Proper Telephone Etiquette

From Neurosurgeons to truck drivers... You should all follow these simple steps to reduce stress at work for yourself and those who happen to be there to help you on the other end of the line:



0. Be ready when the other person says "Hello". Don't make them wait while you do something else or talk to someone else. If you are busy or have something else to do that is more important than the call, do it first then call. Calls to companies can take a long time on hold. Is the information you seek more easily accessible on the companies website?

1. Speak directly into the microphone with the earpiece on your ear, not using the speakerphone function. If you call someone from your cellphone while driving with your windows down and mumbling while using the speakerphone function, definitely expect someone to have to ask you to repeat yourself. When they do, and I can assure you they will, don't also use your sarcastic slow-mo replay function.

2. Project your voice as much as possible so as to be heard. If you cannot do this or there is too much background noise, don't call. Write a letter.

3. Enunciate your words and numbers clearly: 0 (zee-roe), 1 (wuh-nuh), 2 (too), 3 (ther-ee), 4 (foe-er), 5 (fie-vuh), 6 (sick-suh), 7 (seh-ven), 8 (aye-tuh) & 9 (nie-nuh). You know if your name is difficult for people to understand if they ask you to repeat it or to spell it several times. If you happen to have a name like that, enunciate it clearly at the beginning of the call when names are usually exchanged. Don't spell it to someone after you say it, instead wait until you are prompted to spell it. The pronunciation of a difficult name is not going to be aided by the spelling of it. If you have any accent at all, just understand that you may not be understood by someone else and that you will need to put some effort into your communication in order for it to be effective.

4. Use the proper telephone number rhythm. XXX (Area code)-XXX (Prefix)-XXXX (Subscriber number). If you don't know what that means, just listen to other people give their phone number to someone else and you will hear blah, blah, blah...blah, blah, blah...blah, blah...blah, blah. You can see how sometimes numbers like 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, etc. do not always translate over the phone well and only increase the difficulty of the call for the rep you are talking to. This is worse if you are in a hurry when you call. Just give the numbers out slowly and individually and not in a group and you won't go wrong. If referring to a dollar value, sometimes you have to say "seven-teen", or "eleven". Just make sure to enunciate properly and phonetically. Say "Seh-Ven-Teen" or "Ee-Lev-In" and not "sem-tee..." or "'lem".

5. Be AT LEAST as nice as the person you are talking to.

6. Identify yourself as many times as you asked without any push back. Your account needs to be secure and if you are asked more than once, it is because the representative forgot your name and needs to verify the account, there is some problem with your name's spelling and pronunciation that the representative is being posed or account verification requires it. In any of these cases, it is your name and be proud of it enough to say it any time someone asks for it. Let it make you feel special.

7. Don't start the call with a list of demands. One thing at a time. Better yet, don't wait to call until you have a huge list of things to do, you will not feel they are resolved even if they are and you will have to call back to check the previous reps work anyway. Address as many things as possible immediately.

8. If the person is unable to assist you don't dispute, don't be rude and don't call back immediately. If they can't do it, they can't do it. Ask them if there is someone you can write to about it.

9. Don't make an attempt at sarcasm, you are not funny and no one cares. The calls are recorded and someone will hear your comments and laugh or shake their head. It's just a fact.

10. Don't say that you are going to call your lawyer. You probably won't, even if you have one. It's not worth it. If it is a big company, what they did or are doing is probably legal. If a contract is involved, just know that the contract is very wordy and you probably did not read it.

11. Don't ask for a supervisor. You just blew your chances of getting what you want. Especially don't demand a supervisor. This is not going to get you much at all, especially if you are rude about it. You will lose a lot of time from your day talking, waiting and you will not get what you want. Maybe, if you are lucky you will get 10% of what you want. The representative you bypassed was capable of doing more, but you did not have a case. Think of how many people call in and demand satisfaction. If reps didn't have the authority to give you what you want, they would not be answering the calls, the supervisors would. Supervisors would be taking as many calls as reps would and could not effectively supervise for sure. Considering all this, when you ask for the supervisor, you are really just saying that your demands are not reasonable to the company and you know it. Don't ask to complain to the supervisor, they are busy supervising. Instead, just ask for an address to write a formal complaint. You will get more out of it, I promise you.

12. Don't ever demand satisfaction.

13. Don't ever expect instant gratification without a big cost.

14. Don't ever expect monetary compensation for your "inconveniences". You don't get compensation for your inconveniences when your arm is cut off. If you have insurance, you may have part of your medical bill paid for, but you will not be paid money because you lost an arm. Stand on a corner with a bucket and a sign and you will get more money that way.

15. Don't ever think that the person you are talking to likes their job. Even if they are friendly and helpful. Don't say "you people" when you talk to the rep, because, in all probability, the rep did nothing accept show up for work and get your call. Even if something happens and you are inconvenienced by the company for whatever reason, the person you are talking to didn't do it and probably doesn't like telling you why whatever it was that happened happened.

16. Don't ever think that the person you are talking to actually cares about your situation. Even if they show empathy. Unless it is a help line you are calling, don't tell them a dozen reasons why it shouldn't have happened to you.

17. Don't ever think that the person you are chatting up is actually enjoying your conversation. Usually, calls are timed and reps are graded in some way on how many calls they take per hour etc., so don't waste your time talking to someone that may or may not enjoy your conversation, even if it is to tell them how good a job they did. Don't ask to speak to their supervisor to tell them how good a job the rep did. Ask for an address to write to.

18. Don't assume that the person that you are talking to is not taking your name and number for their own personal reasons. This is a fact. If you are angry at a company for doing you wrong and you are then rude to one of the employees because of it, how can you trust that that person in charge of your account with your CPNI (customer proprietary network information), contact number, address, SSN, last four of SSN, MSISDN, SIM, IMEI, IMSI and more?

19. Be polite. Say please and thank you. Remember to keep things civil. If a rep is rude to you as a customer, don't use that as a reason to be rude back. If you say something like "I am going to have to ask you to please speak with me in a more polite and courteous manner." If you get push back, try "I understand that this is a complicated problem [for example], and I am grateful for what you have done for me so far, but I am needing help with this. If you are not capable of helping me in a polite manner, please let me know who I can contact to get this problem resolved". If you are then told that no one will be able to help you, mark the time & date, ask for an address to write a formal complaint, get the reps name and number if possible and write a letter.

20. Don't just hang up when you get the information you need or the transaction is over. Say "Bye", "Have a good day", or whatever and don't be rude as you are hanging up by saying something hateful!

21. Consider who you are dealing with. Is this a reputable business? Is it something new? Should you just cut your losses and learn from your mistake?

22. Don't say "thank god I got you, the last person I talked to was a foreigner!" or anything like that. If that is your feelings, keep them to yourself. You have the right to free speech, not the right to insult some one's nationality or to vocalize to a stranger your feelings on how another nationality is inferior to yours.

TIPS & TRICKS

Keep your kids quiet as possible.

Roll up your car windows. (Better yet, don't call while driving.)

Off with speakerphone

Speak up

Provide your FIRST AND LAST NAME when asked, not your first name only.

If you are asked for your first and last name, 9 times out of 10 it's not going to be "My name is on the account".

Be ready to go when you call.

Don't call about your bill while you are driving and fussing at kids and ordering lunch at the drivethru. Or doughnuts.

Don't eat while on the phone.

Don't call from the toilet or the bathtub.

Be prepared, have pencil and paper ready if you are calling for information. If your phone is not working, don't call from it. If it's not your phone that is not working, at least have the phone that is not working with you.

Don't say "Hello" after every sentence as if you think the other person is just sitting there or the call has dropped.

Don't expect to get paid for being on call 3rd shift while sleeping and NOT get a call.

Don't tell people your life story.

Be sweet.

Be polite.

Be courteous.

Be helpful.

Make momma proud.

Big changes are coming. Change is good, right?

Hyper-tension. Not exactly how I wanted to start out the year. I am not proud to write about this here, but the time has come for me to really step up and make changes in my life. Dieting, Exercise, Organization, Self Discipline, College and Time Management are to be my new goals. I think that the Time Management is going to be the toughest one for me because it requires self discipline to follow it and it the time is to be spend dieting, exercising and studying. Not the fun stuff like eating and wasting time. Well, when I put it like that, it doesn't sound fun anyway. Well, anyway; here goes!

Happy new year!!!

Happy new year!!!