What Happens to Your Calls After 5 PM? An Honest Cost Comparison

It's 6:17 PM. A prospect who's been thinking about your product all day finally has time to call. They've been on your website, read the comparison page, they're ready to talk to someone. They dial your number and get: "Our office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM. Please leave a message and we'll return your call on the next business day." That prospect hangs up. Sixty percent of after-hours callers don't leave a message. Of those who do, 30-40% don't answer when you call back the next day. By the time you reach them — maybe 48 hours later — they've talked to your competitor who answered the phone at 6:17 PM. Measure the Problem Before Solving It Before picking a solution, pull your inbound call data by hour. If you're running VICIdial: SELECT HOUR ( call_date ) AS call_hour , COUNT ( * ) AS total_calls , SUM ( CASE WHEN status IN ( 'DROP' , 'XDROP' , 'AFTHRS' , 'NANQUE' ) THEN 1 ELSE 0 END ) AS missed , ROUND ( SUM ( CASE WHEN status IN ( 'DROP' , 'XDROP' , 'AFTHRS' , 'NA