Full Circle

[Screamercleaner]

Maybe an old topic tonight but just got a high recommendation from John over at Superior Cleaning Solutions about Full Cirlce. Says a bunch of guys are using it. I'm a restorative carpet cleaner and so there are some explanations and such that I am concerned won't be properly conveyed to the client. Are they really good at selling your services when it comes to the details of what you do? Please let me know your thoughts on it.

Thanks,

Matthew
Image Cleaning Systems

 

[dgargan]

You give them a complete detail of your business and work out a script for them and they can handle anything

 

[Newman]

If you can clearly communicate to Full Circle your services, they can pass it on to your customers.

When a topic arises where I have failed to fully inform Full Circle about my services, They call me, while the customer on the phone, to clear up the issue.

The girls understand our business.

 

[Brian R]

Like anyone who would be answering your phone, you need to work with them to relay your message.

They are perfect for me and what I do. Beats having employees to deal with and the girls are super nice on both ends of the phone.

Other than some very small cons...it's mostly pros for me.

 

[Al]

I really hate making this post but I feel it's important to let you guys know something that happened to us using FC and we could no longer keep their services.

We did a trial with an internet lead company called Ads Up, well come to find out the calls through the Ads Up campaign were recorded.

When I listened to the calls between FC and potential client they were absolutely terrible, nothing at all like the recordings promoting their website.

One caller was immediately placed on hold for 2 full minutes then the call was handled terribly by an unenthused person from FC and the job lost.

I was literally sickened when I listened to the quality of those calls. Totally unacceptable!
I felt even worse when I thought about the calls that weren’t recorded, how were those handled?

I let FC know what happened and they were very sorry and said I was right and they were fully aware this was happening!

They explained that they just terminated the unpleasant girl and the really fast growth of their company caused some delays in answering and that’s why my caller was put on hold.

They also said they hired more staff and will be ready for the next growth spurt and wanted me to give them another try they even offered some free time. They wanted to make it up to us and that is cool.

I was thinking about giving them another another chance but I got a call from a long time client asking who answers my phones?

He had a complaint with one of the girls and it was very legitimate, I didn't like what he described at all!!

After listening to those recordings I just can’t do it, I learned a lesson though, Full Circle may be very good at what they do but they are still just an answering service and in my opinion an answering service should only be used when you absolutely can’t handle your own calls, not full time.

I have to mention that they make some awesome calls too, we were extremely happy at first, but we will save our money and answer our own calls from now on, its just to important to leave in the hands of others.

Still I don’t like posting this and I hope Full Circle gets fixed and all of you that use it get the great service you deserve!

P.S. Newman and Brian are right on most of the girls are good at relaying your message and they get you on the line with the customer if needed and all that........ but they can mess up bad too!

8)

 

[XTREME1]

thanks for the honesty Al

 

[Brian R]

I had an issue with one CSR and told Full Circle about it. They were on it right away..may be the same person because I haven't heard from that CSR lately.

I understand their can be problem with any service....common sense told me to keep it to myself about Full Circle being such a great service so I could keep them all to myself...but of course when I find something great, I tell everyone...to a fault.

Like anything you do in your busines, you have to keep up with quality control.

 

[ruff]

I learned a lesson though, Full Circle may be very good at what they do but they are still just an answering service and in my opinion an answering service should only be used when you absolutely can’t handle your own calls, not full time.
8)

Can't for the life of me understand why an owner operators on this board will delegate answering the phone themselves to somebody else.
That is what makes us different. It enables us to give personal service and cement our relationship with the client.
And yes, the on site part is very important, however it is only one part of the whole.

Yes, it is a little challenging sometime to answer while cleaning but it is well worth it.

And if one doesn't feel like they have good phone skills, that can be learned.

I am sure Ken and Bryan do not let anybody that is not under their 100% quality control (their employee) answer the phone for them.
And in my humble opinion any owner operator that does is making a mistake.

The first person that answers your phone is the most important person in your company, as you may never get a second chance.

And there is no way in funky doodle that an answering service will do a better job than the owner.
Why?

Because we care! It should be from various reasons like pride of ownership, gratitude etc. Even if only because we know from which side our bread is buttered!

 

[Brian R]

Answering the phone takes away from everything else.

I agree that an o/o will have a better chance of getting the job scheduled if he answers the phone ....that's IF he answers the phone.

The whole point of Full Circle is to get away from the eb and flow of scheduling jobs.

You're too busy to answer the phone to schedule...then your not busy enough because you didn't answer your phones from the week before because you were too busy...etc ...etc...etc.

At the very least, everyone needs a live answering service for the chance of missing that call.

Voicemail is death for a new customer.

 

[ruff]

I assume you've heard about call forwarding to your cel phone?

IMHO, I'd rather get the call forwarded to my voice mail when I am in a bad reception area.
I'd rather take that chance, than, have someone who does not have the same interest in my business success as I do, answer the phone.
You can also forward it to them if you are in a bad reception area if you want to reduce the loss of client chance.

The argument about "if you have the time to answer the phone...." is bullshit, Brian. Excuse my french. If everybody on this board, including me, was in that great position it would be great and we will all be filthy rich.

Most cleaners here could use a lot more business.

What works for you, with quantity, subcontracting etc; is not right for the owner operator.
This is not to bash your business. You chose to go that rout and it may well be a great business decision.

It is not right for the O/O that charges a good price to make a decent living. We need to provide all the intangibles to make it worth it for our clients. The O/O that does not answer his phone will be just like you, so why not use somebody cheaper? Like what you provide minus GroupOn's 50% commission + the up sells. It is a legitimate rout, but not for everybody.

All the little touches and intangibles are what makes a great business and a personal great service. It is what makes it worth the extra $$ for the client.

We are personally invested in our success on many levels and nobody, NOBODY can fake it.

 

[Brian R]

I used to answer my cell on the road, in houses...whatever it took...why?

Because I can't tell you how many times the customer said "you were the only one who answered the phone"...not because the O/O doesn't have enough time...it's just sometimes they don't answer the phone at all.

It did get to the point of spending an hour in between jobs, returning phone calls, answering and scheduling etc.
While in the house I would be upfront with the caller and tell them I was cleaning and really wanted their business...get an approx time and date with them and then call them later for the info. Worked well.

Fact of the matter is, if someone answers the phone with even a little bit of knowledge or enthusiasm, you will land the job almost every time if the customer is serious...yes...more like my opinion but I think it's a fact.


So it's not a problem of time for most...but it IS a problem of them just not wanting to answer sometimes.

Again, even if you use them as a "voicemail"...I think it's a good way to go.


Edit: For the record, the cost of Full Circle is a very small part of my expenses and to me is well worth it.
It's an office girl to the person calling and they will understand just that...if they have the "important" questions that the girls can't answer....I can always call them back or the girls can try to forward the customer to me.

 

[George V]

FC works great for me!!!

If you think i'm a jacka$$ on the keyboard

you should hear me on the phone....

 

[Brian R]

We can just imagine. lol


It's a tool (not you Harper...this time) just like your Truck Mount or Van. If you keep up on it...it will work well for you.

If you have to do everything....you can't do anything.

 

[Mikey P]

Ofer
how many jobs does your company complete in a month?




btw, the girl who Al was unhappy with was laid off

 

[joe harper]

Ofer is 100% correct in every statement he made...BRAVO....!!!!

 

[George V]

It's a huge relief being off the phones.

Now, i can go to the movies, take a trip, sleep late, clean a flight of stairs, or jump in the shower without being bother by some pesky price shopper.

i pay for it.

cost's me about $550 month...

Wouldn't say it has increased or decreased business much.

But, i'm sooooooo mellow now.....

It's totally worth it!

 

[Mikey P]

if FC does not increase biz it may not be worth it.


Unless you really give bad Phone.

For us it's been a big increase.

 

[tmdry]

I learned a lesson though, Full Circle may be very good at what they do but they are still just an answering service and in my opinion an answering service should only be used when you absolutely can’t handle your own calls, not full time.
8)

Can't for the life of me understand why an owner operators on this board will delegate answering the phone themselves to somebody else.

I can answer that for you.

I answer all my phones when I can BUT there are many situations when I cannot do it, here are a few:

When I'm cleaning and the equipment is louder or vibrates more than my phone.
When I'm talking to a client and can't always get to the phone or not always tell the client "one sec I need to pick this up" (I've done it but not every time, it's rude and unprofessional).
If I'm color sealing, I am DEFF NOT going to pick up phone calls (If you do this, you know why), and yes I wear gloves.
Major one is no cell service in many new homes or basements.
If I'm covered in water and mud @ a loss (wd), while carrying equipment, I'll fwd the phone as well.

I'm sure there are other examples I'm forgetting.

All my calls are forwarded to my Blackberry when I'm not @ the office, so the above is while on the job (not in the office). New clients will hardly ever leave a message on the voicemail, repeat and referrals will.

Here's another thing, before Al posted this thread, few days ago actually he told me about what happened with him and FC, I called FC the next day to know about this and what had happened, I am not a full timer with them, but wanted to make sure this is not a common thing, they assured me of what had happened and that girl got fired. I'm doing the pay as you go plan, it's costing me $50 bucks a month, and that's most from the follow ups they do after jobs. I am also concerned about call qualities, but right now I'm still going with them as I said, I answer most calls myself when I can.

 

[Brian R]

Bottom line...if you can answer your phones....answer them

If you can't....you had better have someone who can

If you are busy and have more than average amount of calls coming in...you need more than one person answering

If you can't afford to have an office staff of 2 or 3 people answering at all times.....you need something to suppliment.


So you will see that every situtation is different and there is no cookie cutter answer

BUT...if you let your phone go to voicemail during normal business hours....you sir....are a dumbass. :mrgreen:

 

[ruff]

Bill,
The way you do it sounds perfect. You answer when you can and forward it to an answering service when you can't so they do not get a voice mail.
That for me is a smart and educated decision.

What I am responding is to is the push for everybody to have it no matter what. Makes no sense.

Mike, if moving to an answering service increased your business, you must have been doing something really wrong previously.

It's Ok to do it if one absolutely sucks on the phone and is absolutely committed to not learning how to do it well.

It is OK to do it if one just don't like answering the phone

It's OK to do it if one wants a break from dealing with clients.

it's OK to do it if...................................whatever

As long as it is a well thought out educated decision.

Just don't make it sound like it's the second coming. It's a freaking answering service, use it as a tool, like your wand. And understand it's limitations.
Most Owners Operators IMHO do not need it.

 

[Brian R]

Ofer,
I think what makes it so cool is it's a service specifically for cleaners and the girls really do more than just answer the phones.
They follow up, they help with issues, answer the customers questions to the best of their ability and what info they have etc.

I've said all along that every cleaner here (aside from companies with office crews) should have this service at the very least for a backup when you can't answer the phone.

I use it differently because I don't believe that a company runs on phones alone....I know it's the point of attack but as long as SOMEONE answers...you're ahead of the curve.
If that someone has some training and info....even better.

If they are friendly and knowledgable...even mo betta.

If this was just another answering service that took messages...it wouldn't work.

But the fact that they are the closest thing any BD cleaner has to a pro office staff...makes all the difference in the world.

Most (if not all now) the girls at Full Circle are friendly, intelligent and eager to help our business' because it will in turn help them keep their jobs.

AND I truly believe they are good people.

 

[KevinL]

I'm with George, I suck on the phone. When you explain to the caller that you are in the middle of a job and would like to get back to them and they just keep talking, telling you there life story about how this stain got on their carpet. you tell them again that you need to call them back and they get pissed off and say I'll just call someone else. NO THANKS. I'll let the girls at fc handle the calls. Yes, I use to have many problems with the girls but once I started also using Service Monster and maybe since firing the problem girl, things have gotten a lot better.

 

[Al]

I'm not an owner op, we can answer our phones but we were using FC to leverage our time and focus on marketing.

 

[Brian R]

I'm not an owner op, we can answer our phones but we were using FC to leverage our time and focus on marketing.

AL is 100% correct in every statement he made...BRAVO....!!!!

shiteatinggrin

 

[joey895]

For some reason I thought full circle recorded all calls and you could go back and listen to any of them. Is this not true?

I ask because I am kicking around the idea of starting up with them in the spring.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[Brian R]

I'm not sure if they offer that...they should....I just never looked into it.

 

[dgargan]

I do an occasional mystery shopper call to full circle to make sure things are good. I have a friend do it and I give them a list of questions to ask and we record the call

 

[Brian R]

I do an occasional mystery shopper call to full circle to make sure things are good. I have a friend do it and I give them a list of questions to ask and we record the call

And?

 

[Mikey P]

Offer the only thing my wife was doing so "wrong" was not answering each and every call right away.
Many went to voice mail and were dealt with later.


FC gets those calls within a couple rings thus they are getting price and method shopper that would not have left a message for my wife.


I'm going to assume most OO's do not pick up the phone if they're in the hose face to face with Mrs Pift.



and the WEB has been bringing us a butt load of work this year so FC is taking some of the credit.

 

[Brian R]

And the calls are not going to FC's voicemail either....if a call were to go to voicemail...it emails me...I only get them after hours.