The Highest Quality Telephone Answering Service in the United States

Centratel

Telephone Answering Service

hvac telephone answering service

Boosting Small HVAC Businesses: Tackling Competition and Market Differentiation with a Telephone Answering Service

December 20, 2023
HVAC
By Centratel

Overcoming Your Competition with an HVAC Telephone Answering Service

In the highly competitive HVAC industry, differentiating your business from the competition can be a daunting task. One effective way to gain an edge is by utilizing an HVAC answering service. At Centratel, we offer a specialized HVAC Answering Service that is designed to meet the unique needs of HVAC businesses. Our service is built on over 40 years of experience in emergency dispatch for HVAC businesses, including those dealing with Heating, Cooling, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration systems. We understand the urgency of HVAC concerns and are committed to keeping your business connected without interruption. 

Our live U.S. based operators are available 24/7 to handle your calls, whether it’s a system breakdown, scheduled maintenance, or a simple inquiry. 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. By partnering with us, you can focus on what you do best – providing top-notch HVAC services, while we handle your calls with the utmost professionalism and efficiency.

Stand Out in the HVAC Market with Superior Customer Service

As an HVAC business, standing out in the market is crucial, and superior customer service is the key. In a competitive industry like HVAC, where technical expertise and service quality are expected, exceptional customer service becomes the differentiator that sets your business apart. It’s about creating a positive, memorable experience for every customer, from the first phone call to the moment they receive your top-notch services. The role of a telephone answering service in this regard cannot be understated. It serves as the first point of contact for your clients, setting the tone for the entire customer journey. A professional answering service ensures that calls are answered promptly, queries are relayed efficiently, and customer concerns are registered with empathy and expertise. This level of responsiveness not only improves customer satisfaction but also builds trust and loyalty, which are invaluable in a service-based industry.

At Centratel, we understand the unique challenges of the HVAC industry, from handling emergency breakdowns to scheduling routine maintenance. Our telephone answering service is designed to meet these needs head-on, providing a seamless extension of your team. With our live U.S. based operators available 24/7, we ensure that your customers’ calls are handled promptly and professionally. We are proud of our low error rate and our commitment to transparency and consistency. With Centratel, you can focus on what you do best – providing top-notch HVAC services, while we handle your calls with the utmost professionalism and efficiency.

Human Engagement in the HVAC Market

In the HVAC market, the role of human engagement cannot be overstated. The complexities of Heating, Cooling, Air Conditioning, and Ventilation systems demand a level of interaction that transcends the capabilities of AI or outsourcing. At Centratel, we’ve built our reputation as a market differentiator on this principle. Our telephone answering service is a testament to our commitment to human engagement. We believe in the power of genuine human interaction to understand the urgency of HVAC concerns. Our operators, based in the U.S., are available 24/7, ensuring that your business remains connected without interruption. This commitment to human engagement is what makes us the best in the market, as we strive to stand out in the industry with our low error rate, per-call pricing, and no long-term contracts. We are an extension of your HVAC team, ensuring business continuity and meeting the urgency of HVAC concerns with speed and accuracy.

The Role of Client Communication in the Competitive HVAC Market

Client communication plays a pivotal role in the fiercely competitive HVAC market. It’s not just about responding to calls; it’s about establishing a dialogue that fosters long-term relationships with clients. Effective client communication is multifaceted, encompassing clarity, consistency, and personalization, all of which are crucial in differentiating your HVAC business from competitors. Our approach goes beyond mere transactional interactions; it involves understanding the unique needs and preferences of each client and accurately relaying them to your on-call technician or staff, especially when emergencies arise.

Leaving a lasting impression on customers in the HVAC industry is a crucial aspect of business success. A telephone answering service can play a pivotal role in this. At Centratel, we understand the importance of first impressions and the impact they have on customer retention and loyalty.

Our HVAC Answering Service ensures that no call goes unanswered, no matter the time of day or night. Our live operators are trained to handle every call with the utmost care, whether it’s an urgent message relay for an on-call technician dealing with a system breakdown or a simple inquiry about Heat Pumps or Mini-Split systems. Our commitment to accuracy and speed, backed by our low error rate, ensures that your clients receive the best possible service, enhancing their trust in your HVAC business. This level of client communication is what sets us apart in the HVAC market, making us an indispensable extension of your team.

Get a Free Quote for Your HVAC Company

Ready to take your HVAC company to the next level? A dedicated HVAC Telephone Answering Service can be the game-changer you need. With Centratel, you get more than just an answering service. We provide a seamless extension of your team, ensuring every call is handled with the utmost professionalism and accuracy. Our operators, based in the U.S., are available around the clock to handle everything from emergency dispatches to routine message-taking about Heat Pumps or Mini-Split systems.

Our commitment to human interaction, coupled with our stringent screening process, ensures that your clients receive the best possible service, enhancing their trust in your HVAC business. And with our clear and predictable per-call pricing, you can easily manage your costs without compromising on quality. Ready to experience the difference? Get a Free Quote today and see how our HVAC Telephone Answering Service can help your business stand out in the competitive HVAC market.

Image by 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 if you have questions, 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
December 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.)