Outsource your phone without losing customers
Every missed call is a customer who dials the next number
The phone rings while you are with a customer. Or you are up a ladder, in the car, or already closed. You see the number and think: I will call back in a minute. Often you do not, and by then the caller has found someone else.
For most businesses this is not about one call. It is about the five to fifteen calls a week that nobody picks up. Take an average customer worth 250 euros and you are losing more per month than a part-time hire costs.
You could hire someone for that. You can also outsource your phone availability, which has become a lot cheaper in recent years.
While you work
You are with a client or have your hands full. The phone rings eight times a day and you answer three.
Outside office hours
Callers do not stop at five. Whoever gets voicemail in the evening rarely calls back the next morning.
At peak moments
Three people call at once. Two hear the queue and hang up before you can get to them.
Holidays and sick days
One day short-staffed and your phone rings all day with nobody to answer it.
Three ways to outsource your phone
There are roughly three routes. They differ mainly in what you pay per month and how fast you are live. Which one fits depends on your business: a restaurant taking reservations needs something different from a hair salon booking appointments, or a consultancy that mostly wants to know who called and why.
1. Answer it yourself
Free, but not without cost. After every interruption it takes about fifteen minutes to get back into your work. And you are never available every hour.
- Only during your own hours
- Interrupts your work
- One call at a time
2. A traditional answering service
People pick up the phone for you, usually billed per call. This works well when calls are sensitive, for example at a funeral home or a legal emergency line.
- A real person on the line
- Strong for sensitive calls
- Two to four euros per call
- A queue as soon as it gets busy
- Does not know your calendar
3. An AI assistant
This is where AI comes in. An assistant that answers, handles the question and puts the appointment in your calendar. It works day and night and does not panic when four people call at once.
- Fixed amount per month
- Available evenings and weekends too
- No wait time, even when busy
- Puts appointments straight into your calendar
- Connects to your CRM
- Speaks over a hundred languages
- Makes outbound calls as well
Answering service or AI assistant
The points that make a difference in practice.
Traditional answering service
Bills per call or per minute. A receptionist answers, notes your message and emails it over.
- Cost: two to four euros per call
- Availability: office hours, evenings and weekends at a surcharge
- Wait time: you join a queue as soon as it gets busy
- Concurrent calls: as many as there are people free
- Calendar: no connection, you get a message
- Transferring: yes
- Setup time: several days to weeks
HeyFred
Fixed amount per month. The assistant answers, handles the question and is available 24 hours a day.
- Cost: fixed amount from 49 euros a month
- Availability: day and night, bank holidays included
- Wait time: none, it answers immediately
- Concurrent calls: several at once, depending on your plan
- Calendar: puts the appointment straight in
- Transferring: yes, to the right colleague
- Setup time: the same day
What the assistant does, and what it does not
This it does
- Answer and handle the caller question
- Book, move and cancel appointments in your calendar
- Transfer to the right person
- Email you a summary of every call
- Speak more than a hundred languages
Afterwards the details go to your calendar or CRM. How that works is explained under AI customer service.
This it does not
- Negotiate prices or hand out discounts
- Make decisions you want to make yourself
- Pretend to be human when someone asks
- Handle calls that need real judgement
You only understand the power of Fred once you hear him.
From 49 euros a month
You start at 49 euros a month. That includes 250 call minutes, good for around a hundred short calls. Minutes beyond that cost 40 cents each. As your volume grows you move to a plan with more minutes and several assistants.
| 75 to 100 calls a month | Cost per month |
|---|---|
| HeyFred | €49 |
| Traditional answering service | €300 or more |
All plans and what they include are on the pricing page.
Want to know what Fred can do for you?
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Frequently asked questions
The voice is natural, with pauses and intonation. Listen closely and you will notice it is not a person. Play the recordings on this page and decide for yourself whether that matters to your customers.
The assistant transfers the call to you or a colleague. You decide which topics trigger a transfer.
It says so and offers to have you call back. It does not make anything up.
The assistant answers with your company name and in your tone of voice. If someone asks outright whether they are talking to a computer, it is honest about it.
Usually the same day. You pick a number or connect your existing one, fill in what the assistant needs to know and test it yourself.
Yes. You forward your current number to HeyFred, or only the calls you do not pick up yourself.
You try it free for seven days and cancel monthly. You are not tied to anything.
Built for businesses that can’t afford to miss a call.
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Let Fred answer your phone today.
Live within 10 minutes. No credit card required to start.