CBP Program –Business Etiquette
Module 6: Telephone Etiquette
Module 6: Telephone Etiquette
Objectives:
1.Describe the basics of cell phone etiquette
2.List the skills that the telephone customer care professional mustpossess
3.Explain the importance of mastering telephone technology andequipment
4.Explain the principles of answering the telephone courteously
5.Describe the importance of active listening in telephone customer care
6.Note the guidelines when putting callers on hold and transferring a call
7.Describe the methods of screening calls
8.Note the guidelines used when taking a message, handling voice mail,and closing a call
9.Outline the fundamentals of making telephone calls
10.Describe the methods of handling discourteous callers
Introduction
Organizations depend heavily on telephones for gatheringand disseminating information, as such telephoneetiquette and telephone cultures in organizations aregiven great attention.
Cell Phone Etiquette
The following are some etiquette guidelines for cellularusage:
Do not drive and use the cellular phone
If you must drive and use the cell phone, use hands-free
Don’t speak loudly when using cell in public places
Turn the ringer off in meetings and quiet places
Keep SMS short with basic courtesies
Ask people, “Do you mind if I make a call?”
Voice mail and caller ID help phone etiquette
Cell Phone Etiquette continued…
Etiquette guidelines for cellularusage continued…
Don’t record conversations or takepictures without permission
Use ring tones that are not offensive
Don’t play music or video that areoffensive in the workplace
Limit the use of cell phones in theworkplace
Don’t display offensive material onyour cell phone’s screen
Follow your company’s policies aboutcell usage
Etiquette guidelines forPager usage
Turn off pagers when notin use
Use vibration mode inmeetings and quietareas
Asked to be excused ifyou need to make a callin response to a page
Telephone Etiquette Guidelines
The major telephone etiquette requirementsare covered in the following topics:
•Mastering the telephone
•Answering the telephone
•Active listening
•Putting callers on hold
•Transferring a call
•Screening calls
•Taking a message
•Using voice mail
•Closing a call
Mastering the Telephone
It is very important that you master the available phonetechnology. Some telephone systems are simple and canbe mastered in five minutes, and some are so complexthat require at least a week of training
Guidelines for mastering telephone technology:
Depending on its complexity, allocate at least one day tolearn the features of your telephone system
Review any training materials or manuals that describe thefeatures of your telephone system
Mastering the Telephone continued…
Practice the following features, placing special emphasison the following:
Placing a call on hold
Putting a call on hold
Transferring a call
Forwarding a call to voice mail
Answering the TelephoneCourteously
Make sure to Create a Positive First Impression
Guidelines required when answering the phone:
•Make sure there are no distractions
•Avoid eating, drinking, or chewing gum
•Speak directly into the transmitter, and place ear firmly against the receiver
•Three ring-policy!
•Answer the phone
•Greet the customer professionally (see next slide)
•Offer your assistance to the customer
•Be courteous if the caller has reached the wrong department and try to findout where they should call
Answering the TelephoneCourteously continued…
Professional Greeting: your greeting should be friendly andrespectful, and should include your name. your greeting mustdisplay your willingness to serve.
Example: “Good morning. Thank you for calling IBTA. This isSuzan speaking how may I assist you today?”
* Good morning, good afternoon, good evening are excellent waysto greet customers.
* If it is an internally transferred call, you need only give yourname and probably state your department. If its an externalcall, you will need to state your company’s name.
Answering the TelephoneCourteously continued…
Have you ever celled from someone and heard this:
“I am sorry; no one has seen John today. If I see him, I will tell himyou called.”
Or
“John had to go to the doctor because he isn’t feeling well. He maycome in tomorrow.”
The following would be a more effective way:
“John is out of the office for the day. Would you like to leave amessage for him, or may I be of some assistance?”
Or
“John is presently in a meeting; may I take a message for him, orcan I assist you myself?”
Active Listening
Listening involves more than words, but messages.
Messages can be projected using voice, facial expressions,emotions, and body language.
At all times during the conversation, you should make thedistinction between the following:
Questions
Statements
Objections
You should respond to the customer in the following manner:
Answer Questions
Acknowledge Statements
Resolve Objections
Putting Callers on Hold
Recommendations for putting customers onhold:
•Ask the customer’s permission first and wait for an answer
•Inform the customer why its necessary to be placed on hold
•Inform the customer how long the hold will be for
•Thank the customer for holding when you return on the line
Transferring a Call
The following are recommendations whentransferring a call:
•Make sure to transfer the call to the right person or department
•Explain why the call needs to be transferred
•Ask the customers permission; wait for a reply
•Make sure the transfer is successfully received by the person ordepartment
•Inform the call details to the next person or department
Screening Calls
Answer the phone by saying:
“[Department Name], how may I help you?”
If the caller asks to speak to the principle (for example), ask:
“May I tell him/her who is calling?” and “May I ask what is this inregard to?”
Wait for the principle to answer and announce the name of thecaller
Wait to see if the principle will take the call
If yes, transfer the call
If not, respond to the caller:
“He/she is unavailable at the moment. May I take a message orwould you like his/her voice mail.”
Taking a Message
The following are recommendations whentaking a message:
•Be prepared when you answer the phone (have pen & paper)
•Explain why co-worker cannot be reached
•Provide an estimation of when your co-worker will be available
•Provide some other options to service the customer needs
•Forward the call to another helpful person
•Offer to take the message; ensure that you get the person’sname, company, nature of call, time and date of call, contactinformation, and acceptable time frame in which the customercan expect a response
•Offer your assistance
•Ask them if they would like to leave a voice message
Voice Mail
Make sure your voice recording is friendly,
professional, and personal.
Use the same recommendations
in “taking a message”
Remember to change your message, to
express the nature of your absence.
Checking Messages and Returning Calls
Check your messages daily and return any responses with 24hours
Reply, forward, or delete messages immediately. You should haveonly up to 20 messages total in your mailbox.
If you forward a message, explain to the forwarded recipient why youare sending it to them.
Closing a Call
End Conversations Gracefully – there are several waysthat you can end a phone call without sounding rude:
1.Leave the conversation open
2.Promise to finish your discussion at another time
3.End on an “Up” note
4.Tell the person how much you’ve enjoyed speaking with him/her
Guidelines for closing the call:
•Thank the customer for calling
•Ask the customer if you can be of further assistance
•Express your appreciation for the customer’s business
•Confirm any action steps that have been agreed upon and assurethe customer of their timely implementation
•Let the caller hang up first
When Making Calls
1.Answer the phone by saying: “This is _________ . Towhom am I speaking?”
2.Always know and state the purpose of thecommunication.
3.If you reached the wrong number say: “I’m sorry, I musthave the wrong number. Please excuse the interruption.”
4.Fulfill your commitment to return a call as promised. Ifyou cannot, call to postpone the call.
5.If you don’t leave a number/message for someone to callback, don’t be angry if he/she is not available when youcall again.
Handling Rude or ImpatientCallers
Handling Rude of Impatient Callers
•Stay calm
•Show willingness to resolve the conflict
•Think like the caller
•Offer to have your supervisor talk to the caller
•If you are the supervisor, speak slowly and calmly withthe caller. Be firm and understanding.