What does a virtual receptionist do?
- The short answer
- A virtual receptionist answers your business calls remotely, in your company's name. The core job is to greet the caller, find out what they need, and then book them, transfer them or take a message. A good one also answers common questions and sends you a record of every call. GreetKeeper does this job with AI at any hour, from $49 a month for 200 answered calls.
The longer answer
Booking is the task that earns the fee. A caller who wants an appointment and gets a message slip instead has to wait for your callback. They may ring the next business on the list. A virtual receptionist that writes the booking during the call keeps that customer.
Questions come next. Callers ask about hours, services, areas you cover and what a first visit involves. Your receptionist should answer the ones you've trained it on and pass the rest to a person.
Routing is the third part of the job. A billing question goes to the office, an urgent job goes to whoever is on call, and a supplier gets a message. Each caller should land with the right person on the first try.
Then there's the record. You need to know who called, why, and what happened, without replaying a voicemail.
A virtual receptionist's day, call by call
At 7:40am, before you open, a customer asks to move Thursday's appointment. The receptionist finds a new slot, reads it back, and updates your calendar.
Two calls come in together at 11:15am, in the lunch rush. Both callers are greeted at once, and one asks for the owner by name, so that call transfers.
A new lead rings at 4:30pm wanting a quote. Your receptionist asks the intake questions you set, notes the address, and books a site visit.
At 9:50pm a caller has an urgent problem. Your receptionist texts the on-call person with the caller's details and tries a second number if the first isn't picked up.
How GreetKeeper handles it
GreetKeeper answers every inbound call at any hour and books into Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. Point it at your website for a first draft of your hours, services and FAQs, then correct it.
Each number can have its own hours, greeting and calendar, and you can set closure dates so it answers as closed on those days. Robocalls and spam calls are screened out before the greeting.
Every call arrives as a transcript and a short summary, and the caller gets one text with the booking link or confirmation. Plans are $49 for 200 calls, $149 for 750 and $349 for 2,000, and each starts with a 14-day free trial with no card.
Virtual receptionist duties
Can a virtual receptionist schedule appointments?
Yes, and it's the most valuable thing one does. GreetKeeper books into Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook during the call on every plan, including the $49 Starter plan.
Does a virtual receptionist answer calls after hours?
A good one does, since after-hours calls are often the urgent ones. GreetKeeper answers at any hour and texts your on-call person with the caller's details when a call needs a human.
What information does a virtual receptionist take from callers?
At minimum the caller's name, number and reason for calling. GreetKeeper also asks the intake questions you set, like an address or a job type, and sends the answers in the call summary and webhook.
Hear it take one of your calls
Two minutes, your own scenario, no card.