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[Hi well I have aquestion ? My Husband is opening a electrical company and were new to almost everything and my question is How can I answer the phone in a nice profesinal way since am the co owner I will be doing much of the office work> PLEASE HELP ASAP... :D
THANK YOU
Quote:
Originally Posted by juztme24
I always like, "ABC Electrical Company. This is Sue speaking." If my office is slow my secretary adds, "How may I help you?" but that gets cumbersome at times. I do like the phone answered with a first name.
No need to identify yourself as co-owner.
Thank you what other info can you tell me about been a secetery? If you don't mined telling me
Quote:
Originally Posted by juztme24
What else do you want to know? Procedures?
My preference for answering a call...
"ABC industries, my name is Jane, how may i direct your call?"...
Stating the company name up front is MUCH better than "hello?"... it promotes a professional atmosphere and lets the caller know immediately whether they contacted the right number...
Stating your name invites the caller to talk to you, lets them know you are not just another machine directing a call with "press one for assistance"...
And asking how to direct the call, even if the ONLY person who will answer is your hubby, lets the caller feel like their call is tailored to their needs and desires...
Even if you need to take their number and tell them they will receive a call back, the above three items (company name, your name, asking for their needs) are what I want when I call a company, or what I've provided when running a small business.
[QUOTE=Comments on this post
kp2171 agrees: exactly what i expect to hear or to say to potential customers....[/QUOTE]
Well, if you are able to answer questions or give information, if you have the knowledge, you could say, "ABC company. This is Sue speaking. How can I help you?" Then if they say, for example, they'd like a quote, and you can't give it, then you say, "Let me take that message and I'll have somebody get back to you this afternoon (or within an hour or whatever). What is a good number to reach you and would you please spell your last name for me?"
If it's information that you have, what hours are you open, something along those lines, other knowledge and/or information you have, then you say, "Certainly. Let me give you that information."
It's important to make every caller feel important and special - because they are potential customers (or existing customers) and really are important and special to the business.
I think a smile in your voice and a helpful attitude go a long way. I deal with people in very stressful situations and my secretary (and she's only part time) has just the nicest attitude and a constant smile in her voice. She immediately puts people at ease and thinks on her feet. I'm on the road a lot and so she needs to sort out the emergency from the non-emergency calls and still make everyone feel important.
She ends almost every call with "Thank you for calling" and, depending on the conversation - and I hate it as just something to say - "Have a pleasant weekend" or "Have a pleasant afternoon" or "It was nice talking to you."
If there's a problem, "I need {fill in the blanks} or my house is going to explode :)", then - if this is the case - you say, "Certainly. Let me call {name} on his cell phone and ask him to get right back to you." I think it's a nice touch to give you the name of the person who will call back so they can expect the call and feel some sort of connection.
Not knowing exactly what your business does, it's a little hard to say. I would not try to act like you have a big business if you do not because I think people see through it and it's offensive. For example, an electrician I use acts like he's got 100 employees when it's only him and his wife always says, "Let me page someone," as opposed to, "Let me ask Bill," and I KNOW he's the only one there!
I've been a secretary, amongst other things, for over 20 years. Thankfully, my previous employers never requested that I answer the phone saying anything other than a standard greeting and then the company name. Such as, “Good morning, ABC Company,” or “Good afternoon, ABC Company.”
When I was becoming certified as a legal secretary, I took a course through the Dale Carnegie Institute. One thing they teach you is to use a more confident and assertive approach when assisting customers. We were taught to ask, “how may I help you,” as opposed to asking, “how can I help you.” Sometimes if you say “how can I help you,” the customers response can be sarcastic, such as, “I don't know, can you help me?” If you say, “how may I help you, it makes you sound more confident, and it doesn't leave the door wide open for so much sarcasm.
Dealing with the general public on the telephone forces you to become a little more politically correct. The less sarcasm and grief that you have to deal with the better. It can make for a long day when someone toys with you on the telephone. Men can be worse than women when it comes to this. For some reason men like to play games on the phone. It is neither professional nor appropriate in my opinion, and the best customers are usually the worst. They are the ones who think they can get away with it. Be assertive, and professional, above all else. Let the rest run off you like water off a duck's back.
How about "ABC Electrical. Sue speaking. How may I assist you this morning (or afternoon)? All, of course, with polite, positive, upbeat tone of voice. A greeting can be too long so I suggest trying to get name of company, your name, question and time of day all in a short phrase. I also think ending a call depends on the call itself. Suggestions; Thank you for your business and I hope you have a nice day. Or Have I answered all of your questions appropriately? And if they say yes, Well, thank you for calling and don't hesitate to call if I can be of further assistance.
There are such a number of variations. I think it greatly depends on the person answering the phone and what they feel comfortable saying without sounding phoney, as long as the info the owner wants included is included in the greeting.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 08_777444
When you were answering the phone for law firms did you play the "put your boss on. No, put your boss on first," etc. game. That was a big problem when I worked for a large law firm, drove the receptionist crazy.
Yes, yes. All of that and more. It was fun sometimes and I usually played along, but it does makes for a long day. I would prefer dealing with people in person rather than over the telephone anyday.Quote:
Originally Posted by JudyKayTee
The trick with answering the phone is answer it on the first or second ring. That always gets the caller's attention if nothing else.
I always say "Good Morning - ABC company" in a very cheery tone of voice. I don't like to give my name in the greeting as people then get too chummy or too casual.
This is what we used to say when answering the phone at Menards when I worked there, depending on the time of day:
"good morning! thank you for calling (city) Menards Electrical dept. This is (your name). how may I help you?"
Now you may not need to say the city, doesn't sound like you will, but we did because people would often call the wrong store. And obviously you wouldn't have to say what department if you're the one primarily answering the phones.
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