Recently I found myself on the other end of the line — making phone calls instead of answering them. I called 30 businesses. In the morning. Before lunch. My results:
- 2 were answered with a directory assistance message
- 5 were answered just with “Hello”
- 20 were answered only with a business name
AND, ding-ding-ding!
- 3 were answered by someone who told me their name along with their business name = instant connection!
The most shocking fact, I called the main number of these businesses. No direct dials to an office extension. To add it all up, of the businesses I called I had 27 completely impersonal conversations. That’s over 90% disconnect. So much for being concerned about knowing your customer.
If you have a company with a phone, there are several key characteristics to good phone etiquette. These companies forgot one of the most important principles.
You are the face of your company.
To put it bluntly, give your name and your business name when you answer the phone. What does your company lose if you don’t follow this principle?
- Trust — who are these people?
- Relationship building — what if I call again, who will I get?
- Moving the conversation (and potential business) forward — do they care about what I need?
One company puts it this way:
“The human factor in all communications makes the difference. Customers need to feel taken care of, well informed and motivated. When you answer the phone, it’s that ‘human moment’ when customers can actually experience what it would be like working with you and your people. It’s the opportunity to create relationships for the future.”
So, try it. What happens when your phone rings? Should you do anything differently? What training or tools have helped you capitalize on the opportunity to engage everyone who calls your company? Call me, I’d love to talk to you…
“Thank you for calling The Worthwhile Company! This is Beth.”
Great thought! Totally agree, working in customer service has shown me the importance of making a favorable first impression…whether that’s face-to-face or simply over the phone
Your blog is insightful and has effectively made me think about current businesses and me personally. Businesses are competing with others and should want to get ahead of their competitors – even with their first contact on the phone.
Human relationships and personal contact are still so important today even though they can be rare in internet businesses today. The first moments talking with someone could “make or break” their business with you.
This reminds me of what I used to do personally on the phone. When growing up, my mom taught me to answer the phone with “Engelsgjerd’s, this is Emily.” The personal introduction put the caller at ease and led into further conversation. Now, I often answer the phone with just a “hello.” It is rather abrupt and not very helpful to those calling me. I will need to work on that!
Emily, Thank you for your comment. I love what Zappos owner, Tony Hsiech, says about how important the telephone is to good customer service — “the telephone is the best branding device available…you have the customer’s undivided attention…if you get it right, he remembers the experience for a long time.” I love getting to know people who call regularly — and hope they remember me, and our company, for a long time after calling us. Your mother knew best!
Wow, this post is so true! Back when I worked in the credit department of a company, I heard this always happen, but never really thought much of it. Your comments have made me realize just how important it is to make a connection over the phone! Just as site design has to instantly make that connection (or don’t expect the viewer to return), that phone call may be the only chance you get to make a good impression.
Even though I usually answer my room phone with the room number and my name, I need to work on answering my cell phone a little more personally as well. Thanks for the great reminder/advice on how to handle phone calls (applicable to business and everyday life!).
I completely agree with your post! At work at BJU, and my job involves me calling a lot of churches. While some of them do a good job answering the phone, I am surprised at how many people answer their church’s phone without a name or with a tone that sounds like I’m interrupted their day. If I was a potential visitor to those churches, I would hesitate about going. Would I be welcomed in person if they sound unhappy about my calling them on the phone?
Answering the phone is a huge part of customer service — it’s the first contact.
Hey Aunt Beth!
Uncle Craig always mocks me when he calls our house phone. I answer “Larson’s residence, this is Stephan speaking”. And he snidely comments, “Hi, Larson’s residence, Stephan speaking”. I was taught to do this by my mom and it makes sense. You want to let people know if they have dialed the right number and then also let them know who they are speaking to.
I HATE when people answer the phone with just “hello” and then I say, “may I speak with so and so” and IT IS THAT PERSON ON THE LINE! I would not had to got through the whole ordeal of saying “may I speak with so and so”, I could have just gone right into the reason I was calling that person.
Now if someone is calling me on my cell phone and I know who they are I will just say “hey” because they know they are calling me and I know it is them. But if I see a number that I don’t recognize on my phone I will answer it “Hello, this is Stephan”. I just wish that proper phone etiquette would be something that is taught to children in kindergarten. That way we all would know how to address each other. All that to say, this is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Beth,
I like what you wrote and its really important that when some one call a compnay to find the one who answer is cherfull perosn and ready to talk. Afterr I graduted a year ago and I was calling many companies and many of them just answered hello and hung up,some were are impatient and they even told me that they are tired from answering the phone all day, but as you said they are the face of the company and many businesss deals depend on them.
To me, it all comes down to training. I have worked for two companies that have at least mentioned the need to answer the phone properly. One of those companies is BJU itself. I worked as a computer lab monitor for nearly 3 years and one of my responsibilities was answering the phone. As part of my job I was supposed to identify myself, the location I was working in, and appeal to the person calling letting them know that I was there to serve them. Several times a year my boss would call each of us at work just to see if we were displaying proper phone etiquette, and if we answered with anything other than library computer labs Nick speaking may I help you, we would get a little one on one coaching as to how to better serve our customers. The proverbial “hello” does nothing to foster customer relationships.
I find this problem quite interesting. I dislike when I call a company and I get a long list of options when I really just want to talk to someone to get my problem solved quickly. I especially dislike systems that are not clear and therefore it is difficult to find what I am looking for.
When I have answered the phone for companies I have worked with I always have a policy of giving my company and the name. It is what I like to hear when I call somewhere and so I give it to my customers.
Great post Beth, I have called places before and whoever picked the phone was very friendly and made my day. Other occasions, they were not very happy. You can tell from their tone. Training becomes an important part of the customer service and satisfaction. One thing that I really do not enjoy is having a machine answering and trying to give me all these options that are not helping.