well. So in terms of cell phones and 911 do keep in mind that you will have to give them precise instructions to get to you. Connecting cell phones and 911 calls need to follow some protocols and as a cell phone user, it can help for you to keep these pointers in mind. While the 911 operator may get a fair idea of your location thanks to the cell phone tower that may be closest to your location, it is not enough to facilitate rapid response should you need the same.

Cell phones and 911 calls should therefore start with the caller giving his or location details immediately. Also included in the preliminary or first call is the necessity to give them details on what kind of emergency you are facing – medical, automobile accident and so on.

It is thus easy to conclude that live operators cannot be completely replaced by auto answering services.