It may have taken a bit longer to get here than usual this year, but the Canadian winter in Southern Ontario now seems to be fully upon us with many areas experiencing heavy snowsqualls and just plain nasty weather. And while we are a hearty bunch, there tend to be a few days each season that are bad enough that trying to dig your way out your subdivision and slipping and sliding all the way to the office are just not worth the risk.

Car buried in snow.

But since these storms can happen unexpectedly, how do you relay the message to the rest of your team, or to your clients and customers that they should sit back and enjoy that second cup of coffee because the inclement weather has shut down operations for the day?

If you have a very small team, you could call everyone individually, but that takes time and effort that could be better spent curling up on the sofa with a great book, listening to howl of the frigid winds from a safe distance. And besides, wouldn’t it be better if you only had to make one telephone call or send a single email that would let not only your employees know you were closing for the day but also any customers or clients that were planning on coming in?

How Touch Communications can help

With call answering services from Touch Communications, it is easy to let all the right people know that your business is having a snow day. Simply let us know about your company’s closures and delays and that information can be passed on to anyone who might be calling in to inquire about your business’s status.

Why use live call answering for inclement weather closure notices?

While it might be tempting to rely on company voicemail to relay notices of closures and delays, there are several good reasons why live call answering makes sense. Here are a few of the benefits to employing the help of the professional customer service representatives at Touch Communications:

• Simple to arrange – even the best voicemail systems can have glitches. Make sure your employees and customers get the message, by having real people convey it to them.
• 24/7 Service – As soon as you know that your business will be closed or delayed, you can let us know and we can relay the message to callers – it doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday night or at 4:00 am on a weekday.
• Reschedule appointments – If you operate a business or organization that relies on appointments, our CSRs can not only let your clients know that you are closed, but we can also reschedule their appointments.
• Call transferring – Even though your physical doors are closed for the day, as an entrepreneur, chances are you are still working. You may wish to have certain calls transferred to you by landline or cell phone. The CSRs at Touch can screen your calls and transfer the ones you still want directly to you.
• Emergency service – The weather outside may be frightful but you may still want to provide emergency services. Should an emergency call come in, we can give appropriate advice or transfer the call according to your instructions.

Yes, winter is finally here, and closures will happen, but with a little help from your friends at Touch Communications, it will be much easier to weather the storm.