TELEPHONING (Part I)

ObjectiveTalking on the telephone is an extremely important part of business. You need to be able to answer a call professionally and create a good image of yourself and your company with only your voice. Having effective telephone skills leaves a good impression on your customers, clients, and colleagues. People are busy, so you want to be very clear, polite and organized.

This module will provide you proper training on TELEPHONING --- how a call should go, leaving messages, words to say and words to avoid during the entire phone conversation, and how to ensure that your call is of quality. We’ll begin by looking at a bad example of answering a call and taking messages. We’ll discuss why it’s a bad example, and then we’ll go into a good example of answering a call.

When Speaking Speak with a rich, vibrant voice. Smile with your voice! Speak with a melodious rather than a monotone voice Speak moderately loudly at a moderate pace – varying both for appropriate

emphasis

When To Answer A CallAnswer no later than the third ring.

When Answering A Call Discontinue any other conversation or activity such as eating, chewing gum, typing,

and other distracting motions that can be heard by the calling party. Give your first and last name and identify your department When transferring a call, be sure to explain to the caller that you are doing so and

where you are transferring them. If the caller has reached the wrong department, be courteous. If possible, attempt to

find out to whom they should speak. They will appreciate it.

Standard Call Procedure (Taking A Call)

STEP 1: Greeting & Offer assistanceSTEP 2: Get & verify informationSTEP 3: Place on holdSTEP 4: Transfer the callSTEP 5: Ask for message*STEP 6: Get more information (name, company, contact number/s)*STEP 7: Verify information/RECAPSTEP 5: Offer further assistanceSTEP 6: Closing

*Steps 5 & 6 may be interchanged.

Standard Call Procedure (Making A Call)

STEP 1: Introduce yourself (name and company)STEP 2: Reason for callingSTEP 3: Give information neededSTEP 4: Leave a message*

STEP 5: Leave personal information (name, company, contact number/s)*STEP 6: Closing

*Steps 4 & 5 may be interchanged.Sample Lines

When picking up the phone:“Thank you for calling [name of Company], this is [your name]. How may I help you?”“[company name], [your name] speaking. May I help you?”“This is [your name] of [company name], good morning.”

Introducing yourself:“Good morning. This is [your name] calling for Mr./Ms. _______.”“Hello. My name is [your name]. I’m calling from [company name].”

Asking for someone:“Could I speak to Mr./Ms. _______ please?”“I’d like to speak to Mr./Ms. ________, please?“Is Mr./Ms. ______ available?”“Could you put me through to the ________ department please?”

Asking for caller’s name:“May I ask who’s calling?”“Who shall I say is calling?”“May I have your name please?”

Clarifying names:“Could you spell your name, please?”“How do you spell your name, please?”“Would you mind spelling that, please?”

Asking someone to repeat:“Sorry, I couldn’t hear what you said.”“I’m afraid it’s a bad line. Could you speak up, please?”“Could you speak a bit more slowly, please?”“Would you mind repeating that?”‘Would you repeat your company’s name, please?”“Could you repeat that, please?”

When putting the customer on hold:“May I put you on hold for a minute? Thank you. Please stay on the line.”“Just a moment please.”“I’ll check if he’s in.”

Transferring a call:“Please hold while I transfer your call.”“Just a moment please. I’ll put you through to Mr./Ms. _______.”“One moment please. I’ll transfer your call to…”

When answering a transferred call:“Thank you for waiting. This is [your name].”

When getting back to the customer:“Thank you for staying on the line [name of customer].”“Thank you for waiting.”

Closing a call:“Thank you for calling [company name]. Have a nice day!”“I’ll see to it first thing tomorrow.”“I’ll send you the quotation by mail.”“I’ll e-mail you the details.”“Thank you for your help. Bye.”“Until next Thursday then!”“I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”“You'll be hearing from us very soon.”“I'll see you on the 30th then.”“See you soon! Enjoy your weekend!”

Words to Avoid: Use instead:What’s your PROBLEM? How can I HELP you?I CAN’T do anything… Here’s what we can do for you…I DON’T KNOW… I can find out that information for you

International Telephone Alphabet

Phonetic ICAO (International Civil Aviation Org)

British International

A ei Alfa Alfred AmsterdamB bii Bravo Benjamin BaltimoreC sii Charlie Charles CasablancaD dii Delta David DenmarkE ii Echo Edward EdisonF ef Fox-trot Frederick FloridaG dzi Golf George GallipoliH eit∫ Hotel Harry HavanaI ai India Isaac ItalyJ dzei Juliet Jack JerusalemK kei Kilo King KilogramL el Lima London LiverpoolM em Mike Mary MadagascarN en November Nellie New YorkO ou Oscar Oliver OsloP pii Papa Peter ParisQ kju Quebec Queen QuebecR aar Romeo Robert RomeS es Sierra Samuel SantiagoT tii Tango Tommy TripoliU juu Uniform Uncle UppsalaV vii Victor Victor ValenciaW dabljuu Whiskey William WashingtonX eks X-ray X-ray XantippeY wai Yankee Yellow YokohamaZ zed, zii Zulu Zebra Zurich

Sample Dialogue

Agent : Thank you for calling Samsung, this is Mae. How may I help you?

Customer : Hi Mae. My name is Simon Carey. I’m calling from Story Share.: I would like to know if I can already pick-up my laptop.

Agent : May I have the job order number please?

Customer : Yes. It’s GP936780

Agent : That’s G as in Golf; P as in Papa; 9-3-6-7-8-0.: Is that correct?

Customer : Yes, it is.

Agent : May I put you on hold while I check on the status of your laptop, Mr. Carey?

Customer : Sure.

Agent : Thank you. Please stay on the line.

: Thank you for waiting sir. You may now pick-up your laptop at Samsung – Jones.

: Please bring your receipt for reference.

Customer : Sounds great!

Agent : Is there anything else I can help you with?

Customer : No. Thank you.

Agent : You’re welcome, Mr. Carey.: Thank you for calling Samsung. Have a nice day!