The use of an answering service provides a nice personal touch, but it is sometimes not as informative as you would like. If you must call the customer for details, using this service is not a timesaver. An answering machine or voicemail system offers you flexibility, and you can customize your personal greeting and change it regularly. You can also leave detailed instructions for customers to follow when booking appointments. Using a beeper is not as personal a choice, and beepers can be confusing to those who aren't familiar with their use.
Beepers are great, however, for emergency calls from clients.
Pre-booking at the client's home is an ideal way to schedule appointments since it cuts down on phone time and phone tag with the client. Repeat customers are the foundation of a successful business. The larger the client base, the tighter your routing can be. When starting out, you may have to do more driving than you'd like. As your clientele grows, you can schedule your route by geographic areas, dividing the community into sections and then booking appointments in each section within a common time frame.