phone calls?

[treeman82]

Like many others my business is run off of a cell phone. Seeing how I almost always have it with me, it's not much of an issue of not knowing that somebody called. The question I pose here though is, what is the latest that one might find it appropriate to actually pick up the phone? Obviously when my friends call me, regardless of the time I will pick up. However for clients it seems to me that unless they are calling from a foreign country, or if it is something that I can actually expect an emergency call from... I don't want to pick up after around 8:00. Does this seem unreasonable? I know that I certainly don't like to call clients after 7:30, unless of course it's something last minute.

 

[mattfr12]

Like many others my business is run off of a cell phone. Seeing how I almost always have it with me, it's not much of an issue of not knowing that somebody called. The question I pose here though is, what is the latest that one might find it appropriate to actually pick up the phone? Obviously when my friends call me, regardless of the time I will pick up. However for clients it seems to me that unless they are calling from a foreign country, or if it is something that I can actually expect an emergency call from... I don't want to pick up after around 8:00. Does this seem unreasonable? I know that I certainly don't like to call clients after 7:30, unless of course it's something last minute.

we gotta do 24/7. for power lines and downed trees on roads. if i didn't pick up my phone i would loose my contract. i posted somewhere else we just sent our k-boom out to have remote control light tower put on it.

our phone rings in three different places at once. office and two cell phones after 5:00pm. once our office lady leaves me or my foreman will get the cellphone. and during the day she takes all the calls and schedules work.

do you go out for emergency work? a lot of guys loose this opportunity because their not reliable. Penn Dot our state ran highway service calls on us just about every time now. and its a minimum of 600$ a trip. a lot of extra cash to be made.

Then when its not emergencies they have scheduled tree care on right of ways and roads that we take care of. this usually keeps one of my crews busy for months they have been working on one project since december and still going.

 

[jefflovstrom]

Like many others my business is run off of a cell phone. Seeing how I almost always have it with me, it's not much of an issue of not knowing that somebody called. The question I pose here though is, what is the latest that one might find it appropriate to actually pick up the phone? Obviously when my friends call me, regardless of the time I will pick up. However for clients it seems to me that unless they are calling from a foreign country, or if it is something that I can actually expect an emergency call from... I don't want to pick up after around 8:00. Does this seem unreasonable? I know that I certainly don't like to call clients after 7:30, unless of course it's something last minute.

What's the problem?
Answer if you want or don't.
Jeff

 

[no tree to big]

if you call 7-430 you will get through to one of our 4 secretaries if you call before or after you will get the answering machine only the village guys can get through to the boss man after hours

 

[newsawtooth]

What's the problem?
Answer if you want or don't.
Jeff

Sage observation, Yoda Jeffers.

Matt, you guys use any of the soft phone software, like phone.com, might be good for you guys. I use it as a second number on my cellphone. You can set up different call routing for various schedules, might help Treeman too.

I don't do emergency work, that's why I don't work for the government anymore. I rarely answer the phone during work hours anyway and if they need work done now it will be at least 3 weeks. But, I have my own sort apathetic niche that I fill. I mean, trees are slow, why do I have to drop everything to chase them?

I'm with you Treeman82, why answer much after the time I would reasonably call someone?

 

[superjunior]

I usually make the mistake of picking up the phone and it being a potentially new client, gotta tell em to call the office or I'll call em back when I'm outta this tree..

 

[dh1984]

we gotta do 24/7. for power lines and downed trees on roads. if i didn't pick up my phone i would loose my contract. i posted somewhere else we just sent our k-boom out to have remote control light tower put on it.

our phone rings in three different places at once. office and two cell phones after 5:00pm. once our office lady leaves me or my foreman will get the cellphone. and during the day she takes all the calls and schedules work.

do you go out for emergency work? a lot of guys loose this opportunity because their not reliable. Penn Dot our state ran highway service calls on us just about every time now. and its a minimum of 600$ a trip. a lot of extra cash to be made.

Then when its not emergencies they have scheduled tree care on right of ways and roads that we take care of. this usually keeps one of my crews busy for months they have been working on one project since december and still going.

I wished i could do something like your doing But my county wines about how poor they are but every one of them is driven around in a new 2012 car or truck.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Mine is a cell phone that stays in the office. It cheaper to have a cell here than a land line, why? We get so many advertiser calls and BS calls that we dont answer unless we know who it is, let the machine sort them out. I used to take it with me, but then someone would want to talk for 30 minutes about there tree, while I am in the air, my fault for answering. Now we just go thru messages and delete the bogus calls. At night, if we get calls we screen them right away, just in case it is a emergency. My message tells them to give me a couple days to get back to them and in the mean time feel free to hit our site and check us out.

 

[2treeornot2tree]

If i can answer, i do. I dont like calling a customer back after 8pm, but have if they just called and left a message. Sometimes, I answer the phone, and have no paper to take down a address, so i just explain to them that I dont have paper where i am at, and I will give them a call back as soon as i can to get there info. I just save there name and number in my phone. If they cant understand that, then its probably not someone i want to deal with anyway.

 

[TreeAce]

This coming from a small operation with no contract work. I use my cell phone for everything. If I dont know the number i rarely answer it. I only return calls when i have my pen and paper at the ready, taking good notes saves me from looking stupid later. An answering service maybe a good idea but I am just using my VM. If The potental customer doesnt wanna leave a message then so be it. They was prolly in to much of a hurry for me anyway because I am doing almost all my estimates on Saturdays and am booking out darn near 6 weeks. During slow spells( not had one since Feb) I will return missed calls and ask if I can help them. Otherwise I do my best to return all calls within 24 hours.

 

[Tree Pig]

I must admit I am very guilty of screening calls. Problem is if they dont leave a message then I may not call them back, and as we all know if you dont answer, they may call someone else who will.

 

[mattfr12]

This coming from a small operation with no contract work. I use my cell phone for everything. If I dont know the number i rarely answer it. I only return calls when i have my pen and paper at the ready, taking good notes saves me from looking stupid later. An answering service maybe a good idea but I am just using my VM. If The potental customer doesnt wanna leave a message then so be it. They was prolly in to much of a hurry for me anyway because I am doing almost all my estimates on Saturdays and am booking out darn near 6 weeks. During slow spells( not had one since Feb) I will return missed calls and ask if I can help them. Otherwise I do my best to return all calls within 24 hours.

Answering service is sometimes a PITA. The only good part is someone always answers. But their ability to answer the questions being asked is kind of limited.


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[jefflovstrom]

my phone is 24/7.
Jeff

 

[Groundman One]

my phone is 24/7.
Jeff

So is mine if there is a bundle of cash calling. :msp_thumbup:

Otherwise, leave me alone before 7AM and after 9PM.

 

[jefflovstrom]

So is mine if there is a bundle of cash calling. :msp_thumbup:

There is, that is why.
Jeff

 

[treeman75]

When im working it stays in the truck, I check it a couple times an hour. If I do answer it I make sure I have pen and paper and not around the chipper. At night if im busy or eating I let it go to voicemail and check the message right away and call em back. My phone is on 24/7 and I will go out any time for an emergency.

 

[PremiereTreeNet]

Bigger organizations can afford to hire someone to pick up their calls, which has its advantages and disadvantages. It sound like treeman is doing freelance work or running a smaller business though, in which case, cell phone is the way to go. Just work out a system. If you and a couple guys are doing a job, make sure one of the grounders (one you trust, of course) has the phone so he can answer it. That way, you don't get stuck in a tree with a new client.

As for late night calls, if you're really desperate for work, then answer it. If you're the only one who is answering the calls though, just make sure your voice-mail politely specifies what time you answer your phone and that you'll get back to them. Like a couple people said, answering at night may mean that you miss an emergency opportunity, but if it's just you and a couple of guys, you can't work 24/7. It just doesn't make sense. If you can afford to post a couple of guys on nightwatch, then sure, but otherwise you'll burn yourself out.

 

[imagineero]

I have a seperate business cell to my personal one. My personal phone doesnt get switched off, but I don't give that number to customers. A few trusted contractors have it, and my workers do. I dont do emergency work, and there isn't a whole lot of that sort of work available where I am anyway unless you do line clearance and have the relevant ticket which I dont and aren't interested in getting.

I leave my business phone switched on until 9pm. I'll call back customers until about that time also. I don't know if it's a sign of the times or what, but people don't like being called during dinner and people are eating later because they are working longer hours. I generally try to call before 6, or around 8 because most people are eating in the in between times. I don't get many calls after 8... a lot of people call during the day. I don't answer the phone during the day since I'm generally up a tree with the phone in the truck (eliminating the temptation to answer) but I do get the odd call after 8.

Suit yourself though. Lots of guys answer according to their workload. Myself, even when busy I take the calls. Sometimes I can pass referrals on to other good tree companies. The customer gets good tree work, and I may get a bit of work in return in future... win/win.

Shaun