It took seven rings. Finally, a less than enthusiastic voice picked up the phone, muttering the name of the company as if I had just woken him up. “Hi, is Susan available?” I asked in an upbeat voice.

There was a long pause. “Nah, she’s not here,” was mumbled back to me. The person didn’t offer to help me or take a message.

This isn’t the first time this has happened to me in our industry, so I did what I usually do in this situation; I said nothing. I like to see how long it will take the person on the other end of the phone to say something else. But before I could even count to three, he just hung up. If I were a customer, do you think I would be eager to do business with this place? Ever hear the phrase, “You’re as good as your weakest link?”

Now I know your phone is never answered this way, but it’s amazing how many are. Try calling a few firms or better yet, call your own place sometime to hear how you sound to the outside world. If the cashier at the fast food counter can be taught to offer apple pie before the sale is concluded, surely we can all be taught to answer our phones properly.

Let’s start with “ABC Bath Showroom, this is Susan, how may I help you?” That personal touch might make your customers feel more at home, don’t you think? Stating your name also eliminates the embarrassment a repeat caller might feel if they recognize the voice but forget the name.

Furthermore, it is probably a safe assumption that our customers call other businesses in other industries in the course of their day. Therefore, it is logical to conclude that we are constantly being compared. If Mrs. Smith just finished a phone conversation with another local business and was handled with courtesy and then calls your place and gets a “whatta ya want” attitude, you can probably move that potential client over to the loss column.

Getting Competitive

Like it or not, our businesses are constantly subjected to these types of comparisons. One of my New York City clients was recently discussing how competitive things have gotten in this wonderful economy. Can there be a place with more competition than the New York Metropolitan area? It’s the land of selection, service and attitude…with lots of each. But this is also where you will see some of the greatest talent on earth perform…in all professions.