MAP Communications: Answering Service Review

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MAP Communications is a competitive answering service that provides a wide range of utilities and equipment features. Most businesses that use MAP Communications are in the medical, legal, and education industries, as well as smaller niche groups that have a need for a variety of call center functions.

The mission and promise of MAP Communications is to provide completely confidential services, serving to protect client information and keeping lines safe and secure from prying ears. As a HIPAA compliant company, MAP Communications is good at keeping information in check while processing and even producing special orders and tasks.

MAP Communications Main Features

One of the most popular features of MAP communications is the accompanying mobile app, which allows users to view call logs, billing information, usage status, and any other messages.

The web portal that comes with MAP Communications allows users to view records of almost anything except recorded calls. In order to listen to pre-recorded calls, the user must reach out to the support team and access the calls from them. However, the web portal and mobile device compatibility make it easy for business owners to access their information while on the go.

The message and voicemail system of MAP Communications is used mainly on a text basis. If a caller wants to leave any sort of message, the person who answered the phone (namely the receptionist) will have to copy the message down on their computer. Then, they can text or email the message to the person who needs to receive it. There is no voicemail inbox system for MAP Communications, but the web portal allows the receptionist to manually log incoming messages.

The “follow me” feature is another part of MAP Communications that allows for multiple rerouting opportunities. If the business is using multiple phone lines, it can be easy to customize how the calls are routed to specific individuals. Some companies will choose to have the caller reach out to the main line first, and then be redirected to the person they need to connect with. Other companies may want to incorporate the ability to account for each employee’s schedule, only rerouting calls to them when they are at their desk and available.

Setup and Price of MAP Communications

Email or phone communication is necessary during the setup process, as MAP Communications requires that the business owner is in touch with one of the company’s representatives during all of the initial stages. While setup can usually be completed in one day, it can be more complex if the investing business wishes to use answering scripts and other automated services. Most of the time, any scripts or other automated features need to be sent through email. This is why it can take more than one day for it to go through.

This answering service prides itself on boasting some of the lowest rates on the market, with a per-minute or per-service charge. However, the way that Map Communications will price its answering service is based on individual situations and can become quite tricky when there are custom features involved.

As a general breakdown, the prices of MAP communications are as follows:

Basic answering service through a receptionist runs at $42 per month. This gives 30 minutes of call time, with additional minutes costing $1.05 per minute.
Scripted answering services offer a custom package, where the company can incorporate their own scripts for agents to use. It can be broken down to $50 per month with $1.11 per minute of talk time, $81 per month with thirty free minutes of talk time (and additional minutes at $1.09), or $111.50 per month with sixty free minutes of talk time (and additional minutes at $1.07).
Life Transfer services offer the same package pricing as the Scripted service, with the added ability to transfer calls to any employee. The only difference between this service and the Scripted service is that the Life Transfer service costs more per minute.

Pros

The live answering service only takes 1-2 days to set up.
MAP Communications offers friendly service and consistent availability.
The prices are cheap.

Cons

The pricing schedule is complicated at the higher levels.
There is no live chat support.
There is no recorded voicemail system.

Final Thoughts

Overall, MAP Communications is a reliable and affordable answering service. It’s hard to beat their rates, and the support they offer is solid. The company might benefit from offering more receptionist tools and voicemail capabilities, but the 24/7 availability and friendly customer service make up for it.