Proper Phone Etiquette

• Always answer the phone by the third ring.
• Greeting: ‘Good morning/afternoon, Thank you for calling ____. How may I direct your call?”
• Be courteous and friendly at all times.
• Always let the caller know what you are doing-“May I place you on hold? Or Hold please, while I transfer you to their extension”
• Always introduce your transfers by name and company. Ask the caller “May I tell them who is calling and what it is in reference to?” Write it down so that you can relay that information to the person they are calling. If you didn’t get it the first time, apologize and ask them to repeat it.
• If their call recipient is unavailable, on another line, out of the office, at lunch, etc… Tell the caller “I’m sorry, ___ is unavailable, would you like their voicemail?”
• It is unprofessional to tell anyone why the recipient is unavailable unless it is urgent, an emergency or they have already left a previous message.
• If the recipient does not answer the transfer, pick it back up and tell the caller “I’m sorry ___ is away from their desk. May I place you on hold to locate them?” Then use the intercom to page the recipient.
• If they do not pick up and the call rings back to you, tell the caller “I’m sorry, ____ is unavailable/out of the office, would you like their voicemail?”
• Never use the terms ‘I don’t know or I’m not sure. If you don’t know where someone is, simply tell the caller they are not available.
• If a question or situation is presented that you are unsure of how to address or who to pass it to, tell the caller “May I have your name and number? I will have the appropriate person contact you as soon as possible to address your concerns” Take notes so that you can relay as much information as possible to the appropriate person. Make sure that person is made aware of the customer’s expectation of a return call.

· Your main goal is to provide fast, courteous and helpful service to the caller, as professionally as possible.