For the secretaries, receptionist, telephone operators only!!!?

Question

Why is it that when I answer the phone with the name of my company (EX: Good morning, thank you for calling ___________) customers always say... uhhh yes where am I calling? Or when I answer the phone and the customer starts telling me his whole life story when I dont even know what hes talking about and hes just holding up my other calls? Why is it that ppl are so stupid and they dont know who they want to talk to when I answer the phone, they are all like uhh... mmm... uhhhhhhh, uhh, ma'am uhh, can I talk to.. uh uh uh uh uh... hmmm. uh. Aghhh that makes me want to yell at them. Why is it that when ppl call a business they ask, yes who's this? What diffrence does it make what my name is? Why, why are ppl so stupid when it comes to calling to a business?

Answer 1

I know how you feel.

What I did was repeat the same sentence again until the idiot clued in this was what it was

See, I answered the phone Bergam Miles and Breedlow...so if they asked it again, I repeated it again.

If you answer and they want to keep talking, say please hold and put them on hold anyway until you get the next call

and if they ask your name give either your first or last (like Ms. Smith), not BOTH and add the RECEPTIONIST or SECRETARY or Administrative Assistant, depending on your title.....

if your company does not have the policy that you have to give out your name, then just give your title...say this is the RECEPTIONIST...it lets the rude idiot know they probably need to speak to someone else with the firm

I don't know why people were never taught etiquette. Especially professionals...

What I hated was people calling and saying who is this? before I even got to finish answering the call....

People are just stupid.

I will say a prayer for you.

Answer 2

LOL... I know what you mean. But sometimes a person may be expecting to hear the name of a division vs. the company name (or vice versa). It's not that people are necessarily stupid (although many might be), but they just aren't sure who you are, who they need to talk to, and they might not have the communication skills to adequately and concisely express their reason for calling.

Instead, as one who answers the phone, you can politely interrupt them and ask them questions to quickly find out where the call needs to be directed. You can say "Sir, I'm sorry, but I'm the receptionist so I can't help you with that, but let me find someone who can help you right away."

Just be sure that no matter how stupid a caller sounds, you approach each caller as if they are important and that you care about helping them. They can sense a "OMG - Not again!" attitude and WILL tell the next person they talk to if they feel they have been treated rudely.

Answer 3

Most of the time people are expecting a phone system that requires them to make a choice by selecting an option. Maybe if you become more personable when you answer, as well as give them an option to help them quickly figure out what exactly they're trying to accomplish. For instance you could say. "Thank you for calling _____, This is _____, may I connect you someone?", or "... how may I direct your call?" Then they know what your purpose is... they realize you're just a receptionist and not the person who can solve their issue, but you're the one who connects them to the person who can resolve whatever the matter may be. By just saying "Thank you for calling _____." People don't intend to sound stupid, they're dumbfounded because they're trying to sound "professional" when they speak, and if they're not given an option, they have to quickly think up what they need to say. If they still insist on telling you the entire issue, try to quickly determine the basis so you can accurately direct the call. If you figure out the gist of what they're trying to get across, don't be afraid to nicely interrupt them with an option. Say for instance you work at a office and you get a call in talking about some administrative issue, obviously the call needs to go to administrative department, so interrupt them politely and ask, "Would you like for me to connect you to someone in our administrative department who can better assist you with that issue?" Knowing your job and thinking quickly while listening to the caller will aid you in filtering calls in a more reasonable manner.

Answer 4

I know exactly what you mean! At my last job, I always said the company name very clearly, then not only would they ask if they were calling ____, they would mispronounce the name! And then the "Uhhh, yeah....just a moment....." would start. Of course, the next caller, who had to wait, would act like it was my fault, and I was not allowed to tell the truth about what happened, I was expected to just take their ignorant abuse. What really aggravated me the most is this one person would call, and then IMMEDIATELY start babbling in Spanish, then would get an attitude when I told them I spoke ENGLISH (in the US). That's why I do not do that type of work anymore.

Answer 5

The work of a Secretary, receptionist or telephone operator are public relation-orented basically. All kinds of personality calling the firm are to be expected because we cannot choose the people calling our office. Whatever the level of smartness of the people calling our office, it is our job to attend to all calls with utmost courtesy, tact and patience. Secretaries, receptionists, phone operators are front-line good-will representatives of the firm. The public, clients and prospective customers usually judge the firm by the way employees or officals of the firm talk to them or treat them.

Answer 6

LOL! Reminds me of my days in that job! Yeah, it'll make you nuts. Like the receptionist can help you with a customer service issue? I was once a temp at Mazda and this guy called me up and started yelling at me about his carburrator. WTF? Like I even know how to spell it!

As for your name, though,. they want to know who they spoke with in case you do end up trying to help them so they can either go back to you or make sure they never deal with you again!

My favories were always the fax machines calling the main line and the people who asked for a specific extension. If you know the extension, why the f didn't you just dial it??? And the people who yell at you when someone is out of the office and they "don't want a machine" and "need a real person." If they aren't there, then guess what? THEY AREN'T THERE!!!

Answer 7

Or, when you answer the phone, Hello, this is ______, how can I help you, they call your boss and complain that you refused to tell them your name? Or they can't remember the name of the person they want to talk to, so they ask you to name all the people who work there so they can pick the name that sounds familiar?
Because some people have not evolved far enough that they should be allowed to use the phone.

Answer 8

I think it is true that people are shocked by a human voice, However, it is up to the receptionist to make a good first impression for the company. So bite your tongue when you get frustrated with callers. People also ask your name so that if you are rude the can tell your supervisor!! So remember to be professional and courteous, it could be your boss on the other end testing you!! Good Luck!!!

Answer 9

i totally know how u feel i have been a receptionist for 2 years now and i get the same thing when people start telling me their story i just ask them what department they need i dont have time to listen to them cut em off and when people call and they cut me off when im saying thank you for calling..........i keep saying it louder and talk over them i work at a car dealership so i get a lot of "im not sure who i need to speak with" but the good news is im moving and getting promoted so i dont have to answer phones anymore yay i get to be in the office now and i dont have to deal with people hahaha but just keep cool and if it bothers u just cut them off and tell them u dont have time to listen

Answer 10

People are so shocked to actually talk to a human, they are speechless.