Vodafone Business Answering FAQs

Yes.  All Vodafone Business Answering receptionists are based in Australia and professionally trained. The majority are located in southeast Queensland.

Yes. This is referred to as “call overflow”.

A lot of companies require their phone calls to be answered only when they are unable to take the call themselves. For example, if you step out of the office for an hour or your in-house receptionist goes to lunch, is on leave or is busy on another call and you have multiple calls coming in at the one time.

Yes. We are available to answer your call any time of the day or night. Vodafone Business Answering services are operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help ensure your business never has to miss a call.

You can choose to have us answer calls only during business hours, only after hours or around the clock 24/7 simply by managing your diversion settings.

Once your account is activated and set up, you simply need to divert your business phone number to the unique number we provide to you. At this stage, you will choose to either forward all calls to us or only calls you’re unable to answer in-house. Then, when someone dials your number and that call is forwarded to us, our technology shows the receptionist your business name, your preferred way for the caller to be greeted and any other instructions or notes related to your account. In all instances, your call is answered as though the receptionist is sitting in your office.

Concurrent calls to your advertised business number can easily be answered by our remote receptionists. This alone can potentially prevent many of your current missed calls.

Being only able to answer one call at a time in-house means many business owners don’t even realise how many calls they’ve been missing.

We will send your messages out with the details of your call via email and/or SMS depending on your preference. You are limited to a single message recipient on a Business Starter plan, however if you have multiple recipients who should be receiving the same message (eg sales and service departments), we can ensure message delivery to multiple mobile phone numbers and/or email addresses on any Business Receptionist or Business Assistant plan.

You can receive all the information you require. In addition to receiving the caller’s name, number and reason for calling via email or SMS, some plans (such as Business Receptionist and Business Assistant) allow receptionists to collect and send you additional information. You can specify what details you require the receptionists to collect and this can pretty much be anything you need.

On any Vodafone Business Answering plan, with the exception of Business Starter, calls are able to be transferred to your mobile and/or landline number any time of the day or night. Your availability can be toggled on or off via our easy-to-use client portal.

Have multiple departments or staff that callers may ask to be put through to? Not a problem! We can have your staff/department list attached to your account so callers can be transferred to the right number.

Yes! Vodafone Business Answering’s escalation service, available as an add-on to any Business Assistant plan, is a foolproof way to ensure the right personnel are notified promptly of any emergency situations (even if it’s the middle of the night).

An escalation call is when a message is sent to your relevant contacts via SMS, email or outbound phone call and continually followed up (using a set procedure based on your company requirements) if there is no response confirming the message has been received.

Depending on your service type, and the complexity of the change, changes to your services are able to be made through your online Vodafone Business Answering client portal.

Alternatively, we have a dedicated rostering team who are able to manage your roster as per the frequency of your rotation.

Absolutely. Vodafone Answering Service enables you to freely move up and down on the call volume packages as required or switch to a different service if you find your requirements change. For example:

• Upgrading from Business Starter to Business Receptionist if you decide you’d like to start receiving call transfers or you need messages sent to multiple contacts
• Downgrading from Business Assistant to Business Receptionist if you no longer want our receptionists to quote fees or assist callers with submitting orders or making payments over the phone

No. All Vodafone Business Answering services are month-to-month, with no lock-in contract.

Cancellation of your service can be made at any time, with the only requirement to provide us with at least three days’ notice prior to your monthly billing date.

Yes, as part of your business answering service, you’ll receive a free local number. You can add as many local numbers as you wish for no additional cost. We also offer 1300 numbers and 1800 numbers which you can publish as your main business number to give your business a national presence.   Please contact us for more details.

Both 1300 and 1800 numbers will provide your business with additional flexibility and also offer the same in terms of features. The main point of difference between them (besides the number itself) is related to the cost to your caller.

Calls from landline numbers to 1300 numbers are charged as per the cost of a local Australian call, but calls from mobile phones to 1300 numbers may be charged at a higher rate depending on the caller’s mobile plan (this can vary between carriers).

Calls to 1800 numbers are free for your caller on fixed lines and even if they are calling from a mobile phone in some instances (depending on the carrier).

Of course! In this case, we will provide you with a local landline number and you will simply need to divert your 1300 or 1800 number to it so we can answer your calls.

Alternatively, if you would like us to host your existing 1300 or 1800 number, we can have this ported across and billed alongside your business answering service. 

Yes! Vodafone Business Answering’s scripting solution allows you to tailor each call pathway as you require, from different questions being asked based on your caller’s responses to alternative methods of message delivery.

Our scripting software is able to be tailored to each of our client’s requirements to ensure all calls are filtered based on your specific needs. We can also input information directly into your CRM or integrate scripts with other Vodafone Business Answering specialised solutions such as Escalation Management and Lone Worker Safety Monitoring.

Certainly. We can handle basic questions about your business on most Vodafone Business Answering plans (with the exception of Business Starter). On Business Assistant plans, you can even add specific FAQs within your client portal along with the corresponding answers the receptionists can provide to callers.

When scripting is enabled on your account, it is also possible to include a set of common questions and the information that should be conveyed when they are asked. Information on issues that can easily be resolved over the phone can also be included.

Details of such calls can be included in reporting or a copy of the caller’s details can be provided as a record.

If we are unable to answer any caller queries, or the issue is more advanced or critical, we can notify your staff for resolution.

Each service is tailored to your requirements and business process. Your service can be set up to ensure appropriate filters are in place to ensure only the calls you require follow-up for are escalated, such as based on:

• Severity of the issue
• Time of day the call is received
• Caller acceptance to your fees
• Calls from specific companies or individuals
• Specific issue type
• Any other requirement

Calls that fall outside of the escalation criteria will result in a standard email or SMS sent to be actioned during business hours or the caller may be advised to phone back during your standard operating hours.

Escalation notifications are sent via SMS, email and/or outbound phone call. Confirming receipt of an escalation notification can be done easily by:

• Replying via SMS
• Contacting our team on an allocated confirmations line
• Verbally confirming receipt of a message when our receptionist calls you

Any time one of your staff members has an active login, there will be an open escalation in our system. Should your staff member not contact the service prior to the expiration of the nominated timeframe of their login, our receptionists will be notified that action is required. They will then immediately start to escalate the login through your stipulated process (a set phone out, SMS and/or email procedure as outlined within your requirements).

Yes. Call log reports are updated in real-time and accessible via your online portal. Additionally, email reports outlining each of the steps taken for all lone worker activity can be scheduled daily, weekly or monthly.