A business in the service industry is defined as any business that does work for a customer. These services could include anything from food services to household contracting such as plumbing and HVAC. In many cases, service businesses are running a tight ship, with employees wearing many hats. Outsourcing is a highly debated topic among those in the industry and for good reason. When your business pays the bills, how can you trust someone else with your customers?

Starting a business means that, at some point, you hope to grow bigger. Believe it or not, sounding bigger can do a lot for your image and help contribute to your bottom line. You’ve heard the expression, “Dress for the job you want”? Making your business sound big is the way your small business is dressing for the part.

Humility is a great virtue but as a business owner, sometimes you have to shout from the rooftops. At A Better Answer, we’re proud of our history, our team, and the level of customer service we provide our clients. Every month we highlight calls where our call handling heroes went above and beyond what was expected. Our trophy wall continues to line up with awards in customer service. Testimonials come in monthly from our awesome clients.

But can A Better Answer handle your business? Let us elaborate on what we can do for you.

If you’ve ever experienced a frustrating call to customer service, you may already understand how empathy is a preferred customer service trait. Generally, when making a call to a business, a caller is looking for assistance and hopes someone will listen to them. An empathetic ear can make a difference in how the call is handled and whether the caller continues to do business with your company.

Empathy, however, is a skill that must be practiced and honed. Here are some tips on how and why empathy is good for your business.

Not every answering service is the same. There are, however, certain things that a customer should look for, at a minimum, when hiring an answering service. This post will be a guide to questions and answers to consider.

Summer is here and all of your Facebook friends seem to be taking a vacation somewhere. You’re a business owner and you’ve been working your tail off all year long. You deserve a vacation, too, don’t you think? And preferably one that doesn’t include a laptop.

Earlier this year, a UK based answering service conducted a research study on consumer perceptions of business call handling. According to the research, 55% of respondents stated that they would take their business away from companies that relied on call automation instead of a real person. Even more said that they would choose another business rather than speak through an automated call handler.

We are proud of our award-winning customer service team. To create your own great customer service team, use this handy guide when hiring!

Negativity can affect anyone – especially when there is ongoing negativity. In some cases, such as a customer service environment, it is imperative to shake off as much negativity as possible. The dark and heavy emotions not only can lead to illness but also affect your ability to provide quality care to your clients and customers. We have a few steps to help stay positive in a negative situation.

The winter weather in Texas has been crazy lately. We've had 65 - 70 degree weather followed closely by sudden drops in the temperature and rain. The worst case was the past few weeks with snow and ice putting all of the Dallas-Ft. Worth area under high alert. Major freeways were shut down but at ABA, we were still fully operational.