The Do’s and Don’ts of Phone Etiquette

If you own or manage a business that is customer focused, making sure that your employees treat your customers well should be your number one priority. If a customer has a poor experience with your company, they’re likely to tell others, and this won’t be so great for your reputation. In this context, it’s always wise to train your staff on good phone etiquette so that they provide your customers with a good experience.

Thing Not to Do On the Phone

It’s worth going over some of the things that no employee should ever do whilst talking to a customer on the phone.

• Never answer the phone whilst you are eating or drinking. It’s impolite and rude. Can you imagine the customer hearing you chewing and swallowing on the other end of the line?

• If you have to leave the phone to check up on something, don’t just leave the customer hanging. Make sure you tell them that you’re putting them on hold.

• Arguing with a customer on the phone might seem like a reasonable thing to do when you’re having a bad day, but never ever do it!

• You should also never swear, even if your customer does.

Things You Should Be Doing on the Phone

Acting in an appropriate manner whilst talking to customers will enhance the reputation of the business and potentially attract more customers and clients. The benefits of good phone etiquette are obvious. You can even go and sharpen your phone skills courtesy of Message Direct, for example. But what are some of the best things that you can do on the phone when it comes to answering and speaking to customers and clients?

• You should always answer the phone within a reasonable period of time. Try not to let it ring more than three times if possible. If you cannot avoid this, always make sure you apologise to the customer.

• When answering the phone, make sure that you use an appropriate greeting, such as a simple ‘Good Morning’ or ‘Good Afternoon’. It’s also important that you identify yourself and the business/department in cases where it is required.

• Always listen carefully to the customers. Repeat information back to them if you need to in order to make sure that you have heard it correctly. Every customer expects that you will be as attentive as possible when they take the time to call.

• If you ever need to transfer the call to another person or department, always inform that customer that this is what you are doing first.

• Never leave customers hanging on hold for too long. If they are waiting to be transferred, they won’t want to wait forever, so be mindful of the value of the customer’s time.

• If you promise to call back, make sure that you do so within the time period given.

Growing Your Business through Good Telephone Etiquette

By engaging in good telephone etiquette and making sure that your staff is trained, you can enhance your business reputation and keep customers coming back.