How to Handle Enquiries: A Buyer's Guide

Every enquiry you don't answer in time is a customer who might call the business next door instead. And on the Costa del Sol, where people message you in Spanish in the morning and English in the afternoon, answering well isn't always easy.

There are several ways to handle who replies when a customer asks about prices, opening hours or availability. None of them is best for everyone: it depends on your volume, your budget and how much you can afford to switch off. Here's a clear comparison of the five most common options so you can choose with confidence.

Option 1: handle it yourself

It's what almost everyone does at the start. You answer the phone, reply to messages and return missed calls when you can. Nobody knows the business better than you, so the quality of each answer is high.

The catch is the hidden cost: every interruption pulls you away from what you're doing. If you're with a customer, driving or closing up, enquiries go unanswered. And at night or on weekends, there's simply nobody there.

• Pros: zero cost, full control, you know every detail.
• Cons: doesn't scale, you lose after-hours enquiries, it steals your focus.
• Makes sense if: you've just started and volume is low.

Option 2: hire a receptionist

A dedicated person answering the phone and greeting customers solves a lot. They bring a human touch, can handle tricky situations and represent your business in person.

But it's the most expensive option and the one that takes the most managing: salary, training, holidays, sick days. One person also can't cover nights or public holidays, and if you need more than one language the cost climbs.

• Pros: human touch, real judgement, physical presence.
• Cons: the most expensive option, no 24/7 cover, needs managing.
• Makes sense if: in-person service is central and your volume justifies it.

Option 3: a call-answering service

An outside company answers your calls in your name. You free up your time without hiring anyone, and many offer wide hours of cover.

The downside is that the operator doesn't know your business in detail: they work from a script and may give generic answers or just pass everything back to you. It's usually charged per call or per minute, and quality bilingual cover isn't always included.

• Pros: takes the phone off your hands, wide hours, no employment contract.
• Cons: generic answers, variable cost, little knowledge of your business.
• Makes sense if: you get a lot of calls and need to screen them, not resolve them.

Option 4: a basic chatbot or answering machine

The classic press-a-button bot ("press 1 for opening hours") or the answering machine. It's cheap and always available, but it only handles the basics.

The moment a customer asks something it wasn't set up for, the system falls short and the person gets frustrated. Many hang up or leave without sharing their details. It feels like service, but it rarely actually resolves anything.

• Pros: cheap, always on, quick to set up.
• Cons: rigid, frustrating, doesn't understand real questions.
• Makes sense if: you only need to read out a few fixed facts and nothing more.

Option 5: an AI receptionist

This is the missing middle ground. An AI receptionist holds a natural conversation, answers from your business's real information and is available at any hour, in both Spanish and English.

Unlike a button-based chatbot, it understands what the customer actually wants. And unlike a person, it doesn't get tired, doesn't sleep and doesn't get overwhelmed when several enquiries arrive at once. The key point: a good one doesn't make things up. It answers only from what you've given it, and when someone shows interest it captures their details (name, phone and preferred time) and alerts you instantly.

This is where FrontChime fits in. It handles your website chat today, replies in the customer's language and never invents prices or hours: it only uses the profile you define. WhatsApp and voice calls are coming soon. Right now it's in early access, with founder pricing.

• Pros: 24/7, bilingual, genuinely conversational, captures and alerts on leads, contained cost.
• Cons: doesn't replace in-person service; it needs a solid profile to start from.
• Makes sense if: you lose after-hours enquiries or serve customers in two languages.

How to decide

You don't have to pick just one. Many businesses combine them: you or your team for in-person work, and an AI receptionist for first contact and the hours nobody covers. Ask yourself three questions: how many enquiries slip through, at what times, and in how many languages?

If the answer includes "at night", "on weekends" or "in English", an AI receptionist will probably give you back more than it costs. If you want to see it without any commitment, try the FrontChime demo and watch how it would answer your customers.