Phone-Answering Mistakes Your Receptionist Is Making When Receiving Calls
Handling calls is one of the crucial tasks of a receptionist. It is for this very same reason that we employ a receptionist with good interpersonal skills, a pleasing personality, and flexibility in any situation.
When somebody call up a company or a business, the call is most likely received by the receptionist. The manner of how the receptionist handles a call, creates an impression of the company. However phone-answering mistakes may be committed consciously or unconsciously, either by lack of foresight, inexperience, or inability to anticipate.
Listed below are the top 3 phone-answering mistakes your receptionist is making when receiving calls.
1. Sounding seemingly uninterested
The receptionist must try to avoid sounding bored and uninterested, as if she’d rather be doing something else than taking the call. Sounding uninterested gives the caller the impression that their particular call is of no importance and is not a priority as of the moment.
When taking a call, the tone of the voice is very vital, since it is the only indication to which the caller can ascertain the genuineness of the receptionist in the engagement. Always consider that the caller may be a patronizing client, a potential client, a dissatisfied customer, or an individual simply inquiring about your business. Therefore, your receptionist should be sincere, pleasant, and warm.
2. Holding the call for a very long time
When your receptionist makes the person on the other end of the line wait for a very long period of time, it works to your disadvantage. The caller will grow impatient and most likely be irate, especially on critical matters.
If it cannot be helped, provide as much explanation on why her request could not be accommodated at the moment or why it may take some time before the department she is trying to reach can get in touch with her. The receptionist must always be prepared with such explanations rather than having the caller wait for a very long time and have him/her thinking that he/she is wasting his/her time making the call.
3. Displaying bad behavior while on the phone
Bad behavior is a big turn off for your callers. As already emphasized, the initial phone call creates an impression for the company. When a receptionist raises her tone or uses indecent and arrogant words and expressions, she is obviously making a mistake and creating a bad reputation for the company.
Although there will be a lot of stressful callers, the receptionist must always keep her cool. This is why flexibility is an important quality of a receptionist.
With these phone answering mistakes in mind, it is now easier to orient the receptionist on how to properly handle calls. Most importantly, try to avoid these mistakes because the receptionist does not merely receive calls but ultimately represents the company.
At HeliaVoice we can complete a site survey and ensure optimal placement of small office phone systems and antennas for full coverage of your business and area. We Integrate communications handsets into your business and make sure they work.
To find out more about HeliaVoice and small office communications handsets, visit us at www.PhonesAlberta.ca or call us direct at (403) 698-0700.
