many companies want the phone answered a certain way. It sounds reidiculous what do you think?

Question

Where I work we answer the phone like this
"thank you for calling (company name) this is (my name) how may I help you today?"
I will comply & do it the way they want it done, but the callers always interrupt such a long greeting and cut us off before we finish.
I also find it annoying when I call places & they answer the phone with such a lengthy greeting.
Are we such a politically correct society we have to continue such long niceities when answering the phone, when a simple,
""hello this is (company name) may I help you,?" I mean come on why do they need our name & why should we thank them in the first breath for calling?
Do not get me wrong I am customer service orientied & believe in phone etiquette, what do others think?

Answer 1

i agree with what you say in principle and it sounds like
someone in your company needs a course in common sense.
if you don't serve a further purpose, such as sales or service, then your name is irrelevant. you could stop with your name. the "how may i help you" is certainly implied.
however, the guideline on governing a phone answering program is so that everyone is not left to their own idea of what
might be a good idea. then you might hear " talk to me" " tell me about it" "hold on im busy" or any other undesired response. so, a less that desirable program is better than none at all for the business , at least. i hope you get to be in
charge of the phone policy or that you might make a recommendation. good luck!

Answer 2

I totally agree with you.As a customer, I despise the endlessly long greetings from the customer service personnel and would like to get down to business. I think it's time that modern-day companies address the need for brevity coupled with the effective conveyance of the service on offer. I too feel that your introduction of yourself should be done in the course of the conversation and the thank yous or welcomes should be exchanged at the end. Most companies are stuck in a time warp of archaic formality which leads them to believe that nothing less than the 'prim and proper' finishing school approach is sufficient to net a huge consumer network.

Answer 3

I answer the phone for a living, so I completely understand where you are coming from. I agree with you. A lengthy greeting can be quite irritating. Where I work we answer the phone Good morning/afternoon (company name). Its much easier, and on top of it all I don't feel comfortable giving out my name to clients who call. I believe that a simple greeting such as good morning/afternoon/day and the company name is sufficient.
Even when I was younger, my mom had me answer the phone at home "hello, how may I help you" but I believe that a person's name is not necessary, especially considering that you aren't sure who is calling and in this day and age, its not exactly safe to give out your name to strange people.

Answer 4

they need your name in case they want to find you for whatever ends that may be. lot of whackos in the world! maybe u could buy a pitbull and a gun. lol!

when i call in to a company after their spiel i always ask "how r u doing today?" and i think they go into shock, they don't answer right away. sometimes i have to ask if they're still on. lol!!

Answer 5

I think if that company is putting a signiture on your paycheck every week then you should stop your belly aching and get back to work! why do you even care? just do as your told and no one gets hurt. does your boss know that your wasting the company dime? man what a waste of time!

Answer 6

oh no, then people ought to suspect Obama and the Rev. are slumbering at the same time and no one needs rev. Wright to grow to be the 1st woman... oh nicely no biggie Obama wont be the pres. besides...

Answer 7

When you own the company you can do it any way you want.

Answer 8

It's proper and more heartwarming. They want to make as much $ as possible, so they try different techniques.