Estate and letting agents seem to be out and about most on a Tuesday morning, if new research from Moneypenny is anything to go by.
The telephone answering service handles the most calls that are missed by agents between 10am and 11am on Tuesday.
This is followed by 9am-10am on Tuesday and 9am-10am on Monday. At weekends, calls missed by agents peak at 11am-12 noon on a Saturday.
Moneypenny, which answers phones on behalf of over 1,050 agents across the UK, including providing an overflow service when branches are too busy to pick up, analysed calls over a 12-month period.
Commercial manager Samantha Jones said: “From this we saw a number of trends emerge, with the results identifying the times of the week that our team answer the most calls on behalf of estate and letting agents.
“This could be for any number of reasons. We know, for example, that many of our clients choose midweek mornings to divert their calls to us whilst following up weekend appointments, completing valuations and tenant inspections or prospecting.
“Perhaps Tuesday is the most effective day.
“Whatever the reason, the findings indicate that agents are most likely to be under-resourced at these times.”
She added: “We constantly monitor our call volumes to assess and identify trends so agents can ensure they have the correct staff resource in place.
“Not only is this important for their productivity and the long-term well-being of staff, but it’s also crucial from a customer service perspective. When calls go unanswered, are directed to voicemail or a promised call back doesn’t materialise because staff are too busy, it’s hugely frustrating for buyers, sellers, landlords and tenants.
“Over time these missed calls can add up to a lot of lost revenue too.
“Virtually all communication – whether by email, text or phone call – these days comes with high expectations of an immediate response.”
Other key findings from the research highlighted that August has been the busiest month of the past year for Moneypenny – unsurprisingly, given the holiday season. Overall, Friday was found to be the busiest day of the week for property receptionists at Moneypenny, which also provides a fully outsourced phone handling service, with 10am-11am on average the busiest time.
In contrast, the quietest time for the firm’s phone receptionists was 2pm-3pm on a Thursday, suggesting that is when most agents are in their offices and at their desks.
