Customer service plays an important role in helping businesses of all types succeed. With a growing number of Spanish speakers living in the United States, it’s important that your customer service team includes at least one bilingual individual who is fluent in both English and Spanish.

If your business has Spanish-speaking customers and could use help processing inbound calls, consider partnering with a bilingual answering service. Below we will answer and discuss the following three questions to provide insight on exactly how to get the most from a bilingual answering service.

• What do the bilingual live agents of an answering service do?
• What is the best bilingual phone answering service?
• Do bilingual live agents work from home?

What do the bilingual live agents of an answering service do?

Bilingual live agents (also sometimes referred to as bilingual virtual receptionists) are just like a department within your organization. They can help answer your incoming calls during regular business hours as well as after hours and can handle tasks as complex (and as simple) as needed.

After greeting callers, your live agents can answer questions, qualify leads, manage appointments, take messages, and much more. Additionally, here are some things a bilingual live agent can do to add value:

• Greet callers in English or Spanish. You know your clientele best, and you can pre-determine which language you would like your callers greeted in.
• Switch languages instantly if necessary. If your live agent answers the phone in English but realizes it’s a Spanish-speaking customer on the line, he or she can immediately switch over to the language the caller prefers.
• Reduce call transfers. It’s frustrating being transferred from one extension to another- especially due to a language barrier. Partnering with a bilingual answering service eliminates that extra (aggravating) step and will result in better experiences for your Spanish-speaking customers.

What is the best bilingual phone answering service?

One of the biggest mistakes you can make with an answering service is choosing one that doesn’t align with your company’s needs and the results you wish to achieve. When shopping around for the best bilingual answering service for your business, here are some things to consider:

• Do they speak the preferred language of my customers? If your business has a lot of Portuguese-speaking customers, it’s wise to partner with an answering service that offers Portuguese-speaking live agents. With Spanish being the most widely spoken language in the United States after English, Answering Service Care is proud to offer live agents who are fluent in both English and Spanish.
• Do they offer coverage in the times that I need them? Whether you have busy times of day or entire busy seasons, the best answering service will be there for you exactly when you need them to be.
• Do they offer the features I need? Aside from bilingual live agents, your business may have specific needs such as HIPAA-compliance, lead intake services, disaster recovery, email monitoring, or text message answering services. These features will come down to your industry and the types of customers you serve, but either way, it’s wise to identify them prior to choosing an answering service partner.

Do bilingual live agents work from home?

The bilingual live agents of an answering service have always worked remotely. For decades, the process has involved a business’ phone calls being forwarded to trained live agents working in quiet environments. Depending on the phone answering service you partner with, these environments could include small, private offices or larger call centers.

In recent years, the pandemic has reshaped many work environments, and more people are working from home than ever. But no matter where your bilingual live agent is handling your calls from, here are some things you can expect:

• Your calls will be answered promptly
• Your callers will speak to an agent who is knowledgeable and familiar with your business and industry
• Your live agent can perform many of the same tasks as an in-house receptionist
• Your callers will receive the highest level of compassionate care
• Typically, your callers won’t even know that the live agent they’re speaking with isn’t sitting right inside your office