Telephone Trauma

The telephone, whether landline, internal line, or cellular is the greatest tool or the worst plague in your business. The telephone can cause you to lose customers you might have gained, gain customers who weren’t going to be a customers, create anger or pleasure.

All this, before someone even enters your business.

The problem with the telephone is that how it is seen and used can make or break you. The receptionist who becomes blind when she’s on the telephone, the clerk, who, in the midst of a personal call rudely responds to the “interruption” of an annoying customer, the yakety yak of voice mail, these events and others, tell the customer, “Go Away!“

If there were no telephones, then customers would have no trouble getting the attention of the receptionist or the clerk, and not have to put up with the impersonal and annoying; “If you know your party’s extension push one…”

Of course, telephones are vital to business. What is also vital is the proper training of everyone who answers a telephone. In old days the operator, who sat facing an array, answered calls. There was nothing to distract her. Answering calls was all she had to do.

To cut costs, companies have combined telephone operator with receptionist. This requires a triple digit I.Q. Not usual among those who apply for the position. So fascinated by the ring, the Receptionist must answer the telephone, incapable of appreciating the first law of telephony;

THE PERSON IN FRONT OF YOU TAKES PRIORITY

Anyone allowed to answer a phone who is also called upon to meet the public must give priority to the person present. The superstition that phone calls come first pervades our businesses. The fact is, the person who is present and ignored may never come back. The person on the phone that is not answered might very well call back. I often have the trainees envision that the person before them as having come through great danger to reach the office, and the person on the phone lounging in a bubble bath.

The second law of telephony is “Transfer”.

TRANSFERS CALLS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE

There is no reason for a customer to give a long explanation to a receptionist who understands every fifth word, then have to repeat his request to the proper person. Too often customers spend minutes explaining why they have called because the person answering the phone can not believe that some one could ring up NOT to speak to her.

The staff should answer; “Nuts & Bolts, how may I help you…” “I want to buy some…” And respond with ; “Let me connect you…” Even if a caller is misconnected to Nuts instead of Bolts, the Receptionist has dispatched a call, vital when there are people in front of her, other calls in stream.

Further, when there is a crowd in front of her, she must be able to route calls to someone else. Letting the phone ring endlessly is not a solution. Ignoring people in front of her is taboo.

  Hence, during busy times, there must be a system which routes calls to other employees on the fourth ring. If the receptionist is so busy as to have to be doing this all day, then a dedicated operator needs to be hired. No one is going to hang on to a phone after the sixth ring. No one is going to stand and wait for attention after the second or third phone call interrupts them.

Voice Mail is not an answer. Although useful, automated systems tend to reduce the customer to a cog. If you use it, make it brief; “Welcome to Nuts and Bolts, if you know your party’s name or extension, press 1, if you’re calling about a bill, press 2. All other callers, press “0″.” Should be the extent. Going from 1 – 9 with each one of those numbers having it’s own 1 – 9 is tedious and if the caller has a choice, he or she will chose another company.

The third law of telephony should obtain sanction.

NO PERSONAL CALLS

Before cellulars, the Boss could complain about “his” bill. Since cellulars, employees think that as it is “costing” the Boss nothing, it’s none of his concern. People are not paid to enter a building, they are paid to work in the building. Gabbing on the telephone is not work. It is virtual embezzlement.

An employee, instead of working, is conducting his or her personal life. One wonders the kind of “work ethic” that allows an alleged worker to babble on a cell phone when he should be working.

I am not indicating emergencies, or calls under one minute, but the long conversations some employees engage in. The rule must be clear; “No Personal Calls while at Work.” And those who breach the rule should be issued with written warnings.

When undertaking downsizing, these persons are the first to go. Why should your work interfere with their telephone conversations?

The fourth law is;

IF YOU ARE UNSURE, PASS THE CALL TO A SENIOR PERSON

Many times someone rings up with an inquiry which seems slightly beyond the purview of the set tasks. This might be a very important client who gets special treatment. This could be a reporter looking for information. Whatever it is, as soon as it falls outside of what is expected, the call should be sent to a Senior person.

The corollary to this is;

IF THE CALLER ASKS TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER, DON’T ASK WHY

People who ask to speak to a Manager are angry. When the receptionist asks “What is this About?” they get angrier. Having to repeat and repeat sends them to their lawyer. When a person asks to speak to a manager there must be someone of authority who takes these calls. Settling in Court is always more expensive.

These rules should be disseminated throughout a business to save customers, and of course, jobs.