How should you set up after-hours call routing?

Decide four things and configure them once: your actual hours, what the message says, where calls go, and who checks the messages. Most businesses never make these decisions explicitly, so a caller at six in the evening discovers the answer on your behalf, and it is usually an unanswered ring.

Start with hours as they really are, not as the website says. If reception is unattended between twelve and one, that gap needs a plan, since a lunchtime call is a business-hours call to the person making it. The same applies to the half hour before opening when someone is in the building but not answering, which is a common source of the impression that a business does not pick up the phone.

Then the message, which is where most of the goodwill is won or lost. A caller who hears the hours, a clear commitment about when they will hear back, and an alternative for genuine urgency has been treated well even though nobody answered. A caller who hears a generic invitation to leave a message after the tone has learnt very little and will often ring your competitor instead. It costs nothing to record a better message.

Two details finish the job. Public holidays need separate configuration, because a weekday schedule will cheerfully answer as normal on Australia Day, and South Australian holidays differ from other states, so set them a year ahead. And someone must own checking the messages with a stated response time, because the most expensive after-hours setup is a beautifully configured voicemail box nobody opens until Wednesday. If you want the call flow built and handed over so you can change it yourself, call 1800 456 567.