The Answering Service (TAS) provides high quality, cost effective message handling for companies and public sector organisations. In addition to taking calls on your behalf we also offer data collection by telephone, coordinating out-of-hours working and automatic alarm monitoring. Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, our services deliver excellent value for organisations of all sizes, based on a one-off set-up and connection fee, low monthly subscription, and per-call usage charge for some services. We aim to work closely with clients, listening to your needs and providing a seamless service which you can always trust. We can respond immediately when your procedures change for maximum benefit to your business. Our main areas of operation are outlined here but we have the flexibility to provide a service tailored to meet your exact needs. TAS works with a wide range of businesses:
Pharmaceutical companies rely on us for data collection and “code breaking” Technology organisations who may need high dependency cover Technology organisations who may need high dependency cover Forensic scientists require out-of-ours cover for emergency call-outs Firms of solicitors need to ensure that a duty layer can be contacted at any time Local authorities may ask us to take calls regarding housing repairs or environmental health issues, or we may provide full corporate cover, dealing with all their cals Our expertise in co-ordinating lone-working schemes benefits a wide range of workers, from engineers to vets, and security staff to health and safety inspectors.Handling messages
Our message-handling service is available whenever you need support, during normal office hours or out of hours. Simply divert calls to one of our designated phone numbers, and a highly trained TAS receptionist will answer in your organisation’s name.
Presenting a professional front-line image at all times, we deal with your callers in a friendly and efficient manner, just as if we were working in your surroundings. For example, we take calls requesting emergency response handling and liaise with duty engineers to pass on relevant information.
All calls are answered as quickly as possible, but we take great care not to compromise the accuracy of the information we receive. Messages can be delivered by whatever method you prefer, including email, phone, fax or SMS to a mobile or pager. We follow your instructions for prioritisations, call escalation and “filtering out” of non-emergencies.
Collecting and storing data
TAS offers a comprehensive data collection service which covers taking details from your customers or clients and entering the information into a database which then can be linked to your network, with the option for us to build the database for you if required. Once we have secured the incoming data, we can then deliver that information to the relevant parties. A key application is the work we do for pharmaceutical companies, gathering information for clinical trials.TAS maintains priority telephone calls, such as reports of adverse drug reactions, for which we may then have to implement emergency escalation procedures. We also provide secure storage of tamper-evident ‘code break’ envelopes for clinical studies.
