Interested in learning more about Virtual Receptionists? We know finding facts and figures about Telephone Receptionists can be time-consuming and frustrating, so we put together this list of the top 101 facts, notes, and statistics so you can easily reference them and refer back to them any time in the future. This space is constantly changing and evolving, so if you see a fact that is not up-to-date, feel free to let us know. And if you know a stat that we should add, let us know that too!

1. Also known as virtual assistants, they provide a live answering service from their virtual offices or call centers.
Virtual assistants are available to answer calls and provide customer support for companies that specialize in providing phone answering services. Many services have receptionists available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are always happy to answer questions.
2. Virtual Receptionists answer phones and represent your business.
They are call handling experts who can handle hundreds of calls per day and are always available to your clients.
3. It’s important to know that Virtual Receptionists are not robots saying pre recorded messages.
They are human beings who professionally answer phone calls from a distance.
4. Virtual Receptionists can take client’s messages.Â
Live virtual receptionists answer calls based on your scripts, record the caller's information and message, and deliver it to you so you don't miss any important details.
5. Virtual Receptionists can schedule appointments and manage cancellations.Â
A virtual receptionist understands how to use scheduling software to schedule, reschedule, or cancel appointments for any business.
6. Virtual Receptionists can process order management.Â
Any order can be handled by a virtual assistant. They can accept and process a variety of orders, such as maintenance requests and outage reports during natural disasters.
7. Virtual Receptionists can provide quality customer service.Â
Your customers will understand that they can always rely on a live person to answer their questions about your company.
8. Virtual Receptionists can transfer calls.Â
Call transfer is part of their job description, so your customers will be directed to the appropriate people or departments.
9. Virtual Receptionists can filter calls.Â
Unwanted calls can be qualified and filtered out by a receptionist. Making sure you have more time to focus on the calls that are most important to you.
10. A poorly trained remote receptionist or virtual assistant with a poor attitude may reflect poorly on your company’s reputation and affect your business.
That is why you should hire a virtual receptionist company that is well-known for its knowledgeable assistants and impeccable reputation.
11. Virtual receptionists are becoming a popular choice for small businesses to large organizations that have to handle too many client calls.
It is a low-cost service that ensures all customers receive their responses and contributes to higher levels of customer satisfaction.
12. A virtual receptionist serves the same role as an in-house receptionist, such as answering phone calls, taking messages and setting appointments.
The difference is that a virtual receptionist works from a call center or another remote location.
13. The best virtual receptionists are flexible and adaptable to your business needs.Â
They should be familiar enough with your company to handle incoming calls with the knowledge and professionalism required to increase customer satisfaction. They should also be willing and able to change their services as your company's needs change.
14. The precise cost of a virtual receptionist depends on the service you choose and its pricing model.
These are the most common pricing models: per-minute rate, monthly subscription and pricing tiers.
15. Rates of a virtual receptionist vary by the complexity of services and your business's expected call volume.
Per-minute rates typically range between 75 and 95 cents.
16. Virtual receptionists can free up internal resources.Â
Outsourcing your calls to a virtual receptionist relieves your in-house team of the burden of customer service and places the responsibility with an agent trained in increasing customer satisfaction.
17. Virtual receptionists can offer after-hours support.Â
If your virtual receptionist can answer common questions on your behalf, your callers may be able to resolve their issues right away. Increasing your customer service hours is another way to increase customer satisfaction.
18. Virtual receptionists can even deliver appointment reminders to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
By delegating the task to a virtual receptionist, you can unify the appointment-setting process and keep all stakeholders up to date with automatic notifications and shared calendars.
19. Virtual receptionists appear more professional.Â
When a virtual receptionist answers the phone on your behalf, it communicates to customers that your company is a formal entity with a well-defined workflow.
20. A virtual receptionist streamlines customer service communications.
A virtual receptionist can help to streamline your customer service communications and add professionalism to your brand without the cost of a full-time, in-house receptionist.
21. Virtual receptionists do everything a traditional in-house receptionist does, but there’s dozens of them, often available around the clock.
Essentially, you have the capabilities of a regular receptionist multiplied by a few dozen with none of the recruiting or hiring hassles.
22. A virtual receptionist is anything you want it to be.
If you can't afford to hire a receptionist and are wasting valuable time dealing with phone calls, virtual receptionists are the ideal solution.
23. A virtual receptionist will collect all lead information so you can keep track of callers and follow up as you see fit.
If you already have a CRM or other customer database in place, your virtual receptionist can easily update it with lead information.
24. A virtual receptionist can process orders for you.
Orders of any kind! Virtual receptionists can handle everything from e-commerce phone orders to maintenance requests to outage reports during a natural disaster.
25. A virtual receptionist can do after-hours support.Â
Using virtual receptionists gives you the assurance that whoever calls you will always reach a live person, rather than a voicemail box. Allow your virtual receptionists to take as many or as few calls as you want: all day, just after hours, weekends and holidays, or any combination of those.
26. In-house receptionists are more expensive compared to virtual receptionists.
Virtual receptionists are inexpensive, always available, and trained to deliver your company's message exactly how you want it.
27. Historically, VR’s were tasked to perform basic secretarial functions.
When not receiving phone calls, a virtual receptionist can write letters, organize work schedules, and make appointments.
28. A VR can also provide personal assistant services such as making dinner reservations, travel arrangements or checking on the availability of the Chief Executive Officer’s dry cleaning.
A Virtual Receptionist or VR can do more than just answer calls for you.
29. A VR, as the term connotes, works in the virtual world.Â
He or she is a person hired to perform a specific scope of work from a remote location.
30. A VR is for all intents and purposes, is a freelance agent or a person who non-exclusively provides his or her services to clients.
Unless otherwise specified in his or her contract, a VR can work for a variety of clients, not just your company. Nonetheless, the freelance descriptor implies that the VR is a freelancer.
31. A VR is paid based on an agreed-upon hourly rate.
The total cost of hiring a VR is calculated by multiplying the hourly rate by the number of productive hours.
32. A VR is a mobile worker and not confined by four walls or by time-keeping policies.
The benefit of hiring virtual employees is that you can be creative with workforce management and design schedules that cover your business outside of normal operating hours.
33. A VR has greater experience and can assure better performance because this is what he or she has specialized in.
The skill set and work maturity levels are higher than those of a typical office worker. Another factor that contributes to a VR's higher productivity is the second advantage, "Flexibility."
34. A VR can be assigned only four-hour work shifts.Â
VR can maintain a higher level of focus for a longer period of time than an office-based receptionist who must work an entire eight-hour day.
35. With the help of a VR It also allows you to concentrate on what matters most.Â
That is running your business and enjoying your personal life.
36. If you're ready to provide fantastic customer service and grow your business, consider a virtual receptionist.
A virtual receptionist service makes sense for almost any business when compared to traditional in-house options (at $30K per year).
37. Virtual Receptionists services provide a personal touch of a kind and polite human.Â
Finally, no matter how friendly and polite the automated messages are, you simply cannot replace the personal touch, such as calling a customer by name and asking how their day has been.
38. An advantage of a virtual receptionist is that it is usually far faster to get to the information the customer is looking for.
They can directly request assistance with a specific customer service issue. By using a reputable live receptionist service, you can ensure that the call is answered by trained personnel.
39. A virtual assistant is also far better equipped to deal with emergencies.
If your business is remotely medical, you may have to deal with people who require immediate assistance. A VR is properly trained to assess whether the emergency requires immediate attention, contact on-call personnel, or even provide the contact information for other medical establishments that can assist after hours.
40. Businesses of all sizes across every industry are taking advantage of the benefits virtual receptionists can bring to their teams.
Medical or healthcare practices, service providers, legal firms, real estate professionals, entrepreneurs, colleges and universities, and funeral homes are just a few of the industries that use answering services to better serve their clients and increase revenue.
41. Hiring a virtual receptionist is a substantial cost-savings solution for businesses compared to hiring an in-house staff member.Â
Because you are not required to pay for benefits or office expenses such as phone, internet, computer, office supplies, and rent.
42. You can also hire a virtual receptionist for specific hours to match your call volume and to fit your budget.
You can also hire virtual receptionists to assist you during times of high demand, such as when there are extra calls, staff meetings, or time-consuming projects that require specialized attention.
43. The virtual receptionists at an answering service will know a business well enough to judge if a call is of an urgent nature or not.
When a call comes in with a patient in distress, for example, a live answering service will notify an on-call physician, but it will not forward calls about directions to the physician's office or rescheduling an appointment.
44. Virtual receptionists answering for legal firms must be trained for client confidentiality.
Virtual receptionists must use securely encrypted technology to protect client data in the medical and legal industries, as well as other industries that require client information protection.
45. If you are spending more time supporting your business than building it, then it’s time to consider hiring a virtual receptionist.
It is an investment that not only retains current customers but also generates positive feedback and customer loyalty, as well as attracting new customers who are looking for a better experience than they have had elsewhere.
46. You can customize the services of our virtual assistants to meet your office needs and hire on a month-to-month service agreement.Â
Sometimes their rate starts at $29.99 a month.
47. A virtual answering service receptionist may sometimes work overtime, you don’t pay a premium price for it.
You pay your standard rate. And this only applies to the time spent actually processing your phone calls.
48. Your virtual answering service receptionist is only paid a low fixed rate for the time actually worked for you.
When it comes to your virtual answering service receptionist bill, you only pay for the actual time worked. There are no benefits, overtime, or other perks.
49. A virtual receptionist is scalable.
Virtual receptionist services will assist you in reaching your full business potential. Making yourself available for new opportunities is critical. More business, more sales, and more satisfied customers.
50. A virtual receptionist is cost-effective.Â
A virtual receptionist is less expensive than an in-house receptionist.
51. A virtual receptionist is available on demand.
Your in-house receptionist is not always available, whereas a virtual receptionist is. When you hire a virtual receptionist, you are putting real people to work for you and your company.
52. A virtual answering service scales to meet your needs, automatically and without any hassle.
A virtual assistant who is always available and ready to work at any time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It is a dynamic, completely adaptable solution.
53. Virtual receptionists are diligently screened during the interview process.
Before answering a single phone call, the few who are hired go through extensive training.
54. A virtual receptionist is a live, breathing, human being.
She also has excellent phone skills and advanced customer service training.
55. When it comes to a virtual receptionist, virtual simply means she’s not in your office.
She's in her own office, which is outfitted with the most up-to-date technological tools to help her answer your phone calls, distribute information, transfer certain callers, take messages from others, and provide you with information about each person's call.
56. You never have to worry about your virtual receptionist quitting without notice, demanding a raise, going on strike, or causing you staffing headaches.
You also don't have to cover her breaks, vacations, or sick days because she isn't on your payroll. There is no healthcare insurance, retirement plan, profit sharing, or other perks for you to provide and eat into your profits.
57. You only pay your virtual receptionist when she’s on the phone working for you.
And she doesn’t cost a dime when your phone isn’t ringing.
58. If you have a ringing telephone, a virtual receptionist is your best solution.
It's self-evident: you only pay for actual work and don't increase your headcount. With a virtual receptionist, you can present a professional image to your callers without significantly impacting your bottom line.
59. Using a virtual phone receptionist is a great way to impress your callers.
Furthermore, it allows you to take control of your calendar and focus on the things that are important to you.
60. Using a virtual phone receptionist is a great way to impress your callers.
Furthermore, it allows you to take control of your calendar and focus on the things that are important to you.
61. The great thing about hiring a virtual answering service is saving money.
In comparison, the average annual cost of a virtual answering service is around $3000. It's easy to see why you might want to use one. Furthermore, your phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as opposed to 8 hours a day, five days a week.
62. Having a professional VR that answers your phone adds instant legitimacy in the eyes of the caller.
Instead, put your best foot forward by greeting them with a warm and friendly voice from a virtual receptionist service. It will tell them a lot about your company.
63. A virtual receptionist service will make sure you and your team receive messages in the most efficient manner possible.
There's no need to dig through a voice mailbox for messages. Your time is valuable, and you always have messages and information at the ready.
64. A virtual receptionist is a lot like a traditional receptionist.Â
the administrative person who is usually found at a company's front desk—the main difference being their location. A virtual receptionist, unlike an on-site employee, works remotely and for multiple companies.
65. A virtual receptionist can make outbound calls.Â
Also, respond to website visitors through a live chat window.
66. Virtual receptionists provide high-quality customer service.
When you use a virtual receptionist service, you gain access to a network of dedicated, trained customer service representatives who are eager to please your customers, clients, and prospects.
67. Virtual receptionists provide consistent experience to clients across channels.
This means that whether a customer, client, or prospect calls your company or communicates through your website, they will receive the same professional, personalized attention.
68. One of the key benefits of a virtual receptionist is the human-to-human connection it provides.Â
Your callers and website visitors expect to speak to a real person.
69. A virtual receptionist has a primary responsibility to control and maintain your customer communications via telephone.
The virtual receptionist is in charge of forwarding incoming inquiries to the appropriate person.
70. The long-term goal for a virtual receptionist service is to completely eliminate any missed calls so that your business will never miss an opportunity or lead.
With all of this in place, your company will benefit from improved communication and a more professional image.
71. The nitty-gritty of a virtual receptionist service is answering frequently asked questions about your brand.
They will always refer to any guidelines you have established in order to respond to queries in an accurate and timely manner.
72. If a virtual receptionist service is implemented correctly, it will be a vital asset and become an extension of your business.
In an ideal world, your virtual receptionist should appear to be a standard setup.
73. For businesses on a budget, a virtual receptionist is a must.
The service is significantly less expensive than hiring a full-time receptionist to handle after-hours calls.
74. Adopting a virtual receptionist service means you don’t have to supply anything for the job to be done.
You will not have to pay for a desk, development tools, equipment, or office supplies.
75. A virtual receptionist is already an expert at their craft.
Hiring and developing new employees can be a time-consuming process that takes many hours.
76. A virtual receptionist is responsive and interactive
A voice-controlled system will interact with callers rather than simply greeting them with a fancy message and placing them on hold until someone picks up the phone.
77. A virtual receptionist makes it possible for the caller to say the name of the person they want to talk to, answer a question and say a list of numbers.Â
The possibilities are endless.
78. A virtual receptionist will help you save time and increase your productivity.Â
Your operational costs will decrease as your efficiency improves. This is a critical advantage of using a virtual receptionist.
79. A virtual receptionist will help bolster your company’s image.Â
When you can reduce the amount of time a caller waits after reaching an extension, you will increase customer satisfaction. If your customers, partners, or providers know they can always reach someone when they call your company, they will never feel frustrated or left behind.
80. Virtual assistants improve efficiency.Â
Businesses can handle far more calls by delegating call-answering to a virtual assistant. This enables businesses to concentrate on their core competencies.
81. Hire virtual assistants because they can drive business growth.Â
Bring in talented virtual assistants to help you expand your business.
82. Hire virtual assistants because they understand your business thoroughly.
You don't have to be concerned about geographical limitations when working with a virtual assistant. This gives you unrestricted access to world-class talent.
83. Hire virtual assistants to help decrease operational costs.
Reduce operational costs by utilizing your virtual assistant.
84. Hire virtual assistants because they will bill you only for the hours they work.
In the professional VA world, no work equals no pay!
85. Hire virtual assistants because they can do more work in less time.Â
VAs can perform tasks that must be done on a regular basis, allowing you to manage multiple tasks in a short period of time.
86. Hire virtual assistants because they will help you improve your online presence.Â
They can increase the frequency of social media posts by having a wide range of relevant expertise. As a result, your brand's identity will be significantly strengthened.
87. Your VA acts on your behalf.
A virtual assistant can improve your company's image in the eyes of your customers. He or she observes, strategizes, and takes preventive measures against potential market challenges in the future.
88. A virtual assistant, you can make up for the skill gap in your organization.
This is one of the reasons you need a virtual assistant: they will perform tasks that may appear difficult to you.
89. Virtual Assistants are committed to provide very productive results while delivering value to their clients.
VAs strive to provide HIGH-QUALITY services on a consistent basis because they are completely dedicated to their work. These assistants can sometimes outperform traditional full-time employees.
90. Having a virtual assistant on your side allows you to have more leisure time.
A virtual assistant can literally add more productive hours to your day by offloading your mundane tasks.
91. A bilingual virtual receptionist will increase customer trust and satisfaction by speaking a language your customers understand.
A bilingual receptionist is extremely beneficial if your company caters to an international market.
92. You will be able to serve a global market if you hire a skilled virtual receptionist who is not only familiar with different languages but also cultures.
Never lose a sale again because of a language barrier.
93. A trained virtual receptionist will ensure exceptional customer service, leaving you with a bunch of happy customers.
When your customers receive prompt assistance from a live person rather than a machine, they are more satisfied with their interactions with your company.
94. VA knows how to tackle each call.
Ultimately, this translates to better service for a broader range of stakeholders.
95. A virtual receptionist will also engage with web visitors over web chat on your website or social media.
This will strengthen your online presence because your visitors will receive quick responses to online inquiries.
96. Your virtual receptionist will make a note of customer queries and maintain a record of grievances and feedback.
They have been trained to handle support tickets and keep your customers satisfied.
97. The greatest skill of a trained virtual receptionist is that of organization.
They handle mundane tasks in an orderly manner – they will keep your files organized, tickets in order, and voicemails clear.
98. Virtual receptionist services come in many plans for different budgets.
Choose a VA plan that meets your company's needs and budget.
99. Hire a VA and say goodbye to fixed costs.
Paying in-house receptionists can cost hundreds of dollars per month. When you factor in benefits, taxes, and overhead costs, you're looking at serious financial trouble.
100. A virtual receptionist will centralize your everyday operations and organize work.
Centralizing and streamlining operations will increase efficiency and reduce employee and customer frustration.
101. With the help of skilled professionals such as virtual assistants, you can be worry-free and spend much-needed quality time with your family and friends.
Success is desired, but you also need people to share it with.
Enhance Your Professional Image, Improve Customer Service, Manage Your Workload More Effectively.
