The Highest Quality Telephone Answering Service in the United States

Centratel

Telephone Answering Service

hvac answering service

Leveraging Answering Services for After-Hours HVAC Calls: Why Centratel Stands Out

October 30, 2023
HVAC
By Centratel

The HVAC industry is rife with unique challenges and emergencies. From unpredictable fluctuations in energy prices to gas leaks in systems, professionals constantly find themselves amidst a maelstrom of potential crises. Here, we delve deep into why Centratel’s answering services resonate with the dynamic demands of HVAC businesses.

The Pulsating Challenges of the HVAC Realm

Technological Advancements and Retrofits: As the world leans heavily into technological evolution, HVAC businesses grapple with the necessity to retrofit older systems and upgrade to the latest advancements. This sometimes means dealing with intricate nuances like managing modulating burners, updating systems to handle R-410A refrigerant, or transitioning to energy-efficient geothermal solutions.

Seasonal Demand Variations: The HVAC realm experiences considerable ebbs and flows, from surges in demand during peak summer and winter months to lulls in the transitional seasons. This wave-like pattern demands agile operational capabilities, with businesses needing a robust communication backbone to handle such fluctuations.

Technician Training and Retention: An HVAC professional’s expertise spans across myriad topics from understanding the nuances of a refrigeration cycle to effectively managing CFMs. As such, businesses constantly face the uphill task of retaining trained technicians while ensuring ongoing education on the latest industry developments.

Regulatory Compliance and Green Technologies: With increasing environmental consciousness, HVAC businesses are pushed to embrace green technologies. Transitioning from traditional Freon-based systems to those operating with eco-friendly R-410A refrigerant, while ensuring adherence to ever-tightening regulations, is no small task.

Inventory Management Amidst Equipment Malfunctions: With a plethora of components such as condensers, compressors, and the intricate thermostats, managing inventory is a logistical challenge. Add to it the recurring equipment malfunctions, and businesses often find themselves in a quandary about prioritizing repairs over new installations.

Emergent HVAC Crises and Centratel’s Answer

Gas Leaks and The Assurance of Human Engagement: Gas leaks are perilous. The immediacy required in handling such situations mandates authentic human engagement, something machines or AI cannot replicate. Centratel prides itself on not relying on AI technology for call handling, ensuring that when a gas leak call comes in, a human voice provides assurance and quick processing.

Carbon Monoxide Exposure and 24/7 Vigil: Another silent but deadly issue, carbon monoxide exposure needs immediate attention. With Centratel’s 24/7 answering service, clients are assured that no call goes unnoticed, regardless of the hour.

Complete System Failures and Transparent Billing: When an HVAC system breaks down completely, businesses are often inundated with calls. Centratel’s unique billing system charges for the work done rather than time spent. This fixed fee structure ensures that even during a crisis, businesses have clarity on communication costs.

Electrical Shorts and Seamless Communication: Handling electrical shorts requires rapid response and coordination between technicians and clients. Centratel’s commitment to delivering messages via multiple platforms, be it email, SMS, or fax, ensures prompt action without any communication barriers.

Ductwork Breaches and Digital Access: A breached ductwork can affect HVAC efficiency and air quality. With Centratel, clients can access their message history online, eliminating the need for time-consuming calls or staff inquiries, thereby accelerating the troubleshooting process.

Navigating After-Hours With Centratel

One might wonder, why exactly does an HVAC business require an after-hours phone answering service? HVAC emergencies don’t clock out at 5 PM. The furnace might fail during the dead of night, or a commercial chiller might malfunction over the weekend. Centratel’s 24-hour answering service ensures that businesses are always prepared, even during the unpredictable after-hours.

For a more granular insight into how Centratel can augment your HVAC business’s communication capabilities, navigate to their specialized HVAC answering service page. Or, if you are contemplating an upgrade in your telephone answering service, why not get a clear picture of the costs? Visit the price quote request page and take the first step towards streamlined, efficient business communication.

Conclusions

Centratel’s prowess isn’t just about answering calls. It’s about understanding the complex interplay of challenges and emergencies that HVAC businesses navigate daily. From handling life-threatening emergencies like gas leaks to managing the nuances of fluctuating seasonal demands, Centratel emerges as a partner that resonates with the dynamic demands of the HVAC world.

Image by master1305 on Freepik

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
October 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 (July through September, 2024) was 1 customer-reported error for every 6,077 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. Large “mega-services” operating in the U.S. prefer time billing because it ensures the company is compensated for lower-paid/high-turnover — and thus slower — agents. No matter the quality or how long they keep your callers on hold, they still make a profit. And yes, it can get expensive.

In any answering service, it takes a long time for a new agent to become fast, efficient, and stable. At Centratel, we pamper and reward experienced agents (via higher pay and great benefits) and therefore have extremely 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 agent “time” while others charge by “work units.” Some 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 5th edition. We’ll send you a copy just for contacting us. (Sam is the founder and President of Centratel. December 1st 2024 marks his fortieth year of ownership.)