How to receive less calls after hours as a location scout
I meant to post this right after the last meeting, but...
My suggestion is to use a google voice number for flyers when scouting.
It's free, and you can choose your number (assuming it is available).
You can send and receive texts with the number, as well as make calls and receive them. The outgoing caller ID should be your google voice number.
When someone calls your google voice number, your mobile phone will ring like usual, but when I pick up the phone I have the option to either take the call immediately, or listen to the caller leave a voicemail. And I can pick up the call as the voicemail is being left. The app will also try to transcribe the voicemail, which can be helpful.
There is another option to have an outgoing message that asks the caller to say their name, and then your phone will ring, and you will hear the recording, and then you can decide if you want to take the call or not.
Personally, I find the second option a little disrespectful when fielding calls from flyers. Also, you don't know the names of the residents that you flyer, so hearing their name would mean virtually nothing.
In the end, if you end up flyering on a Friday, and are not under the gun to make appointments, you can pick up when the phone rings, and not have to take the call if you do not want to.
Sincerely,
Wellington
PS. Shout out to Jason Kadlec for turning me onto google voice a million years ago.
Another VOIP option is TextNow. Also with either option you can record a message that is job specific. I usually ask people to leave there address on the message and that I will call them back if in the area and still have not found our location. I also ask them to text the VOIP number with all the information. And, if you are really hurting, Text Now will give you a SIM card (or sell cheaply) to let you make calls and text free from your cell phone plus 1GB of data (for maps and emails only).