Call Answering Service Chatham
A virtual receptionist service for Chatham firms in finance, property, retail and heritage tourism across the Medway Towns.
- UK-based receptionists
- Real people, not bots
- Answered in your company name
Phone answering across Chatham and Medway
Chatham has had to reinvent itself. When the Royal Navy Dockyard closed in 1984 after more than four centuries, around 7,000 people lost their jobs. What followed was a long effort to revitalise the Thames Gateway area, and the old dockyard land is now a mix of commercial port, business premises, homes and a museum.
The town's economy today, from banking to retail and heritage tourism, relies on the phone to win and keep customers. Onwards Answering helps by answering every call you send us with a real person using your business name. We take messages and forward them by email or text, or you can read them on our online platform, route callers to the right person, book appointments and qualify leads. Our receptionists work from their homes in Scotland rather than a call centre, and a free trial comes first, before you settle on a flexible package.
What keeps Chatham's phones ringing
These are the parts of the local economy that stand out in the town's recent history.
Banking and financial services
Vanquis Bank is now one of the largest employers in Chatham. Smaller financial firms, brokers and advisers in the Medway Towns can use our receptionists to take client calls, book appointments and handle messages with care, so every caller receives a courteous and professional response.
More on finance call handlingProperty and regeneration
Parts of the former dockyard have been redeveloped for business and residential use at Chatham Maritime, and regeneration of the Thames Gateway has been a long-running focus. Letting agents, estate agents and developers can pass calls to us to arrange viewings, capture applicant details and log maintenance requests.
More on property call handlingHeritage and leisure
The Chatham Historic Dockyard, Fort Amherst and the marina on the Medway give the town a strong heritage and leisure offer. Attractions, cafes and boat businesses can hand us their overflow calls so bookings are taken and visitor questions answered, keeping staff free to look after people on site.
More on hospitality call handlingTown centre retail
Chatham is the principal retail centre of Medway. Shops and online sellers can use our telephone answering and order management to deal with stock enquiries, deliveries and returns, and our live chat answering can look after visitors to your website at the same time, so no enquiry slips through.
More on e-commerce call handlingChatham and the Medway Towns
Chatham is a town in the Medway unitary authority, within the ceremonial county of Kent in South East England. It forms a conurbation with Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham, and it is the administrative headquarters of Medway Council. The town grew around Chatham Dockyard, which became a Royal Dockyard in the 16th century and built HMS Victory.
Fortifications such as Fort Amherst, begun in 1756, were built to protect the dockyard from attack by land, and the Corps of Royal Engineers remains at Brompton Barracks. After the dockyard closed, part of the site became a commercial port, other parts were redeveloped as Chatham Maritime, and 84 acres were preserved as the Chatham Historic Dockyard.
Watling Street, the Roman road, passed through the town, and the River Medway once carried stone, timber and iron from the Weald for shipbuilding. Today the river is used mainly by tourist traffic and yachts. Local numbers use the 01634 dialling code, and postcodes start with ME. For businesses in a town with this much going on, a call answering service means diverted calls are answered by someone who represents you well.
Place facts sourced from Wikipedia.
What makes Onwards Answering different
Real people, never bots
Each call we take is answered by a trained receptionist speaking in your company name, not an automated menu or a recorded voice.
No per-call charges
You pay an agreed monthly package with no per-call fees, no bundles of minutes and no cap on how many calls we answer.
A summary after every call
Every call ends with a summary sent to you by email or SMS, and messages are also kept in the Onwards Answering Connect app and portal.
Familiar callers recognised
Returning callers are recognised, so the people who ring you often are greeted like someone your business already knows.
Voicemail after hours included
When the working day ends, an after-hours voicemail on your business number is included at no extra cost, so callers can still leave a message.
A home-working team in Scotland
Our receptionists are based in Scotland and work from home, backed by team leads and client managers. You get a small, personal team that learns your business, not a large call centre.
Getting started takes four steps
- 1
Tell us about your business
We learn what you do, who calls you and how you want each type of call handled.
- 2
We build your call script
Greetings, questions and call flows are written around your business, in your company name.
- 3
Divert your calls
Send calls to us all day, at busy times or only when you cannot answer. Your number stays the same.
- 4
Get every message
Messages and enquiries reach you by email, SMS or the Onwards Answering Connect app.
Call answering in Chatham: your questions
Can you cover calls for businesses across Medway, not just Chatham?
Yes. We answer calls for businesses throughout the UK, so it makes no difference whether you trade from Rochester, Gillingham, Strood or Rainham. You divert your existing number to us, and we answer in your business name using a script shaped around your services.
Are your receptionists in Kent?
No. Our people live and work in Scotland, answering from home offices rather than a call centre, and our headquarters are in Glasgow. They take the time to learn about your Chatham business, so callers get accurate information and a friendly response every time they ring.
Can you take bookings for a visitor attraction or leisure business?
Yes. Appointment scheduling and diary management are part of the service, so we can take bookings, answer common questions about what you offer and pass on anything unusual. That helps heritage and leisure businesses along the Medway stay responsive when the people on site are busy with visitors.
Call answering near Chatham
We also answer calls for businesses in these nearby towns and cities.