Smiledog Remote Reception

As a partner in Carroll and Green Inc., a small chartered accountancy firm in downtown Dartmouth, Craig Green was caught in a tricky dilemma. He couldn’t justify paying someone simply to answer phones, but by having the company’s receptionist take on other duties, incoming phone calls often went unanswered.
“Nothing was getting done right. It was very frustrating for everyone,” Green said.

Smiledog to the rescue.

Green first heard about a remote reception service company called Smiledog from one of his clients. Listening to a radio ad about the benefits of Smiledog, Green decided to sign on.

That was nearly two years ago and the difference has been remarkable. “Our clients are so pleased to be able to talk to a real person,” Green said.

It’s not just a catchy name; Smiledog receptionists actually do smile every time they answer the telephone. It’s part of their training.

Smiledog, in a nutshell, combines old-fashioned service values with the latest in telecommunications technology, said Jeff Doyle, president and owner of Smiledog.

“Technology — the way we’ve been using it — has moved everyone away from personal contact to automated answer systems and voice mail. But it’s the personal connection that people want. There’s no substitute for a live, friendly voice.”

It was that back-to-basics philosophy — to answer every call promptly, with a smile — that inspired Doyle to begin working on the “Smiledog concept” back in 2006. A lifelong Nova Scotian,, Doyle opened shop in June 2007 with a team of off-site receptionists offering top-notch live-answer service around the clock.

If it sounds like a basic answering service, it’s not. Now based in Fall River, the tech-savvy Smiledog provides a “virtual” front desk for about 100 different companies in Nova Scotia, across the country and in the United States. Each account is customized for that particular client’s needs.

“When I studied the market, I found that the traditional answering service model doesn’t work very well for most people,” said Doyle. “It’s impersonal. The person answering usually identifies immediately that they’re the answering service. The message that comes through is ‘we can’t really help you’.”

At Smiledog, incoming calls are routed instantly to a designated receptionist who has, on her desktop computer screen, all the company information she needs to manage that call effectively. She can screen and/or connect callers to a direct office line, cell phone or another pre-arranged line. She can send messages or retrieve detailed information, such as maps to give directions, or answer frequently asked questions.

In a tough economic climate, when businesses are watching every penny spent, Smiledog makes a lot of sense. After paying a small monthly account fee, the company signing on only pays for service provided.. (As the volume of calls go up, that cost per call drops.)

“Research shows that clients prefer a live voice when they call a company, and that 75 per cent of new callers will hang up if they hear an auto attendant, voicemail or after five rings,” said Doyle.

The system can work for any business, from small firms looking to save overhead costs to large corporations needing extra coverage for a busy front desk receptionist. Phones can be programmed to transfer calls to Smiledog only when the company’s own lines are busy or unanswered, or a ‘hot’ button can be put in place to divert calls over lunch breaks or sick days.

“For larger businesses this can be a real life-saver for their receptionists. For the small operation it gives a sense of professionalism that a small operation needs,” said Doyle.

For Claire Lasnier, owner of Be Natural Laser Clinic in Bedford, signing up with Smiledog gave her some much-needed time to be able to promote her business.

“I knew that if the business was going to grow at all, I had to be professional and give personalized service. It was at the point where I didn’t want to leave in case somebody called,” Lasnier said.

With Smiledog answering the phones, Lasnier was able to meet her business goals, and many of her clients have since told her they chose her clinic because they got that live, friendly voice on the line.

“They’re not like a regular answering service. They respond to clients in a way that makes that connection,” she said.

It’s a story Doyle hears a lot. Clients frequently tell him their customers are surprised when they find out they’re using a remote reception service company. To the person calling the process is so seamless the Smiledog receptionist sounds like a key member of the company team.

“The only thing we can’t do is to actually greet a customer at the door,” laughed Doyle.