About MAP Communications:
MAP Communications is an answering service located in various areas across the east coast of the United States and in the U.K. and New Zealand. MAP is one of the largest call centers available, with more than 5 separate locations, and their team of virtual receptionists is vast as well. Not only can MAP answer phones, but they can fill out web forms for you, take down orders, transfer calls, and are even bilingual for those who need it.
MAP offers tiered services, so their discounted rates are extremely reasonable for smaller businesses, but their rates overall are higher than the industry standard for a non-specialized answering service. Not only that, but it seems that the inconsistency of their answering service has led to some negative sentiment throughout the company.
Features:
Call Center Hours of Operation:
MAP Communications answers phones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for all of its customers regardless of the pricing package they are in. This can be extremely beneficial for a business or law firm that does not need a lot of minutes, because MAP has extra small plans for businesses with light call volume. You never have to worry that your callers will reach a voicemail, because MAP’s virtual receptionists transcribe every single message from your callers before sending you the message via text and email, and also giving you the opportunity to login to your MAP account online and read your messages there.
Answering Service and Protocols:
MAP can answer your phone calls with your custom greeting and script, and in most cases, they can implement both of these things within the first 24-48 hours of the initial setup of your account. MAP can take messages, transfer calls, and fill out single page web forms for you when they are on the phone with your callers. They also have a “roster service” which routes calls to the employee who handles specific tasks at certain hours of the day automatically.
How MAP Communications Works:
MAP Communications boasts a quick setup time, approximately 24-48 hours after you initially sign up with them. MAP gives you a dedicated number to forward your calls to and also provides you with an 800 number that you can give to your customers as well. This will also be the number you call for your dedicated support line. Once you have provided MAP with your script, your service will be fully set up. Simply forward your calls to MAP communications and they will answer your calls the way you have pre determined!
The pricing at MAP Communications is a bit difficult to understand, but there are basically three different tiers of services you can choose from that all have differing costs.
1. Basic Receptionist:
For $42 per month, you get 30 minutes with overages billed at $1.05. This package only gets you simple answering services and message taking services. The virtual receptionists will not patch calls to you for this pricing package.
2. Scripted Service:
For $50 per month you get 0 minutes but you pay $1.11 per minute.
For $81 per month you get 30 minutes with overages billed at $1.09.
For $11.50 per month you get 60 minutes with overages billed at $1.07.
This means you have to pay a $50 retainer just to be in this package before you even use any minutes, and pay higher premiums for a small amount of minutes and overages on a declining scale.
With this package however, the receptionists can answer more FAQs, book appointments for you, and fill out 1-page web forms for orders.
3. Live Transfer Service:
For $50 per month you get 0 minutes but pay $1.26 per minute.
For $81 per month you get 30 minutes with overages billed at $1.24.
For $111.50 per month you get 60 minutes with overages billed at $1.22.
This means you have to pay a $50 retainer just to be in this package before you even use any minutes, and pay the highest premiums for a small amount of minutes and overages on a declining scale.
This package is the only that offers live call transferring to you and your employees, and offers the same services as the scripted service.
MAP Communications Reviews:
The overall sentiment of MAP Communications is that it does the job, but its level of inconsistency leaves much to be desired for its customers. Their quick setup time and allowance for smaller pricing plans seems enticing, but once customers quickly discover that the service’s quality does not live up to the price per minute they are paying, their opinion quickly sours.
Check out Business.com to read more reviews from real MAP Communications customers.
Pros:
- Different service packages to choose from
- Minimum plans start very low
- Offer a wide range of services
- Have multiple locations for speedy answering and better failover
- 24/7 live answering eradicates voicemail
Cons:
- Price per minute is expensive for a non-specialized answering service
- Live call transferring becomes extremely expensive
- Virtual receptionist quality is inconsistent
- Piecemeal services will cost you extra money
Looking For Alternatives?
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