TAS Case Study
Libby Kersey, co-owner of Classiqué Home and Garden Center, knew many home gardeners admired roses, but they were discouraged when tea roses from large mega marts failed to survive.
When asked by local clubs to make presentations, Libby focused her sessions on roses that were both hearty and disease resistant.
Her talks resulted in strong word-of-mouth advertising.
The garden center, staffed by Libby, her husband Jerry, and two adult children, had trouble keeping up with the phone calls generated while also maintaining strong customer service to their in-store customers.
“The calls were fine, except on weekends. Then, it was just overwhelming,” Libby explained.
“Many of the callers just wanted directions to find our store, which is just off a busy highway. Others wanted to know if we were open and what our hours were. This information was on our website, but people were used to calling.”
“We talked about hiring some weekend help, but it was really hard to find someone who only would work on weekends – every weekend,” said Jerry.
For the Kerseys, providing a high level of personal service to customers was essential. “Many people want a beautiful landscape, but they don’t know where to start,” Libby added.
“They come in and tell us what isn’t working for them: too much wind, poor soil, or too much shade. They want solutions,” said Jerry. “But they weren’t getting it when they were standing in line as we answered the phone.”
To overcome their weekend staffing problem, the answering service the Kerseys used to cover afterhours was expanded to handle calls on the weekends while the store was open.
Callers who had routine questions, such as the location of the store or the operating hours, were handled immediately. Those who had special needs were transferred to one of the Kerseys at the store.
By discussing the unique needs of Classiqué Home, the answering service created a list of common responses to help most callers quickly during the store’s busy weekends.
Using the answering service also made it possible to keep staffing costs under control. Hiring non-family members would have forced the Kerseys to add to their administrative costs – and headaches.
“Our answering service made a huge difference for us as business owners and as a family. I estimate the answering service handles eight or nine out of every ten callers on the weekends.
“That frees us to talk to the people at the store. Libby and I are back in touch with the things we love most about this business,” concluded Jerry.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s book The Profitable Answering Service.
With over three decades of industry experience, Peter is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader, covering the telephone answering service industry.