Answering Service for Group Tour Business: How to run your business from the beach

Imagine running a business that takes you around the globe. Sounds fun, right? Now imagine needing to take and make phone calls with spotty cell service, international roaming charges, and differing timezones from your customers.

Kind of takes the fun out of enjoying the beach, doesn't it?

That was the experience that Patty and Kathy from Patty's Tours of Reno, Nevada were facing as they traveled with large group tours to places like the Bahamas, Ireland and Africa. In the middle of the night or the middle of a congratulatory toast, they would receive a phone call from a customer wanting to book their next tour. Torn between providing an amazing experience for their customers on tour with them, and giving excellent service to customers from their next upcoming tour--something had to change.

Patty's Tours had heard about Tel-Com Answering Service from another growing business trying to juggle working for clients with answering the phone.

Patty laughs, "I have such a control issue that I have a really hard time not answering the phone."
Kathy chimes in, "She's nosy! She likes to hear from our guests and know exactly how their experience was!"

Many business owners can relate to this fear of handing over the voice of the business. Business owners want consistency and control in the connection between sales and customers. 

Giving up this control has been one of the best business decisions for Patty's Tours. Now, calls don't get missed when they're out on the road. 

How do you have your Answering Service set up?
Patty's Tours sets the phone to forward when they're on the road, or if they need some R & R for the evening. 
The answering service sends a text message to both Patty and Kathy, which allows both business partners to stay up to date on any emergencies. This is helpful when a customer is running late to meet them at the bus! They can each assist in passing on messages to the driver and the rest of the group.

At the end of the day, Patty and Kathy sit down and review the calls that came in during the day, and divvy up return calls.

All messages also come through to their email, which is extremely helpful when traveling out of town with inconsistent cell service. Email acts as a back-up and a place to retrieve customer information.

What do you love most about using an Answering Service?
"The bill is so cheap! This is such an affordable way to expand a business' presence and ability to serve more customers," Patty comments.

Kathy adds, "I have worked for answering services before, and what I love about Tel-Com, specifically, is that I can talk to an operator and give them changes to the script. So--if we're going to be out of town for a long cruise, I can ask the operator to pass that information onto our customers. This helps with our customers' expectations."


Patty, with that wise glow in her eyes, offers in thanks, "There's a beautiful piece to making a business virtual. We're on a beach in beautiful 90 degree weather and have the ability to jump on the phone for an hour. Tel-Com helps make this lifestyle a reality."


Interested in testing out an Answering Service? Give us a call and mention our Featured Client: Patty's Tours!

---