Test your telephone etiquette
Telephone calls are the only contact you have with many people, so make the experience pleasant and efficient. Polish your skills with this test:
1. How quickly should you pick up a ringing phone?
2. What should you say when answering?
3. When is it appropriate to call?
4. How should you place someone on hold and transfer calls?
5. What information should your voice mail give?
6. How can you tactfully gain the facts you need to screen your boss's calls?
7. What do you do if disconnected?
The polite answers:
1. Pick up a call by the third ring. If you will be away from your desk, arrange for voice mail to answer promptly or forward your calls to an associate.
2. If your aim is brevity, don't sacrifice information for courtesy. Pause and enunciate to make sure the caller hears the start of your greeting.
Answering with "XYZ Company" is more useful than "Hello." Depending on your situation, you may answer with your boss's name (Ms. Stargell's office), the department (Marketing. This is Gina. May I help you?) or the company (Thank you for calling Widgets Worldwide! How may I direct your call?)
If your phone system allows you to distinguish between internal and external calls, you can alter your greeting appropriately.
3. If you must call someone at home and don't know the hours she keeps, avoid phoning before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m.
4. Never put someone on hold without asking first and waiting for a reply. While "wait a minute" is a common phrase, 60 seconds seems like an eon when you are on hold, so check back every 30 seconds or so. "Mr. Kawaski is still on the phone. Would you like to continue holding, or may I take a message?"
If you must transfer a call, give what is called a "warm transfer," a brief explanation both ways:
* "Miss Truman, I'll have to transfer you to Judy Laughlin in customer service who can track that order for you. Her direct number is .."
* Judy, I have a Miss Truman on the line who hasn't received her order from last month.
5. If you handle a high volume of calls that require prompt responses, you may need to change your message daily. (Today is Tuesday, June 4, and I will be in a meeting until 11 a.m. If this is urgent, please dial Jeanne at extension 435. Otherwise, please leave a message, and I'll return your call this afternoon.)
Try to be concise, but if you must provide a lot of information, start by telling callers which button they can hit to skip through it.
6. If you ask someone to hold, come back and ask who he is, put him on hold again, come back and ask what the purpose of the call is, put him on hold and then tell him your boss is unavailable, you've just told the caller that you or the boss decided he isn't important. Get the information up front. (May I ask what this is about?)
7. The person who initiated the call should dial again.
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