What hours are covered – and any night or weekend hours?
We offer full office support Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:30 PM, EST.
How does your service and pricing compare to other answering services or call centers?
First, at the Hive we are NOT an answering service or a call center. We offer so much more than being simple message takers. At the Hive Solution, we’re a boutique virtual office resource to answer phones, take messages, schedule client appointments and manage administrative tasks. What makes us special is our superior customer service and attention-to-detail. A bonus for our clients is the Client Information Manual that they can use to train their new admin when the day finally comes that they outgrow us.
We take time to listen to our clients’ customers and address their specific needs and concerns. We work to anticipate their needs and offer suggestions based on detailed conversations. We recognize your success equals our success, and work as a team to help you achieve your company’s value.
We price based on a block of time for active work, rather than by the minute, the job or the number of calls. For example, our Messenger Bee plan starts at just under $300 per month for up to three (3) hours. Other plan options can be seen here.
How can you help someone like me? I feel so busy I wonder how I’ll even take the time to turn over my work to you!
The Hive is here to deliver the right level of service for you and your customers. We customize our services to fit your needs and will guide you from the start, working to make everything a smooth transition. We’ll help you redirect your attention to making money.
For example, one contractor uses us as his mental to-do list. He calls, texts or emails notes as they come to mind and we send him his to-do list at the end of each day. He’s free to focus on his customers and not worry about remembering to pick up cat food on his way home!
Another one of our entrepreneurs used to attempt to answer every call he received. Soon he was both overwhelmed and unproductive, due in part to the many sales calls he unwittingly answered. Eventually, like many contractors do, he stopped answering calls from numbers he didn’t recognize – often missing an important job opportunity!
Today, The Hive screens every call received. We take all messages, note all information, and schedule appointments. Clever sales people won’t easily be able to get at your time with us on the front line.
How will you learn my business, especially if it’s complicated?
The first step in your onboarding as a client is to be assigned to a Bee who will manage and maintain your account through relational management principles. Each client becomes a Bee’s direct responsibility and a special bond is quickly formed with their entrepreneur.
You’ll fill out a New Client Intake form which we use to develop your custom Client Information Manual. This interactive PDF becomes our office “Bible” for your business. Once your Bee has been fully trained, she will then begin the process of cross-pollinating/training the other Bees to ensure the entire Hive is prepared to work closely together and serve our newest entrepreneur.
Bees put themselves through a rigorous, boot-camp style training for each client, even learning the language of your business. For example I’ve overhead the bees on the phone, “Since you’ve already replaced the PVR (Pressure Relief Valve), yet your water usage is still unusually high, our guys’ next step might be to check to see if your toilet is running or outdoor spigot may be leaking… Otherwise, the cause could be a main water break underground. Have you noticed an obvious wet area in your otherwise dry yard?” The Bees take the time to learn and understand your business and its terminology, so we become an integral part of your day-to-day operations.
Are the Bees like having regular employees? What about their benefits and overhead?
Yes. Hiring The Hive means you share well-trained, qualified boutique virtual assistants to help manage your office support needs and expenses. All of our employees are W-2 employees. This means The Hive pays all the expensive overhead costs associated with hiring full-time employee(s). You get the benefit of more than one employee at your disposal and you only pay for the time you use!
The monthly cost to hire The Hive is a business expense for you. Our clients benefit by sharing these costs with other businesses. The bonus? No one KNOWS we are a third party! We don’t sound like a service! Your customers naturally assume our Bees sit in your office right next to you all day!
Is there a contract or long-term commitment?
We don’t believe a long-term contract agreement is in our client’s best interest. We offer a month-to-month service. We prefer our clients CHOOSE us month after month! We ask for only 30 days notice to discontinue service. We also offer a 6-month or 12-month agreement.
I have a seasonal business. What if I only need someone for a short time?
We have a VACATION support option. We will manage your phones from one day to many months while you manage your busy season or take a much-needed vacation. We recognize it’s impossible to do it all yourself, especially during your busy season(s)!
We are a perfect solution for a seasonal business that doesn’t need full-time, year-round telephone and scheduling support. During your busy season, our professional team will answer calls, schedule appointments, and return calls on your behalf and make follow up calls once the job has been completed. You will never again have to suffer lost business for missed services.
Can I use The Hive Solution only as a backup phone support?
Yes! We are a great solution for overflow phone support.
I have a team of techs. How do you operate with a team, and how large of a team can you work with?
We’ve managed teams as small as one and as large as 30. We will work together with our entrepreneur to determine the best way to serve and communicate with everyone on the team in order to keep our entrepreneurs and techs on schedule. This results in the entire team being more efficient. The Hive boosts employee morale because we are equipped to manage the triangle of customer(s), tech(s) and the entrepreneur.
If someone calls my business number, how do the Bees know it’s MY business and answer the phone correctly?
We have special call center software that ensures we answer the phone correctly every time. And can add on-screen notes as your schedule changes real time for the entire Hive to see.
What happens when calls go into voicemail?
Whenever a call goes into voicemail, we will return the call within the hour.
Can I switch Bees once I’m a client?
Of course you can. We assign a Bee based on team availability at the time of onboarding and industry experience. We want you to love your Bee(s) as much as we do!
What happens when my Bee takes a vacation or gets sick?
Since we cross-pollinate/train all of our Bees to intimately know each of entrepreneur’s business, you never lose traction. Your Bee team will continue to answer each call and your business will run as usual. Your Bee will return in a flash and be advised on all the things they missed while they were out.
How will my service be affected by inclement weather?
From hurricanes and tornados to snow and ice – weather can be crazy! But the benefit of each Bee living virtually in the cloud and physically at different locations around the state(s), means we are never totally shut down. Power outages may affect some Bees at the same time, but that doesn’t keep us from offering the best customer service.
Where are you located?
Each Bee works virtually in the cloud. Physically, our headquarters and Bees live in the metro Atlanta area.
How do I apply to work for The Hive Solution?
You can apply online here.
