The Highest Quality Telephone Answering Service in the United States

Centratel

Telephone Answering Service

hvac call answering service

Balancing Growth and Quality Service in HVAC: The Impact of a Call Answering Service

December 6, 2023
HVAC
By Centratel

The Strategic Impact of Call Answering Service on HVAC Business Growth

As an HVAC business, you understand the critical role of swift and accurate communication in driving growth. The strategic impact of a call answering service on your HVAC business growth cannot be overstated. It’s not just about answering calls; it’s about ensuring that every interaction is handled with the utmost professionalism and accuracy. With Centratel’s HVAC Answering Service, you’re not just getting a call center; you’re gaining a partner committed to your success. Our U.S. based operators are available 24/7, ready to handle everything from system breakdowns to scheduled maintenance inquiries. We understand the nuances of the HVAC industry, from the importance of immediate response to a malfunctioning Heat Pump or Furnace, to the complexities of Commercial Refrigeration systems. Our commitment to human engagement, coupled with our policy against outsourcing or using AI technology, ensures that your customers receive the best service possible. This, in turn, enhances your reputation, increases customer satisfaction, and ultimately drives business growth.

Manage Workload and Technician Availability

Managing the workload and technician availability in the HVAC industry is a complex task, especially when emergencies arise. This is where our call answering service plays a pivotal role. We act as an extension of your team, ensuring that every call is answered promptly and professionally, regardless of the time or day. Our operators are trained to handle a variety of HVAC scenarios, from Heating and Cooling emergencies to Air Conditioning maintenance and Refrigeration inquiries. By doing so, we help you manage your capacity effectively, ensuring that your technicians are dispatched only when necessary. This not only optimizes your resources but also reduces unnecessary costs. Our call answering service is not just about answering calls; it’s about managing your capacity efficiently and ensuring that your technicians are available when they are needed the most.

The Contribution of Call Answering Service to Business Continuity

In the realm of HVAC, the continuity of business operations is often contingent on the efficiency of communication channels. This is where a call answering service becomes an invaluable asset. By ensuring a seamless flow of information, it contributes significantly to business continuity. The HVAC industry, with its inherent emergencies and time-sensitive scenarios, requires a communication partner that can handle the heat. Centratel’s call answering service is designed to be that reliable partner. Our live operators, based in the U.S., are available round-the-clock, ready to handle everything from system breakdowns to scheduled maintenance calls. We understand the intricacies of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration systems, and the urgency that comes with their maintenance and repair. Our commitment to human engagement, coupled with our policy against outsourcing or using AI technology, ensures accuracy and speed in every call. This not only helps in promptly addressing HVAC emergencies but also aids in efficient scheduling of technicians, ensuring optimal utilization of resources. With our call answering service, HVAC businesses can focus on what they do best – providing quality service, while we handle their communication needs, contributing to their business continuity.

The Competitive Edge: HVAC Call Answering Service

In the fiercely competitive HVAC industry, gaining an edge can be the difference between thriving and merely surviving. This is where Centratel’s HVAC Answering Service comes into play. Our service is not just about answering calls, it’s about providing a seamless extension of your business, ensuring that every call is handled with the utmost professionalism and accuracy. With over 40 years of experience in emergency dispatch for HVAC businesses, we understand the urgency of Heating, Cooling, and Air Conditioning concerns. Our live U.S. based operators are available 24/7, ready to handle everything from a malfunctioning Heat Pump or Furnace to scheduled maintenance inquiries. Our commitment to human engagement, coupled with our policy against outsourcing or using AI technology, ensures that your customers receive the best service possible. This, in turn, enhances your reputation, increases customer satisfaction, and ultimately gives your HVAC business the competitive edge it needs.

Providing Immediate and Efficient Assistance

When an HVAC emergency arises, the need for immediate assistance becomes paramount. At Centratel, we understand the urgency that comes with a system breakdown or the need for scheduled maintenance. Our HVAC call answering service is designed to provide prompt and efficient support, ensuring that your customers’ heating, cooling, and ventilation needs are addressed without delay. Our live operators, based in the United States, are available round-the-clock to handle your calls. We don’t rely on outsourcing or AI technology, but instead, we commit to authentic human engagement. This commitment not only ensures accuracy and speed but also resonates with the challenges and emergencies your HVAC business faces. Our service is an indispensable extension of your team, providing the support you need to maintain the high standards of customer support your clients expect. Whether it’s a furnace failure, a thermostat malfunction, or a simple inquiry about energy efficiency, we’ve got you covered.

Handling Urgent HVAC Issues

Handling urgent HVAC issues is a critical aspect of our call answering service. The unpredictable nature of HVAC emergencies, be it a malfunctioning Compressor or a failing Heat Pump, demands an emergency response that is swift, accurate, and reliable. At Centratel, we’ve built our reputation on our ability to respond to these emergencies with the lowest error rate in the industry. Our live operators, based in the United States, are available 24/7, ensuring that your business remains connected and your customers’ needs are met without interruption. We understand the intricacies of the HVAC industry, from the complexities of Ductwork to the nuances of Energy Efficiency and Refrigeration. Our commitment to human engagement, coupled with our policy against outsourcing or using AI technology, ensures that we handle each call with the utmost accuracy and speed. This commitment allows us to resonate with the challenges and emergencies your HVAC business faces, making us an indispensable extension of your team.

Ensuring Customer Satisfaction

Ensuring customer satisfaction in the HVAC industry goes beyond merely addressing Heating, Cooling, and Air Conditioning emergencies. It’s about providing a seamless, efficient, and human-centric call answering service that resonates with the unique challenges of the industry. At Centratel, we’ve built our HVAC Answering Service on this very principle. Our live operators, based in the United States, are not just trained in handling calls; they understand the nuances of Refrigeration, Thermostat issues, Ductwork complexities, and Energy Efficiency matters. This industry-specific knowledge, coupled with our commitment to quality assurance, ensures that every call is handled with the utmost accuracy and speed. We don’t just answer calls; we provide solutions, ensuring that your customers’ needs are met promptly and efficiently. This commitment to customer satisfaction, we believe, is what sets us apart in the HVAC industry.

Get a Free Quote: The First Step to Enhanced HVAC Service

Embarking on the journey to enhanced HVAC service begins with a simple, yet crucial step: obtaining a free quote. This initial step is a testament to our transparency and commitment to providing a service that aligns with your specific needs and budget. Our HVAC Answering Service is designed to seamlessly integrate with your operations, becoming an indispensable extension of your team. We understand the intricacies of Heating, Cooling, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration systems, and the urgency that comes with their maintenance and repair. Our U.S. based operators are available 24/7, ready to handle everything from a malfunctioning Heat Pump or Furnace to scheduled maintenance inquiries. We pride ourselves on our low error rate, per-call pricing, and no long-term contracts. Our commitment to human engagement and our policy against outsourcing or using AI technology ensures accuracy and speed. We offer a variety of call delivery options and online message history access, making us an indispensable extension of your HVAC team. Our service is not just about answering calls; it’s about ensuring that every interaction is handled with the utmost professionalism and accuracy. This, in turn, enhances your reputation, increases customer satisfaction, and ultimately drives business growth. Get a Free Quote today and take the first step towards enhanced HVAC service.

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A Telephone Answering Service Representative taking calls at Centratel

Centratel is an elite national telephone answering service headquartered in Bend, Oregon. Centratel’s HVAC Answering Service assists hundreds of heating, ventilation and air conditioning businesses, during and after-hours. By a variety of statistics, Centratel is the highest quality answering service available anywhere.

Taking the Next Step

For more specifics on cost, to start the onboarding process, or to just talk to us, fill out this form with your basic information and if it’s during regular working hours (M-F 8am to 8pm EST or 5am to 5pm PST), we’ll get back to you within minutes. Or, during the above hours, you can simply call us at 800-664-7159 or send us an email to inquiry@centratel.com.

(And note: for a quick orientation on how we operate, take a moment to review one or more of the key points listed below.)

For more specifics on cost, to start the onboarding process, or to just talk to us, fill out this form with your basic information and if it’s during regular working hours (M-F 8am to 8pm EST or 5am to 5pm PST), we’ll get back to you within minutes. Or, during the above hours, you can simply call us at 800-664-7159 or send us an email to inquiry@centratel.com.

(And note: for a quick orientation on how we operate, take a moment to review one or more of the key points listed on the right.)

Terms of Service

Why Choose Centratel

BY SAM CARPENTER
September 1, 2024

1.CENTRATEL’S UNIQUE 30-DAY FREE TRIAL

Why is this important? Because it will provide you a truly accurate estimate of cost (we bill monthly), it will demonstrate our quality, and it gives both sides of this equation—you and Centratel—the necessary time to refine and perfect operational details.

Here’s a testimonial from a new medical client that had just finished their 30-day trial: “Of course, I love the cost as it is close to the amount I was allowed by the president of the company. I told him that if we did not continue with Centratel, I would resign as the Director of Customer Service, and I meant it. It’s a great fit. We have had NOT ONE complaint from a patient or in-house which, as you know, we received daily with our former answering service. I love you, Centratel, and the price. I’m ready to sign whatever documents you require. Thanks for the great service, and the free month! To a great partnership! -KB, Phoenix“

2.STATISTICALLY, THE BEST IN THE U.S.?

Answering service quality is 100% dependent on human action and reaction, and in the course of a single day a multitude of human decisions are made by the people who process the calls: Telephone Service Representatives, or TSRs. (Some answering services refer to them as “agents.” Others, “operators.”)

Like any other answering service, at Centratel we’re dealing with real live human beings and so human errors occur. But within this labor intensive service industry that is historically known for marginal quality, Centratel’s error rate is light years ahead of established standards. Our most recent Customer Reported Error Rate (April through June, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,491 message transactions processed. That statistic is unmatched.

There’s no artificial intelligence manipulation, we do not offshore calls, and we were founded and have always operated within the United States. (Note that since early 2020, the COVID six-foot social distancing mandate drove thousands of small-to-medium sized answering services out of business. Large, foreign-owned multi-nationals, often disguised by the name of the local answering services they acquired, now thoroughly dominate the industry. Hence, an even further decline in general service quality. See this analysis.)

3.CUSTOMER SERVICE EXTRAORDINAIRE

Your concerns and requests will be instantly acted upon. It’s a work ethic that stands out in stark contrast from the general quality decline in human-to-human business-customer communications. You’ve seen it yourself, all around. At Centratel you will know the customer service people you’re working with by name, appreciating their special listening abilities as well as their take-action-now comportments i.e. see the testimonial in point #1 above. ‘Nuff said!

4.GETTING STARTED: IT’S SIMPLE AND FAST

Getting your new Centratel answering service 30-day free trial started is accomplished within 24-48 hours. From the start, your “onboarding” customer service representative will be with you every step of the way, listening carefully to your concerns, answering questions, and offering suggestions.

5.NEW TO USING AN ANSWERING SERVICE?

A majority of our current answering service accounts switched to us from another service because of quality problems. However, if you have not used a service before, you are not familiar with the options, benefits, and pitfalls. As noted, our 30-day free trial provides you—and us—plenty of time to precisely refine your desired message-taking and delivery protocols; to get things exactly the way you want them to be without any financial risk, undue pressure, or obligation. 

6.PRICING

Starting at $89 per month, our rates rank in the mid-range of the industry. For call processing, we charge by the “transaction unit” rather than the duration of time spent handling calls. The three “mega-services” in operation in the U.S. prefer time billing because it ensures the company is compensated for lower-paid/high-turnover —and thus slower— agents. In any answering service, it takes a long time for a new agent to become fast, efficient, and stable. At Centratel, we have always sought to retain experienced agents (via higher pay and great benefits) and, therefore, engender low staff turnover. Needless to say, experienced agents make fewer errors than trainees who learn on-the-job.

7.ACCURATELY COMPARING ANSWERING SERVICE PRICING IS COMPLICATED

It’s apples and oranges. There isn’t an industry standard for billing, and each answering service has its own formula. Also, as noted above, some services charge by “time” while others charge by “work units.” Others combine the two. At Centratel, we charge for the work we do, not by the time we spend. The raw truth is that the only reliable way to determine monthly cost for a new service is to use that service for a solid month. Most answering services offer a 7-day free trial or no trial at all.

8.BEWARE: MONTHLY OR 28-DAY BILLING?

Important! At Centratel, we use a “monthly” billing cycle in which invoices are compiled from the first day of a month to the last day of that month. When soliciting quotes from other services, be sure to ask if the base-rate charges are billed monthly or on a “28-day billing cycle.” There is no good reason for a 28-day billing cycle! It’s bait-and-switch: customers billed on a 28-day cycle actually receive thirteen billings per year and therefore the overall cost is higher.

9.NO CONTRACT AND SIMPLE TERMS OF SERVICE

We do not require a yearly contract for service because we believe you should have the opportunity to evaluate us real-time, without restraint. Our terms of service are simple and straight-forward.

10.VALUABLE FREE GIFT FOR CONTACTING US

If you take the time to discuss answering service with us, on the same day we will ship you a hardcover copy of Sam Carpenter’s bestselling book, Work The System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, now in its 4th edition…but soon to be released in a 5th edition (August 2024). We’ll send you a copy of this 5th edition, too, when it’s released. (Sam is the founder and President of Centratel. December 1st 2024 marks his fortieth year of ownership.)