With so much emphasis on virtual communication nowadays, sometimes organizations can forget how vital professional phone communication can be to business. In many cases, a phone call is a customer’s first interaction with your company. Rude service, confusing automated phone systems and otherwise unprofessional phone behavior can turn off potential customers. And really, what’s the point of marketing online only to drive away new customers once they try to contact your business? Don’t lose interested customers with bad phone manners. The following are a few tips for more professional phone service:

• Answer the phone with a clear, concise company greeting. It is imperative to let customers know immediately where they are calling and whom they are speaking to. When answering the phone, every employee should immediately identify themselves with a short, professional greeting such as “[Company Name]. This is [Employee’s Name] speaking. How may I help you?”

• Greet each customer warmly. Don’t sound rushed or annoyed when answering the phone. Instead, attempt to answer the phone calmly with a smile in your voice.

• Answer every phone call within three rings. Don’t let those phones keep ringing. Show customers that you value their business by answering phone calls as promptly as possible.

• Whenever possible, have a real, live person answer the phones. Voicemail and automated systems can be good catch-alls for after-hours missed calls, but nothing quite beats a warm, helpful receptionist.

• Set up a professional voicemail greeting. In the cases where customers do have to leave a voicemail, make sure they are greeted with a professional-sounding greeting. Your message should tell callers who they have reached, what your status is (out of the office, in meetings, away from your desk, etc.), when the caller can expect a call back and instructions on what to do if the call is urgent (leave a mobile number, someone else to contact in the office). If you are on vacation or out for an extended leave, be sure to set up a greeting that tells people you will be out of the office for a while and when you will be back.

• Return calls promptly. Don’t let missed calls stay missed calls for long; otherwise, customers may think you don’t care about their business. As a rule, try to return calls within the same business day or at least within 24 hours.

• If you must put someone on hold, do so politely. Ask the customer if it’s okay to put them on hold, and if they say yes, thank them before holding the call. Do not leave customers on hold for more than a few minutes.

• Do not handle customer complaints in a public area. Let unhappy customers know that they have your undivided attention to resolve problems by talking to them in a quiet area of your office.

• Only call customers at appropriate hours. Unless specifically directed by the customer, only make calls between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

• Always hang up the phone gently. Slamming down a phone or hanging up abruptly signals tension or anger to the caller. Of course, you can always avoid hanging up too roughly by letting the customer hang up first.

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