Tony Henderson is the owner of Childcare That Works in Pearland, Texas. The center builds care around whatever hours a parent works, with full-time, part-time, and drop-in options.
"My name is Tony. The company that I own is called Childcare That Works," he says. "It's a company that works for any parent's schedule that needs care for children."
Parents on early shifts call early. For a long time, Tony paid someone to sit at the front desk and catch those calls.
The Challenge
Tony started where most owners start.
"We did the traditional get a secretary," he says. "They'll work the front desk, and they'll answer all the calls."
Then he looked at when the phone actually rang.
"So, I got to looking at these analytics and I was like, 'We're really only using a receptionist from as early as 6:00 AM until 9:00 AM,'" Tony says. Volume fell off through the middle of the day. It picked back up around 3:00 PM and ran to about 6:00 PM.
He was paying for twelve hours a day to cover about six.
"And I'm paying this person to be there from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM five days a week," he says. "So, I'm actually losing money."
The Solution
Tony knew his requirements before he started shopping.
"Find me something that's affordable," he says. "I want to make sure that they integrate with email, and they will notify me of every single call the minute that it comes."
He set it up himself. "So, I went online and I did the free trial, right?" Tony says.
The connection surprised him. "I was blown away," he says. "I was blown away with how fast it integrated with my cell phone."
Then came the voice. Upfirst lets owners pick from a directory of AI voices, and Tony had a specific sound in mind.
"So, I wanted to make sure that when someone called, it was a professional voice, but it had a urban kind of twang to it, right?" he says.
He found it on the list. "And, I clicked on Tiffany I'm like, 'Tiffany sounds like one of my nieces,'" Tony says. "Like, she sounds human."
Callers now reach an agent that asks what they need before it starts talking.
"Sure, I'd be happy to help," the agent says. "Could you tell me a bit about what you're looking for in terms of childcare services? That way I can share the most relevant information."
The Results
The voice held up in real calls.
"Tiffany is professional. Very professional," Tony says.
The notifications matched his original list. Upfirst sends a summary after every call, to email and to his phone. He sees who called and what they needed without standing at the front desk.
Tony knows what a missed call costs in a business parents shop around.
"If you don't answer that call, and seal that deal, then they're going to go back to number one or they're gonna go to number two," he says. "So, you have to get those calls even if you miss them."
His verdict came quickly.
"And I said, 'This is perfect. This is perfect. This is absolutely perfect,'" Tony says.