Business Etiquette Sucks

I think I’m missing something with the rules of business etiquette today. I only stopped working in October of 2001, just before Ty was born; I can’t believe things have changed that much. I worked from the time I was 16 - my very first job was as a receptionist at an animal hospital – until I was 34, and my job at the time was admin/recept at an advertising firm. All of my working years, with the exception of about four of them, were spent sitting behind a desk, dealing, in some form, with the customers of the business; whether it was meet-and-greet or customer service the rules were always the same. Today the rules seem to have changed.

When I was working customer service, it was unacceptable to leave someone on hold for more than two minutes. If the information couldn’t be found I took the customer’s name and number and called back as soon as I found the information, and it was generally that same day. If I couldn’t get the information that day, I called the customer anyway to inform him or her that I was still looking and that I would call back the following day. I never ignored anyone and always made sure the customer knew I hadn't forgotten him or her.

When I was working as an admin/recept the same rule applied for leaving someone on hold – if the employee the customer wanted was unavailable I offered to get someone else who may be able to assist, if I couldn’t get the answers myself; or I offered the customer voice mail of the person originally being contacted. I even offered to take a message personally. It was the customer’s choice, not mine, to make. If I was asked to take the message, I always took enough information – first and last name, phone number, extension, date, time and exact reason for calling – so that the recipient of said message would be able to return the phone call having all the requested information at hand. The bonus was that, when someone called any office where I was employed, a real live person answered the phone when it rang, provided it was during office hours.

If the office had a bank of switchboards, and one of the operators was at lunch, one of us customer service agents filled in for a while. If an operator was out sick, one of us filled in all day, sometimes rotating, sometimes not. If the office had an admin/recept (that’s an administrative assistant/receptionist in case you were wondering), it would be me, and I answered the phones from wherever I was in the office, even if I was standing near someone else’s desk. If I was out to lunch, the incoming calls were transferred to someone else for an hour. If I was out sick, someone else sat at my desk for the day. If the office had no admin/recept and the phones were strictly answered by us customer service associates, any one of us could pick up at any time it rang. Wherever I worked, there was never a time that the office was open for business that an automated answering system was employed. Why has it become so popular these days?

Are offices so busy that their receptionists can’t even take the time to answer a phone personally? I thought that was their job; it was my job when I did it. Even if I had multiple lines to answer and four or five rang within seconds of each other, I’d very quickly pick up each line, greet the caller, say the name of the company, and ask the caller to hold. For instance, “Good morning, Smith and Jones, please hold,” then I’d push the hold button and pick up the next line repeating the process until I had all the ringing lines on hold. I’d then start back at the first line and greet each caller again, this time giving my name and asking how I could help. Nobody was ever left on hold for more than two minutes, though.

Today, however, I’m lucky if a live person actually answers the phone, and, if one does, I’m lucky to get to talk without immediately being put on hold for, at least, five minutes, sometimes longer. If the office is so busy that a single receptionist can’t, at least, ask me my reason for calling within a minute or two, that office needs an additional receptionist. The same holds true for an office that occasionally has to rely on its automated answering service because the live receptionist is too busy to answer the phone. If he or she gets so busy that the phones get neglected, there is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Additionally, if your office has an automated answering system in place so there is no need for a receptionist, you should make it relatively easy for the caller to get the information needed. I don’t want to call your company for the first time and listen to a 60-second speech about what information I can find on the Internet before I’m offered the chance to speak to a live person. If I’m calling is generally because I couldn’t find the info on the Net and would like some assistance. I know there are people who don’t utilize the resources of the technological age, but even they shouldn’t be subjected to that boring, monotone “You can also find us on the Web at…” crap. I just want to speak to a person and having to press this to get here, and then press that to get there, and then press that to get yonder, and then enter my account number, and then wait on hold for 15 minutes only to have to repeat my account number for the live person who finally answers gets a little, no a LOT, frustrating.

When that live person does answer, it’s rare that he or she is understandable because he or she doesn’t speak the same language I do. Then I end up getting more frustrated. If the person does happen to speak my language, he or she is usually rude and doesn’t even try to hide it. If I was ever rude to a customer, my ass would have been chewed out by any boss who happened to employ me. I can’t say that I was ever rude to a client, though, because I never got in trouble. Even if I was having a shitty day, I’d answer the phone with a smile on my face and would help the client the best I could, and within a reasonable amount of time. I’m tired of calling somewhere to get information and having someone take my name and number and say they’ll get back to me, but never do. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that it took longer for you to get the information than you anticipated but I expect you to contact me within twenty-four hours, at least. Anything longer than that, without a quick call of explanation, is just plain rude and unprofessional.

Nowadays, though, with email as popular as it is, business people don’t even bother to ignore me personally; they just send my email directly to the Recycle Bin. I’m going to guess that’s what they do because more than one company has ignored me lately. Just the other day I contacted a real estate agent about some information on a property in MD. She emailed me to see what I was looking for, even though I had requested a phone call (rude of her to ignore that), and, when I responded with the information I needed, I never heard from her again. She didn’t even have the manners to write back saying there was nothing she could do for me. Gee, that’s not too rude. I would never have gotten away with that when I was working.

I just don’t get it. Are businesses so technologically advanced that they think they can just ignore the real people on the outside of the business walls; or just treat us like faceless entities who hand over hard-earned money? What is up with that? When I get my business going, I plan on answering the phones, or, when the business is large enough, having someone answer them – live and in person – and then treating my clients as if they actually mean something to me. I don’t plan on ignoring anyone, whether I can assist them or not. If I can’t help, I’ll try to help them find someone who can. My clients/customers will be paying my bills so they will mean a great deal to me. As such, they will be treated as if they mean a great deal to me, and they will know it.

Treat me like crap and, not only will I take my business elsewhere, but I will also tell everyone I know that you treated me like crap and that they shouldn’t utilize the services of your establishment either. I did that once today and will gladly do it again tomorrow and the day after that, and so on. Treat me like I’m important to your business and I’ll be happy to pass on a good word about you to anyone and everyone. It’s your choice; you’re not the only business in town that does what you do. I’m sure your competitor would love to get my business; and that phone is answered by a live person with a smile on her face.

Until next time…peace to all.