How to Choose a Telephone Answering Service: What Should You Look For?
If you've reached the point where you're considering a telephone answering service, there's probably a reason.
Maybe you're missing calls while you're busy.
Perhaps you're constantly stopping what you're doing to answer the phone.
You might have a receptionist or office team who simply can't get to every call.
Or maybe your business is growing and you want customers to receive a more professional and consistent experience when they call.
Whatever brought you here, choosing a telephone answering service isn't just about finding somebody who can pick up the phone.
They're going to be speaking to your customers, in your business name.
So how do you choose the right one?
Here are some of the things we'd recommend looking at before making your decision.
1. How will they answer your calls?
This sounds obvious, but it's one of the most important questions to ask.
A telephone answering service should be able to answer calls in your company name and follow instructions agreed with you.
Think about what you'd like your caller to experience.
Do you simply need somebody to take a name, number and message?
Would you like certain types of calls transferred to you?
Do callers regularly ask questions that the answering team could deal with for you?
Every business is different, so look for a service that can adapt its call handling rather than forcing every customer into exactly the same process.
If you're not sure how outsourced call answering actually works, our guide to what a telephone answering service is and how it works explains the process step by step.
2. Who will actually be answering?
It's worth understanding exactly who - or what - will answer your calls.
Some services use human receptionists, some use AI telephone answering, and others can provide a combination of both.
None of these options is automatically right or wrong.
It depends on your business.
A human receptionist can be particularly useful when calls are varied, sensitive or require conversation and judgement.
AI can provide additional availability, including outside normal office hours, and can work well for more structured enquiries.
A hybrid approach can combine human answering during office hours with AI cover when the human team isn't available.
We've explored this in more detail in our guide to AI Receptionists vs Human Receptionists.
The important thing is knowing what you're paying for and choosing an approach that suits the types of calls your business actually receives.
3. Will callers feel as though they're speaking to your business?
One of the biggest concerns businesses have about outsourcing their calls is:
“Will my customers know?”
A good answering service should take the time to understand your business, how you like calls handled and the information your receptionists need.
They don't need to pretend they're sitting inside your office.
But the experience should feel joined-up and professional.
Your caller shouldn't feel like they've reached somebody who knows absolutely nothing about the company they're trying to contact.
Ask how the provider learns about your business, how instructions are stored and how changes are communicated to the people answering your calls.
4. What happens to your messages?
Getting the call answered is only half the job.
You also need to know what happens next.
How quickly will you receive the message?
How will it be sent?
What information will be included?
Can urgent calls be treated differently?
Can calls be transferred where appropriate?
Think about what will work in your normal working day.
There's little benefit in having every call answered if important information then sits somewhere you don't regularly check.
5. Can the service grow and shrink with your business?
Your call volume probably isn't identical every month.
You may have busy periods, seasonal changes, staff holidays or unexpected increases in enquiries.
Look at how flexible the service is.
Can you move between packages?
What happens if you receive more calls than your allowance?
Can you use the service temporarily if you don't need permanent cover?
Can additional support be added later?
This is particularly important for small businesses, where paying for capacity you don't need can quickly become expensive.
If you only need occasional or temporary support, short-term telephone answering may be worth considering rather than committing to something designed for permanent use.
6. How does the pricing actually work?
Don't compare telephone answering services purely on the headline monthly price.
Look at what's included.
Questions worth asking include:
How many calls or messages are included?
What happens if I exceed my allowance?
Is there a setup fee?
Are call transfers included or charged separately?
Is there a minimum contract?
Are there additional charges for changing instructions?
What happens if my call volume increases unexpectedly?
A cheaper package isn't necessarily cheaper if the way your business uses it results in lots of additional charges.
Equally, there's no point paying for a huge allowance you'll never use.
The best option is the one that matches the way your business actually receives calls.
7. Do you need every call answered, or just the ones you can't get to?
Outsourcing your calls doesn't have to mean handing over your telephone completely.
Some businesses divert all incoming calls to an answering service.
Others only need help when they're already on the phone, away from their desk or too busy to answer.
That's where call overflow can be useful.
You can continue answering calls yourself, while having another team available to catch the calls you would otherwise miss.
For many small businesses, that can provide the right balance between keeping calls in-house and making sure customers still receive an answer when things get busy.
8. What happens outside normal office hours?
Think about when your customers actually call.
If most enquiries arrive between 9am and 5pm, human office-hours cover may be all you need.
But if customers regularly call in the evening, early morning or at weekends, ask what happens outside the provider's normal hours.
Some businesses use a hybrid telephone answering service, with human receptionists handling calls during office hours and AI providing additional out-of-hours cover.
Again, it isn't about having the most technology.
It's about choosing the right cover for your callers.
9. How easy is it to make changes?
Businesses change.
Staff join and leave.
Opening hours change.
People go on holiday.
You launch new services.
The instructions your answering service follows today may not be the instructions you need them to follow six months from now.
Before choosing a provider, find out how updates are handled and how quickly changes can be made.
A telephone answering service should make running your business easier - not create another complicated system for you to manage.
10. Do you trust them with your customers?
This might be the most important question of all.
Price matters.
Technology matters.
Opening hours matter.
But you're ultimately trusting another company with something incredibly important: the first impression your callers receive of your business.
Speak to the provider.
Ask questions.
Look at reviews.
Find out how long they've been providing the service.
And pay attention to how they communicate with you before you've even become a customer.
If they're difficult to contact when you're considering buying from them, that's worth thinking about when you're deciding whether you'd like them speaking to your own customers.
So, what should you look for in a telephone answering service?
There isn't one provider or package that's going to be right for every business.
The right service should fit around:
the number of calls you receive
the type of conversations your callers have
when you need cover
how you'd like messages handled
how much flexibility you need
whether you prefer human, AI or hybrid answering
and, importantly, your budget.
Don't be afraid to ask questions before you decide.
The company answering your telephone may become the first person a new customer speaks to.
It's worth choosing carefully.
How That's My Call works
At That's My Call, we're a family-run telephone answering service based on the Wirral, supporting businesses across the UK.
Our human receptionists answer calls in your business name and follow the instructions agreed with you, whether you need ongoing telephone answering, overflow support, short-term cover or a virtual receptionist.
We can also provide AI and hybrid telephone answering for businesses that need additional flexibility or out-of-hours cover.
We don't believe every business needs exactly the same solution.
The important thing is understanding how your business works first and then deciding what level of support actually makes sense.
If you're considering telephone answering and aren't sure which option would suit you, get in touch with That's My Call and tell us how your calls currently work.
We'll help you work out what you actually need