CLOSE TO THE CUSTOMER ON THE TELEPHONE

                                    by

                              Charles Warner

     Do you know how the employees in your organization and in
your department are answering the telephone?  Most of them
probably recognize your voice, so if you want to check out the
phone courtesy in your organization, don't make the call
yourself.  Have a friend call and ask for a manager when he or
she is in the office.  If whoever answers the phone asks the
caller to give a name, have the friend give a common name like
Smith or Jones.  Later, have your friend tell you exactly what
happened and precisely what was said.  You want to know the
attitude and feeling that people conveyed over the telephone. 
Have the caller tell you the impression he or she got about your
company from the experience.
     Notice that I didn't recommend that you have a customer make
the call for you.  It's been my unfortunate experience that about
eight times out of ten when customers call, they will be treated
as if they were lepers who the person answering the phone doesn't
want to deal with.
     Receptionists, secretaries and others who answer telephones
under the cover of anonymity all too often take the opportunity
to exercise a little power, to vent some frustration, or worse,
to carry out misguided screening instructions from their bosses.
Having multiple bosses exacerbates the problem, because different
bosses often give different answering and screening instructions,
which confuses everyone.  When they are confused, employees
typically select the screening method that is the rudest and most
insulting.
     The tragedy of this situation is that too many bosses either 
don't know or don't care how the people who call, including
customers, are being treated.  Many bosses are more concerned    
about their own egos than about the impression that is created
about their companies.  Some executives feel the need to play
childish power games like insisting that the other person get on
the line first, or insisting that receptionists and secretaries
ask the two hateful questions: (1) "Who's calling?" (usually
growled in an intimidating voice) and "may I tell him what this
is in reference to" or "what's your company?" (usually said with
the utmost haughtiness).
     People who insist that receptionists and secretaries use
these screening devices deserve one of the following responses:

     "Yes, tell him the shipment arrives at midnight, and he's to
     come alone."

     "Yes, tell him the blonde that liked his poetry called to
     say that the test came back positive."

     Or use the one suggested by Andy Rooney:

     "Yes, I understand he's looking to replace his rude and
     surly secretary"  (or, as is most often the case, recep-
     
     tionist, or "rejectionist" as Andy Rooney would call them).

     In my experience, the lower the self-esteem and the less
secure they are in their job, the more bosses use power-
augmenting telephone techniques.  On the other hand, people who
feel good about their company and about themselves will go out of
their way to make sure that everyone who answers telephones,
including themselves, conveys a positive attitude.
     It is a good idea to circulate memos on a regular basis (at
least every six months) to remind people how your organization
wants your telephones answered and what kind of phone courtesy is
expected.  Give a copy of your telephone courtesy memo to all new
employees in their benefits package when they are hired.  Often
employees come to work for you from another company where
telephone manners were atrocious, so don't assume that everyone
knows how to do it right, since they may have been trained
improperly. 
     One thing to insist on is that people give their first names
when they answer the phone: "Hello, XYZ Corporation, this is
Charlie; how can I help you?"  Giving first names is very warm
and friendly, and helps put callers at ease.  Giving first names
also assures that people in your organization will be more alert
and a little sunnier when they answer phones, because they are no
longer anonymous.  If there is a complaint about someone being
rude on the phone, everyone can deny it if the caller can't
identify the person who answers. 
     The right attitude to have when answering the telephone is
to assume that everyone who calls is eager to give your company a
huge, profitable order, even if the caller is a known bill
collector (most companies seem to treat everyone calling as
though they were bill collectors, regardless of the call's
purpose).  Give the person calling the type of pleasant, caring,
helpful courtesy and service you would expect from a car dealer
who is trying to sell you a Rolls Royce.
     For example:

     "Good morning, Mr. Smith's office, this is Sandy; what can I
     do to help you today."

     "May I speak to Mr. Smith?"

     A.   Response if you are not screening calls (the preferable
          mode): "Certainly! One moment please" (Remember the
          huge order you're going to get.)
     
     B.   Response if you are screening calls (the mode to use
          only when necessary): "I'm sorry, but he stepped away
          from his desk for a moment, but I could go find him if
          you'd like." (Said eagerly, with a clear desire to help
          get that huge order.)
     
               It is rare that someone will ask that Mr. Smith be
          sought out or paged unless it is an important matter,
          in which case, this question is a good way of finding
          out that the call is important.  Of course, you will
          get burned once or twice a year by people you don't
          know who think what they want is more important than
          you think it is.
     
     "No, just tell him that Bill Jones called from the Friendly
     Collection agency, and ask him to call me as soon as he can.
     My number is 322-8027."

     "Of course, Mr. Jones, I'll have him call you back as soon
     as he returns.  I know he's anxious to talk to you." 

     In other words, there are a number of perfectly acceptable,
nice, friendly, credible dodges that can help ferret out the name
of the caller.  If the caller doesn't volunteer what the call is 
about, then do not ask. If people who answer the phones ask about
the nature of the call, then they deserve to get trashed.  When
you ask "who's calling?" or "will he know what this is about?"
you are, by implication, indicating that if the person being
called doesn't think the matter is worth his time that he will
ignore the call.  You'd get incensed if a Rolls Royce salesperson
treated you this way, so put yourself in the caller's place and
treat everyone like a customer.
     Peters and Waterman's best-selling In Search of Excellence,
and Peters and Austin's A Passion for Excellence and Tom Peter's
Thriving on Chaos stress the fanaticism with which great
companies pursue giving excellent customer service--the
unyielding commitment they have to getting "close to the
customer" by practicing "nicemanship."  Are the people who answer
your telephones helping you get close to your customers?  Are
your employees practicing "nicemanship" every time they answer
the telephone, or are they immediately and rudely putting people
on hold (since when did "please hold" begin to substitute for
"hello") or screening your calls in a way that makes your
customers want to call someone else who is nicer, friendlier,
more courteous and more eager to do business with them?
     Instruct receptionists and others who are the first to
answer incoming calls that their job is to direct calls, not to
screen them.  Remind people who answer the phones that they are
in control of your company's image.

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