Telephone Etiquette Made Simple

Everybody in your organization who answers the phone should be trained to use proper telephone etiquette and treat each caller with courtesy and professionalism. It is easy to overlook the importance of training staff to properly answer the telephone because it seems like such a simple task. After all, we've been answering telephones in everyday life since we were children and it is easy to fall into the trap where we assume everybody knows how to answer a telephone by now. However, answering the telephone as a top flight service professional requires training and practice.

Regardless of which department the employee belongs to, all staff who interacts with guests via telephone needs to understand how how to deliver superior guest service. Front desk associates, restaurant staff (including food servers and managers), room service order takers, reservation agents, PBX operators, etc. are all in a position to increase the perception of service and drive profits by simply being properly trained.

It is not enough to just train staff in proper telephone procedures. Follow up training, practice, and role playing are important steps to develop and refine your team's telephone etiquette. Don't overlook the importance of role playing. This is a great tool that allows your staff the opportunity to practice their new techniques in a "safe" environment that allows them to build their confidence and skills prior to hitting the phones with your actual guests.

All phone calls should be answered by the third ring. Every time the phone rings beyond the third ring the dissatisfaction and agitation level of the caller escalates. Answering the call by the third ring will ensure the guest interaction gets off on the right foot.

The first rule of telephone etiquette is to be polite and speak with a "smile" in your voice. Train your staff to actually smile when speaking to a guest, even though the person on the other end of the line can't see them. Believe it or not, you can actually hear a smile over the phone.  Only a small percentage of your overall guest communication is accomplished through actual spoken words. A majority of our guest communication is delivered via voice quality - tone, pace, inflection and the invisible "smile". An employee's attitude, both positive and negative, will come through loud and clear to the guest.

Answer the call promptly and with an enthusiastic, standardized greeting to establish a positive first impression with to the guest. An energetic, pleasant  greeting with a smiling voice will set the tone for the rest of the guest interaction. It is up to management to determine the most appropriate script for the standardized telephone greeting and ensure it is consistently delivered to each caller.

For Example:

Employee: "Good Morning (afternoon or evening), thank you for calling XYZ hotel. My name is Jane. May I ask your name?"

Guest: "This is Judith."

Employee: "Good morning, Judith. How may I be of service to you this morning?"

Using a person's name is the most valuable (and free!) tool you can utilize to make the guest feel valuable, whether the interaction is conducted via telephone or in person. Notice in the above example the guest's name was used immediately after it was given. This is just the first of two or three times the guest's name should be used. At a minimum, the name should also be used in the closing interaction such as, "Thank you for calling, Judith. Have a fantastic day." If you absolutely cannot obtain the guest's name, it is acceptable to use "Sir" or "Ms."

Avoid placing callers on hold unless you absolutely must do so. When placing a guest on hold, be courteous and ask if it is OK to do so prior to actually pressing the hold button. A simple way to ask would be, "May I please place you on hold?". Wait for an answer, then thank the caller and inform them you will be back with them shortly. Take care of whatever business prompted the hold as quickly as possible, then return to the original call by thanking them for holding. A caller should never be placed on hold for longer than 30 seconds. If you cannot complete your side task within the 30 second window, return to the original caller and tell them you appreciate their patience and you will be right with them.

Train your staff to be active listeners. Listen to the caller, absorb the information they are giving you and to ask the right questions to ensure the caller is serviced quickly and thoroughly.

Avoid common words and slang such as yep, yeah, nope, uh-huh, sure, no problem, um, ya know, etc. Use polite words such as please, thank you, absolutely, pardon me, would you prefer, may I offer, certainly,  etc.

Make sure all key information is accurately and properly noted.  The definition of "key information" varies based upon the business function as key information will be different for front desk agents than it would be for a restaurant.  Let's take a restaurant reservation call as an example.

During the course of the guest interaction, the following key information typically necessary for restaurant reservations:

* Guest name
* Call back number
* Date and time of call
* Reservation details
* Is this reservation for a special occasion?
* Do you have any special requests? (particular table, specific dietary needs, particular server, etc)
* Do you require directions to the restaurant?

When ending a guest call, always stay on the line and only hang up after the guest has done so first. Thank the guest for calling with a pleasant farewell (remember to use the guest's name) and stay on the line until you hear the call ended by the familiar "click" from the caller hanging up.

Lastly, ensure the telephone is only used only for business purposes. Tying up the telephone talking with friends or family means guests cannot get through which causes aggravation and potentially loss of revenue.

Start training your staff to user proper telephone etiquette and schedule follow up training and practice sessions to hone and refine your staff's telephone skills. You'll quickly notice an improvement in your guests' satisfaction, an increase in professionalism and eventually, increased revenues.

So go ahead and give this Hospitality Gem a try. I would love to hear how you got along with this Gem so please leave a comment below or feel free to contact me at davidknight825 @ yahoo.com with your comments, queries or feedback!