The Secret to This Contractor’s Success? Great Customer Service.

By Ruby 

Elder Demolition’s bottom line increases after they stop worrying about missing calls and start using Ruby’s receptionist service as back-up for their in-house receptionist. 

Like most small businesses in the industry, Elder Demolition knew that in order to level up they would need to cut back. Taking on any job they could was keeping them busy but not necessarily making them more profitable. It wasn’t until a member of Portland’s Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) inspired Founder and President JD Elder to narrow his scope of services and widen his profit margin that he found his solution on how to take on more quality jobs.  

“Once we had honed in on what we wanted to offer,” he said, “the number of people in our office went from eight to two or three.” Business continued to boom throughout the company’s shift in services and having a smaller office staff worked well—most of the time. 

A little help when you need it  

Providing quality customer service is the secret sauce in any business endeavor and being available to answer when clients come to call is critical to success.  

“We have an office manager, one or two estimators, and a fields operations manager in the office,” said JD. “Despite having people available to pick up the phone, there were moments when call volume exceeded the number of bodies in the office. I didn’t want callers going to voicemail during working hours. I needed a different solution.”  

Having the bandwidth to answer calls isn’t a new dilemma for the industry, or for small businesses in general. In fact, almost two-thirds of all calls to small businesses don’t get answered. Wanting to make sure his callers reached a real person and had a positive experience, JD found Ruby through his EO chapter.  

“I knew about other answering and voicemail services, but Ruby’s reputation as an extension of your business made them stand out. Ruby’s service is personal, and that’s not easy to find,” said JD. Receptionists serve as backup to keep JD and his employees productive. Available 24/7, Ruby assists Elder Demolition in answering calls when the office crew is already tied up on the line or focused on another task.  

“Trusting Ruby with our calls gives us just enough time to wrap up a task and hop on the phone with a customer that would have otherwise been sent to voicemail,” said JD. “Ruby sounds like they’re right in our office. I’ve had employees call into the office asking when the new receptionist was hired—even they couldn’t tell the difference!” 

In addition to transferring live calls, Ruby collects necessary information and relays messages when speaking with a caller isn’t an option for JD or his team.  

“If we can’t take the call, Ruby takes a message and sends over an email notification, right away. If I am in a meeting with a client, I can forward the message to someone who can quickly follow up — and I don’t even have to pick up the phone.” With clients in different time zones, having Ruby available to answer calls before and after business hours has proven beneficial.  

“With Ruby serving as a backup to the office staff,” JD said, “I have peace of mind knowing that my calls are being answered by a professional team of receptionists, and I’m not missing out on any business opportunities.”  

A slice of advice  

“It’s kind of funny,” said JD. “On paper, it sounds so simple, but Ruby’s service comes together in a way that makes it so valuable. Despite using the service as extra support rather than a replacement for office staff, Ruby is familiar with who we are and what we do. They’ve made personal connections with us, as well as our clients. Each receptionist is empowered to go above and beyond for their clients — and it shows. Stop worrying about missed calls. Call Ruby!” 

Learn more about Ruby in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit Ruby.com.   

Original article source: Ruby