Discussion on Guest Reminder Calls

[Karen Weber]

I've been making the guest reminder calls for my host for almost 8 years. I've been happy with the result of the number of people who attend show. However, lately a lot of hosts have given me cell phone numbers for their guests and I know that a lot of people will not answer if they do not recognize the phone number and I would think that Post Calls or similar companies corporate numbers are what appears on the caller ID. In fact today, as I was walking in the parking lot of the grocery store, I heard someone who was making a call and leaving a message saying that they are sorry they did not pick up the phone when they called but they didn't recognize the phone number and if that person would call them back they would answer. This is a guy that I saw got out of a van with a plumber advertisement on it. Wouldn't you think he would always answer his cell....

So here's what I put up for discussion. Those of you who use the calling companies, do you think that this is an outdated service? those of you who only have a cell phone, do you answer numbers that you do not recognize?
Do you think it would be a good idea to text those numbers that we recognize as a cell?

I just want to hear other consultants thoughts on this.

Thanks,

Karen

 

[wadesgirl]

Phonevite allows you to have your personal number show up. Personally depending on the time of day or what I'm doing, I don't answer my phone if I don't know the number. If I'm driving or out running errands where I know I can't help a customer if I need to look something up, I won't answer.

 

[NooraK]

I do answer calls when I don't recognize the number, though it's probably more likely because I am a consultant, and it could be a customer.

I would not advocate texting, as there are still plenty of people who don't have an unlimited texting plan (or one at all), and while it won't be expensive, it could leave a bad taste in the customer's mouth.

As for PhoneVite and such, I have not had a good experience. I have tried PhoneVite a couple of times, and I have found that it does not always recognize the beep of the machine, so it starts with the message when the line picks up, but the voicemail the recipient gets is only the tail end of the message.

I don't think that leaving a message is a bad idea for reminder calls, though. I would think that'd even be preferrable for me. It gets the job done quickly, and serves the purpose, which is to remind the person of the upcoming event.

 

[minirottie]

I can see where you're coming from. Unrelated to PC, but related to the topic, I live in Nebraska, and work as a recruiter. My client base and candidates are mostly in the DC area, and I know (and I joke with the candidates) that many don't answer a call when they see the 402 area code, because they probably figure I'm selling something Of course, my voice mail about calling about their resume does ensure a return call!

 

[Karen Weber]

Thanks for your thoughts. I think I'll continue to do the calls and see what happens over the next few months.

Karen