When you get a phone call from a customer - what do you do?
Do you step away from your desk to give them your full attention?
Do you answer hands free so you can continue with the job you're working on?
Do you give the customer half your attention and keep the other half on your email inbox?
Do you answer while you're out and about and struggle to hear them against the sound of public places?
We think that it's vital to give each and every customer phone call your full attention. It can be easy to tell when you're on the phone whether the person you're speaking to is really listening - and answering while you're on the go can mean that it's difficult for you and your customer to hear each other.
We recommend aswering the phone to customers only when you are willing and able to give them your full attention. This means when you're in the office, not in a meeting, and not so deep into a piece of work that you find it difficult to take a break from it.
Of course, we're not suggesting that you leave calls unanswered when you're not able to answer them - we're suggesting that you put someone else in place who can answer them. This could be a full time member of staff or colleague - or it could be a dedicated telephone answering service/virtual assistant like us.
Answering your phones is a big part of our job - so we're always able to give your callers our full attention. Redirecting your calls to us while you're out on a job, in a meeting, or focusing on a particular project means that we are able to offer our full attention to your customers when you can't. With our personal assistant service we're even able to process orders and make appointments on your behalf.
How important do you think it is to give customer phone calls your full attention?