Looking for a convenient pre-recorded message service for event reminders?

[PamperedK]

I remember someone posting about using a message service to remind guests about an upcoming cooking show....does anyone know of a good service that will send pre-recorded messages

 

[wadesgirl]

We get a discount through Phonevite. Look it up through Consultants Corner. I think that it's 4 cents per call.

 

[PamperedK]

We don't get that discount in Canada. but I'll contact them and see if they can help. Thanks!

 

[esavvymom]

Do you have a different service offered in Canada? Ours was under managing our business tabs, they had "Pampered Perks".

 

[PamperedK]

Nope. We don't even have Pampered Perks.....

 

[esavvymom]

bummer! Sorry.. I don't know the Canadian side. Hopefully others chime in.

 

[PamperedK]

thanks!

 

[winklermom]

We use Phonevite for my PC business, church, and our homeschool association! We love it! The company that we used before PC introduced me to Phonevite charged $.20 per call and it showed up some off-the-wall number that no one recognized.With the church, we started having people who would hang up just a few seconds into the call and, therefore, wasn't hearing the entire message. I announced a couple of weeks ago that I may be offering a freebie to someone at the end of the call so they needed to be sure and listen all the way to the end. The following time I sent a message, at the very end I told them that whoever called or text me first would receive a free CD. Boy, did that get their attention. So, I'm thinking of doing something like this with my PC people, too. I'm going to have the host make sure that her guests know that they will be receiving a call the day before the show and to be listening for instructions to win a freebie. I'm thinking a SBRB or something like that for the first person to contact me. It works for the church, now let's see how it does for the business.

 

[doughmama]

I just really do not like automated calls unless it is an emergency from my daughter's school. With election day tomorrow, if I get one more automated phone call I may bust. Not to be negative, but I really don't even like the ones that we get from Pampered Chef.

 

[PamperedchefDaly]

Not to be negative, but I really don't even like the ones that we get from Pampered Chef.

Neither do I! Can we get on a "do not call" list with Pampered Chef?

 

[scottcooks]

Another source is PostCalls.com / but I agree they are irritating to receive.

 

[babywings76]

People don't look forward to my live calls, they really won't like a pre-recorded one! lol On the flip side, I know there are some consultants who have major success with doing these though. One consultant in particular did a phone conference and it got shared here a year or so ago. In her script, she clearly identifies that she's calling on behalf of Susie Hostess and this is a recorded message and then goes on to say the rest. I had someone who uses Post Calls send me one of her messages so I could hear and see how it works on the receiving end. The caller ID assigns it a weird number and I don't know...there's just something about a pre-recorded message that just doesn't feel real and it's easy to want to just hang up and not listen to it. People who use the service say that they assign it to make the calls during the day when they figure a lot of the people wouldn't be home, so it can leave it on their voice mail. But wouldn't it just be better to come up with your own script and do the same thing with you personally making the calls? Since it would be mostly just leaving messages, it won't take that long to get it done. It's definitely longer than just doing one and being done w/ the phone service, so those on a time crunch, the phone service is really tempting. Especially because you can set it all up at your convenience and then schedule the time for the calls to go out.

 

[doughmama]

the minute I hear an automated call, I hang up or if it is on my answering machine, I hit erase. I feel if you can't take the time to call me in person, then I won't take the time to listen...

 

[winklermom]

Wow! I'm honestly surprised by these responses. I recently assumed the role of sports communicator for our home school association. Basically, I'm responsible to let people know about practice changes, games, meetings, etc.The first time I sent a call, I had so many compliments and two or three others from the organization calling to ask how I did it. It's been a huge success and a great time-saver for me when I need to get a message out quickly.

 

[babywings76]

Wow! I'm honestly surprised by these responses. I recently assumed the role of sports communicator for our home school association. Basically, I'm responsible to let people know about practice changes, games, meetings, etc.

The first time I sent a call, I had so many compliments and two or three others from the organization calling to ask how I did it. It's been a huge success and a great time-saver for me when I need to get a message out quickly.

I think it's great for things like you are currently using it for. My school sends us pre-recorded messages from the superintendant about closings/delays/upcoming events/etc. I don't mind that at all. It's great for when you need to get the message out about things quickly like you mentioned. I just don't know about it in terms of my business. KWIM? It's just different to me, in that it's more like a solicitation call. Now, if you clearly identify that you are calling for Susie Hostess, maybe people won't mind it. I just never was brave enough to try it out.

 

[PamperedK]

Thanks for the responses. I'm not planning on doing it for hosts, but for other areas of my business. Potentially my team. I do talk to most people at some point throughout the month. Most I speak to weekly or multiple times per week....I'm just looking for more ways to touch base with everyone. Mostly for information sharing or reminders about meetings, etc....With the size of my team, even calling to leave messages takes a HUGE chunk of my day so if there's a way to automate it, I might try it. I haven't yet decided.

 

[JennyJennJen]

I am not a huge fan of the PC phone calls, usually because they always seem to come at a bad time, like dinner or getting the kids to bed, and they are longer than 30 seconds

But i have sent the phonevite reminders to guests for 3 shows, my message is "Hi I am calling for Susie Host, just a quick reminder her PC party is tomorrow at 7 pm, I hope you can make it"

It is short, to the point and a few guests said they were glad they had the reminder.
I can't spend 20 minutes doing reminder calls for every party, and my hosts are more willing to give me numbers when I tell them it is a prerecorded message. I still remind them that they need to personally invite everyone as well, but this lets them focus on getting everything ready on their end for people coming over than spending 1 hr on the phone calling people to remind them.