24/7 answering services for franchise networks

Our live call answering solutions make it simple to standardise your franchise brand’s telephone-based customer service across all locations.

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Call answering free trial

Cost-effective telephone answering services providing a seamless experience for callers, wherever they are

UK receptionists

Our local virtual reception teams answer your calls, with overflow support to ensure a fast speed of answer.

Brand consistency

Ensure a uniform branding experience for your callers, through our custom greetings and scripts.

24/7 availability

After-hours, weekends and bank holidays … we proudly support all kinds of franchises around the clock.

No HR hiring headaches

There’s no need to hire, train and manage in-house franchise reception staff – we can take calls instantly.

Scalable packages

Flexible packages allow you to easily scale your call answering service as your franchise grows.

Instant emails or texts

Receive email or SMS messages after each call, containing caller details and their reason for calling.

How our franchise answering service works

1 Set up within minutes 2 Customer calls you 3 We answer for you 4 We deliver your messages

Set up within minutes

Tell us about your franchise, your preferred greeting and how you’d like us to interact with your callers. Then simply confirm who should receive messages or, depending on your plan, call transfers when they’re available.

Customer calls you

By forwarding your business phone to the unique number we provide, we’ll know when an incoming call is for your franchise network. You’ll have flexibility to send all calls to us or only unanswered calls.

We answer for you

Our friendly and professional UK-based receptionists will answer calls to your franchise number(s) with your preferred greeting, 24/7 if you wish. Depending on your plan, we can take messages, transfer selected calls, answer FAQs, submit leads into your CRM, take orders, process payments, schedule your appointments and more.

We deliver your messages

After each call you’ll immediately receive a message by email, SMS or both (as chosen by you) including details such as the caller’s name, phone number and, of course, the reason for their call.

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Support for head offices and franchisees

Cost-effective call answering for UK franchises of all sizes

As many franchises grow rapidly, our virtual reception service is quick to set up and easy to scale as you expand:

Affordable alternative compared to additional in-house staff
Keep overheads to a minimum
No hiring or training costs
Quickly add contacts for new franchise locations
Single or multiple incoming lines supported

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Consistent brand experience across your franchise network

This includes:

Custom greeting to reflect your brand
All incoming calls consistently answered
Aligned customer service
Uniform FAQ answers

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Peace of mind that every lead and appointment is consistently captured

To help your franchise grow, we can:

Follow your agreed franchise process to qualify leads
Consistently capture caller details and gather important info
Screen calls so you don’t deal with time wasters
Provide 24/7 answering so no leads are lost
Schedule appointments in your software
Provide inbound phone support for campaigns

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We’re ready to be the voice of your franchise

Call management is a key ingredient to the success of every franchise and our team of virtual receptionists are ready to answer for you 365 days a year.

Ensuring calls to your head office and franchise network are always answered in a friendly, professional and helpful manner can:

Enhance your professional image
Improve your customer experience
Help you capitalise on every opportunity
Power your growth
Cut operating costs

With call overflow, after-hours and 24/7 options available, we can easily tailor a solution to your needs.

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Complementary business solutions

Phone numbers

Set up localised virtual inbound numbers for locations across the UK or a 0800 freephone number.

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Custom-built IVR

IVR solutions can be implemented to greet callers with a menu so their call can quickly be directed to the right place.

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Call diversion

Advertise one phone number and divert it to your mobile – perfect for setting up new franchises.

Find out more

What our customers love

We don’t have to worry about missed calls or the impact of this on our day-to-day business.

Lainton Services

ReceptionHQ is the best in managing phone calls for businesses … I will recommend any business to get in touch as soon as possible.

Allied Brigade

It’s extremely reassuring knowing we’ll never miss an important call or potential appointment, and at a very affordable price.

We Clean Any Home

Read all testimonials

FAQs

Why should I get a live call answering service?

Many callers hang up when their call goes to voicemail, so you can miss out on vital conversations or leads. Ensuring your calls are answered by a live person, increases customer satisfaction, builds loyalty and improves your opportunity to create a rapport and obtain caller details.

Live call answering also allows you to screen calls, as you can advise your receptionist to transfer or take messages for only those call types you wish to receive. Once answered, you can see each message as it’s taken and prioritise who you will call back first.

Live call answering increases revenue through better customer connections, reduces costs as you’re not paying for a full time receptionist and helps you to be more efficient with your time.

Where is ReceptionHQ based?

ReceptionHQ is based in Basingstoke, Hampshire, and is a subsidiary of OfficeHQ, a global virtual reception company headquartered in Australia.

Can you prevent me from missing calls?

Yes, our receptionist can answer calls you’d usually miss. You may be on another call or simply unable to answer because you’re busy at the time. Our receptionists will take a detailed message and send to you instantly by email or SMS. Many clients who subscribe to our service are surprised when they learn how many calls they’d been missing prior to having their calls answered by ReceptionHQ.

How do I forward my calls to ReceptionHQ?

Forwarding your business phone calls to ReceptionHQ is easy. To have our team of virtual receptionists answer your calls, simply:

Decide whether you wish to forward calls immediately to ReceptionHQ (the best solution for most businesses) or have delayed call forwarding.
Identify the call forwarding codes for your telecommunications provider. Most providers publish these codes on their websites.
Use the codes to enable call forwarding to the local or toll-free number you choose to have allocated to you (aka your Assigned DID).

For more information, check out our article Forwarding Inbound Calls to Our Team of Receptionists, which outlines:

Immediate and delayed call forwarding options
Specific instructions for forwarding from providers such as BT, EE, Virgin Media, Vodafone and others.

Are you able to answer just some of our calls?

Yes. This is referred to as “call overflow”.

A lot of companies require their phone calls to be answered only when they are unable to take the call themselves. For example, if you step out of the office for an hour or your in-house receptionist goes to lunch, is on leave or is busy on another call and you have multiple calls coming in at the one time.

You can set your business phone number to divert (to the unique local phone number we allocate your business during the Free Trial setup process) only when the phone rings for more than a specified period (such as after 5 rings) or if your line is busy/engaged.

In such instances our receptionists will then answer the phone as if we were in your office. You’re always in control and can relax knowing you will never miss another important call again!

Do you offer a 24/7 live call answering service?

Yes. Our receptionists are available 24/7 and you can opt-in to receive after hours live call answering on any ReceptionHQ subscription.

Without after-hours call answering turned on, our receptionists will answer your calls between 8:00am and 6:00pm on weekdays. Outside of these standard business hours, calls will then go to voicemail and your voicemail message recordings will be emailed to you.

If you need after-hours call answering, please let us know when you sign up or contact us.

Are calls answered within the United Kingdom?

Yes. ReceptionHQ’s team of receptionists based in the United Kingdom answer the majority of calls for our UK clients during standard office hours, with overflow support available from our teams in Australia and the US. Calls are always answered by our team in the UK whenever possible, however calls overflow to Australia or the US after hours and during unforeseen peaks in call volumes. This enables us to provide 24/7 coverage for businesses that need it and ensure calls are always answered as fast as possible.

Can I sign-up for short-term call answering, eg. a day, week or month?

Yes, you are able to use our service for an hour, a day, a week, whenever you need our assistance. Many clients use our live call answering for short-term needs, for example, when their own in-house receptionist is at lunch, sick or on annual leave. Some clients use the service during their busy periods only, as call overflow or for campaigns. Our live call answering service is like having a casual receptionist who is always available. It’s reliable and risk-free, as you only pay for what you use.

If you prefer to use our service seasonally, you can take advantage of our pause package.

Is there a contract or lengthy agreement?

ReceptionHQ offers a month-to-month agreement, which can be cancelled by giving us at least three days’ notice prior to your monthly renewal date.

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Have questions? Please fill in your details and we’ll be in touch.

Want to try our call answering services for free?

Put the United Kingdom’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.

Start your free trial

Want to try our call answering services for free?

Put the United Kingdom’s leading virtual receptionist solution to the test! We’re ready to answer your phone FREE for 7 days.

Start your free trial

What does the free trial include?

Our free trial is based on our MyReceptionist service, with remote receptionists able to take messages and transfer calls based on your availability settings.