Are There Any Alternatives To Answerphones?

Answerphones are a boon in both the business and personal world but they are often disliked for being impersonal and many people won't leave a message on one, either because they can't think of a relevant message in time, or they simply don't like doing it.

However, particularly for business, it is considered vital to have an alternative to simply having a phone left unanswered if no-one can get to it. There are two main alternatives to an answerphone, the first is a 'follow-me' service and the second is an answering service, where people answer the phone for you.

A 'follow-me' service uses the sophistication of modern telecommunications networks to automatically divert calls to various other telephones, depending on the rules that you have set up. This can be manual or automatic, so for example, if you are leaving the office for the rest of the day, you can manually re-route calls to a mobile phone. Automatic routing can be done at set times or when certain circumstances happen, for example, diverting all customer services calls at the end of the day to another office, perhaps in a different time-zone, where there are still staff on duty who can answer the call.

Answering services are usually bureaux who you engage to answer the phone for you when there are no staff available. There are varying levels of service depending on your requirement and how much you are prepared to pay, but usually they will answer the phone using your name or the name of your company, and will have an idea of where you are and when you'll be available. They will then pass on messages to you either by phone, text message or email, or by leaving a note if they are in the same premises as you are. The latter option is more likely where you are using a serviced office and phone answering is offered as part of the service.