“With Ruby, it’s like having a full-time person in our office for a fraction of the cost.”

Solutions that grew with his business

Alex used to use Grasshopper’s call-blasting feature where up to 3 of his business phones ring at the same time so one of his employees was sure to pick up any business related call. As his business grew over the years, so did the volume of calls. That’s when Alex decided to hire a full-time in-house receptionist to answer all his calls and take messages on his behalf.

In the construction industry, winter is typically a slower time of year due to many factors such as freezing temperatures, inclement weather, and shorter days. Alex wanted a solution that would make financial sense without sacrificing great customer service. “Once I saw the Ruby offer from Grasshopper, I knew it could be a potential solution to my problem. I was paying someone a full-time salary during our slow season. Ruby’s largest plan was a fraction of that salary.”

Customized and personalized

At first, Alex was hesitant to trust his customers to virtual receptionists that he did not know. In fact, his expectations were not very high as he knew colleagues who have had negative experiences with live virtual receptionist services. “My setup call with Ruby was so easy. I was up and running within minutes of my welcome call.”

With Ruby active on his account, all incoming calls were answered by a Ruby receptionist and directly transferred to Alex when he was available. To ensure that level of quality remained, Alex had some friends call his Grasshopper number. “My friends and colleagues that called and were directed to Ruby were impressed at their level of politeness and professionalism. They answered my calls as if they were part of my company. I knew I made the right choice.”

Maintaining a work-life balance

It is important for Alex to be able to separate work and his personal life. “I didn’t want to take business calls after 6 pm but I still had customers calling me during that time.” Ruby was able to take after-hour calls off Alex’s plate (Ruby can answer calls M-F 5am-9pm, S-S 6am-6pm PT.)

In fact, Alex was able to win new customers and retain existing customers because Ruby made his callers feel they were heard and hung up the phone with the confidence that they would get a call back from Alex.