How to Compose a Script for an Answering Service
An answering service is a must for many industries, such as the medical and plumbing fields. If the business is not available to answer, the answering service will field emergency calls and forward them to the proper person. An effective answering service must have a good script for operators to follow.
- Sit down with the business that you will be working with and find out what their needs are. They will need to provide you with a basic flowchart of what the operator should do in certain situations. If your service answers calls for a doctor, what should the procedure be if someone calls asking to speak with a doctor right away? The answer to this and other such questions will help you craft a script that will be applicable to the situations that will be encountered.
- Take all of the possible scenarios and begin to write a dialogue for the operator to follow. The operator should answer the phone in the same manner each time it rings. However, as the call continues, the operator will change scripts based on the situation. Write each script out as completely as possible; operators should have to “think on their feet” as little as possible. This keeps the answers that people receive on the line consistent no matter who is calling.
- Reevaluate the scripts as time goes on. You will find that some of your original scripts were not completely accurate or helpful as time goes on. Be willing to be flexible and make any changes where the are necessary.