We’ve all been there …
8:05 a.m. Your coffee is fresh and hot. You’ve logged in to your computer and realized that there are at least a dozen new emails that weren’t there when you logged out last night. You’re about to listen to the several voice mail messages patiently waiting for your attention … and then your phone rings.
You look at it with trepidation. Should you pick it up? What if it is one of the 16 (relentless) sales reps (printers, e-mailers, list brokers, ink cartridge resellers, media agents, job recruiters, etc.) that have been trying to catch you at your desk for the last four weeks? What then?
Your temperature rises … the phone rings again … you scan your desk seeing piles and piles of paperwork, and your eye catches your overflowing in-box. Perspiration is fighting its way to your skin’s surface and it’s only 8:07 a.m.! The phone rings again … you snatch it up and bark into the receiver a less than pleasant – dare I say uncouth – greeting.
… It’s happened to the best of us.
However, in today’s working world, no organization can afford employees who have ill-mannered, bad tempered phone manners. In this super-competitive business environment, the risk of losing prospects or customers due to lackluster or downright rude phone etiquette is simply not acceptable!
If you witness undesirable phone etiquette in your work setting, do your co-worker(s) a favor and call them on it!
Here are five essential tips to share with anyone who has access to a phone in your office:
- Always answer your phone with a smile on your face … the caller will sense your smile.
- Always be kind and polite. Never forget to use “please” and “thank you.”
- Remember to speak clearly and slowly, especially when identifying yourself.
- Don’t forget the three speakerphone courtesies – a) inform the person that you have them on the speakerphone; b) identify each person who is in the room; and c) state their purpose in being present during the conversation.
- Remember you’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression.
With all the high-tech devices we use to communicate today, nothing replaces the good old telephone when it’s in the hands of a wise, image-conscious professional.
Please have a good day. And thank you for your time.
Sandy Pagel
Johnson Direct LLC
800-710-2750