Policy: Phone Etiquette

This official policy document describes behaviours required of IT staff when answering or placing phone calls.

Questions about this or any other IT matter should be directed to the IT HelpDesk.

Be Friendly and Formal Up Front

Answer the phone with something like "Thank you for calling the IT HelpDesk. This is Fred. What can I do for you today?" Variations are fine, but preserve the basics (friendliness, your name, whom you represent), and try to use the same thing every time you answer the phone. Say it like you mean it. If it's an external call, make sure the caller knows they've reached the Morehouse College IT HelpDesk.

Who are you? Who who? Who who?

When you ring someone else, make sure you identify yourself straight away, certainly before you verify that you've reached the intended target. "Hi, this is Fred with the IT department calling for Prof. Gescheitenhosen", for instance, would be good. Identify yourself at least tersely even if the person you're calling knows you, sees your name on CallerID, and was expecting your call at this exact second.

Educate Everybody -- We're a College

Every customer contact is an opportunity to educate the customer; take it. Let them know what you've found to be wrong and what you're doing about it, and do so in a way they can understand. It's good for them, and good for us.

Be Polite: Never Need to Say "Just Kidding"

It's tempting to joke with callers, particularly the more outgoing bunch, by accusing them of making huge problems ("hitting CAPS lock has been known to delete entire hard drives -- you didn't do that, did you?") or the like. Avoid this. If you find yourself starting down a road at the end of which might lie the phrase "Just kidding", stop. That might work most of the time, but when it fails, it's ugly. Remain boring. Pretend you're wearing a suit.

No Speakerphone

Do not use speakerphone at all (ever) unless it's imperative that someone else near you hear the conversation. The person on the far end has much more difficulty hearing you when your end is on speaker; nobody around you wants to hear the conversation; and you must raise your voice to work effectively with speakerphone. If you must use it, make sure to let the person on the other end know that they're on speaker, and tell them who else is within earshot on your end.

Don't leave folks on hold very long

Try not to keep someone on hold for more than 1-2 minutes. If it's going to be longer than that, pop back in to let them know it'll take longer, and give them a chance to leave a message, request a callback, etc..

Transfer People Well

If you have to transfer someone to another number or hand someone else the phone, do it properly. First, let the user know you're about to transfer them, and tell them where they're headed (name and number, if possible). Then, warn the person receiving the transfer, possibly by putting the user on hold and ringing the destination. Connect the call after letting the user know the transfer is about to take place. If you're just handing off the phone, make sure the user knows with whom they're about to be speaking, and give them the chance to bail out.

Emulate the Masters

Pay attention to the customer support experiences you have that involve you ringing a call center. If you feel negatively about an experience you have as a customer, figure out what the provider did that was bad and avoid doing it yourself. When you have a good experience, understand why and emulate that provider.

Advocate for Your Caller

Sometimes a caller makes a request to which the basic answer is "no", either because we don't do it by policy, can't do it because of resource constraints, etc.. Think about it from the customer's point of view before telling them what they don't want to hear and try to present that news in the best possible way, which usually means explaining that their need clearly is important but can't be met by our group at this time because of some sound reason, which you should give them. Suggest alternative ways of reaching the same goal. It may help for you to take their issue to management to try to get it solved, with you acting as their advocate; feel free to do so.

You know the rest...

Others have written on this topic, perhaps more effectively