Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between an answering service and a virtual receptionist service?
Answering services typically take and forward messages and can sound impersonal. They tend to leave callers feeling like they are leaving a message with someone who has absolutely no connection to the person they want to speak with. Our virtual receptionists sound as if they are sitting at your front desk, answering calls, managing your calendar, giving pricing information and answering FAQs while also taking messages and screening calls.
What makes Betties different than every other answering or receptionist service?
First and foremost, we exclusively service the legal industry. There is a limit on how much industry knowledge an answering service virtual receptionist can possess when taking calls for a plumber one minute and an attorney the next. We are dedicated to partnering with lawyers to help run the law firm in a manner so seemless callers will wonder where that delightful receptionist is when they come in.
We do all of the recruiting and training for you! We hire team members who have experience in the legal industry and they must pass a legal skills test prior to the first interview. Only a select few make it to the final interview stages and into our Legal Receptionist Training Program.
In general, answering services will have very large teams of agents taking calls for a large client base with a diverse range of industries. It’s standard industry practice to have teams of 15 agents answering calls for 300 accounts. There is only so much familiarity a receptionist can gain with a business when it is serving so many clients. Our teams are about half the size and serving about half as many clients. Our leads and managers will always jump in if we are experiencing a spike in calls in order to keep hold times at a minimum for your callers.
We also do something unique for a virtual receptionist company. Have you seen companies who allow you to sign up online and gain instant access to receptionist services? Those companies are providing zero training to their team about you. Before our receptionists take your first call, they all take a custom training course all about your law firm, your goals for working with us and how we can serve you. They must pass the final quiz with no less than 100% in order to begin taking your calls.
No service is perfect and we aren’t either. What we will promise you is that we’ll be quick and honest in our communications with you. We will own our mistakes and find ways to improve our handling to reduce errors and we will always do the right thing even when it’s the hard choice.
Do I have to get a new phone number?
We’ll supply you a phone number to forward your calls to. You choose when you want to forward calls and can forward all day or you can set up conditional forwarding with your carrier so calls are only forwarded when you are unavailable to answer.
What hours are receptionists available?
Monday-Friday, 5:00 am – 5:00 pm PST. After-hours calls will be directed to your voicemail and those messages will be delivered to your email. If you’d like us to check voicemail for you each morning and return those calls, we’re happy to do so! If there is anything we can do to help your law firm run smoother and create less work for you, just ask.
What happens if I go over my plan minutes?
Additional minutes are prorated at your plans per minute rate. Discounts are available for higher volume plans.
Where are you located?
Our headquarters are in beautiful Scottsdale, AZ. Our wonderful team of legal virtual receptionists work remotely from AZ, CA, FL, and TX. Deploying a remote team across the US allows us to provide virtual receptionist and answering services to law firms all year round. When our receptionists in Florida were unable to work due to a natural disaster, the remainder of the team was able to carry on business as usual.
How am I alerted to after-hours calls?
You are welcome to turn on/off call forwarding at your convenience. Should you leave calls forwarded after our normal business hours, your calls will be routed to your voicemail box. Voicemails are delivered via email in a .wav format. You can listen to messages from your mobile device.
How much is Back Office Betties virtual receptionist services going to cost me?
Completing a free 7-day trial is the best way to gauge your estimated monthly usage. Click here to start your complimentary trial. Our average client spend ranges between $450 – $550 per month for full-time receptionist services for a savings of over 75% off the cost of hiring in-house!
Is there an extra fee for scheduling appointments?
We believe in keeping our virtual receptionist pricing affordable and transparent. There are no extra fees for most calendars we work with. Please take a look at our pricing page for more information.
How are my calls answered?
We answer all calls to your specifications and will obtain your requirements when we set up your free trial.
How are calls transferred?
One of our Betties answers your call live and attempts a warm transfer to you. If you are unable to take the call, your receptionist can offer voice mail, schedule a return call on your calendar or take a written message which is sent via email and/or text.
Where are my calls transferred to?
We can transfer calls to any phone number in the United States or Canada (other than the one forwarded to Back Office Betties).
Can the receptionists make outbound calls?
Absolutely! Our goal at Betties is to offer the same friendly telephone services that your in-house receptionist would offer! Inbound and outbound calls are included with your plan. This means when you need to provide a client with information, Betties are happy to make the call. We can schedule your appointments, follow up on bids and we’ve even been known to sing happy birthday to a customer or two. Do you have a special request? Ask Betties.
Do you offer bilingual receptionist services?
Yes! We have a team of bilingual Spanish speaking virtual receptionists/legal assistants.
How does Back Office Betties integrate with Lexicata/Clio?
Clio Grow/Lexicata is a CRM designed for law firms to help attorney’s track leads, manage the intake process and send documents for e-signatures. Betties reception team is able to send new lead information directly to your CRM inbox via our system. Streamlining the new client intake process has never been easier.
What are the terms of a virtual receptionist subscription?
All of our terms may be viewed at https://www.backofficebetties.com/terms/