ASTRO COMMUNICATIONS INC

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q- I’ve never used an answering service before. How do you receive my calls?

A- This is a feature thru your telephone service referred to as “Call Forwarding” From your location you would follow the instructions for forwarding lines and enter your assigned forwarding number that we furnish you with. After activated we would begin receiving your calls until you deactivate this feature upon your return.

 

Q- Is there someway for the answering service to answer my calls if I am busy or forget to forward them? 

 A- Yes, Your telephone provider has another feature called “No Answer Call Forwarding” Once this is set up with your provider, we would receive your calls after a certain number of rings. We recommend this to all clients in order to eliminate the chance that you or an employee forget to call forward, or if a surge were to occur with your telephone company causing your call forwarding to drop. 

Q- How do I receive my messages? 

 A – There are several options. With all the technology available today we have numerous options for our customers. Our integrated software allows the customer to receive their messages either by Fax, Text or email. Additionally it allows you to receive, manage and acknowledge your call. Rest assured that any call that requires your immediate attention will be followed up with a confirmation from one of our agents.

 

Q- What does “Flat Rate” mean?  

 A- That means that your monthly rate is guaranteed to be the same each month regardless of how many calls we take or the amount of talk time we spend on your behalf. We also Do Not charge for anything additional such as faxing or making any changes to your account, regardless to the time of day.

 

Q- Are my calls recorded?

 A- Yes. We record all incoming and outgoing calls for quality assurance and training. We also make these calls available to our customers at no charge.

 

Q- How do I make changes to my account, such as on-call personnel?

 A- You can communicate with our agents anytime day or night either by telephone, fax or email. We realize that you may need to change something or advise us of a change in on-call. Most answering services today charge an additional fee if changes are made after normal business hours. We Do Not!

 

Q- Would my calls be answered by a Live Operator or a machine?

 A- We offer both live operator and automated answering for the same rate. The majority of our clients use live answer, such as our Funeral Homes and Corners Offices. However we do offer an automated feature that can be recorded in your own voice and can outline such things as your business hours and other pertinent information. During the recorded greeting, the caller has the option to press a predetermined prompt and be transferred to an agent immediately. Most of our medical (DME) providers use the automation which answers the vast majority of questions from the caller without speaking to one of our agents.

 

Q- How do your employees receive specialized training for certain type of customers?

 A- Our medical clients provide training to our agents whenever they introduce new equipment or as we hire new agents. They do this either in person or as a web based training. When a client offers training we make all of our agents, supervisors and managers available.