rcnewcomb
06-26-2010, 12:36 PM
<begin rant>
If you run a business and you have a phone number listed with that business do NOT answer the phone with "Hello?" Please answer the phone stating the name of the business!!! You are making a first impression. Don't make people start out by guessing if they even dialed the right number.
Background:
We do cutting and carving of parts for high end cabinet and furniture makers. These folks are the best in the area, work on multi-million dollar homes, pay their bills on time, are very professional, and are great to work with.
We are about to begin remodeling our house. Since we don't live in a multi-million dollar home we have been calling contractors farther down the scale to get estimates: painter, plumbers, drywall, HVAC, etc. A typical phone conversation starts out:
(ringing...)
Contractor: Hello?
Me: Is this XYZ Contruction?
Contractor: Uh, yeah... How'd you get this number?
Me: It was on your ad in the Chamber of Commerce book
Contractor: Really?
...
Or you set up to have them come out for an estimate and then they don't show up....
...
Or you ask them to come give an estimate but they claim they already did -- even though you haven't given them the address yet
.......
So far the most professional people we've found is a construction company made up of Russian immigrants. They came highly recommended by friends who have used them on several projects. Their English is poor but they answer the phone professionally. Their quotes are reasonable. They spot troublesome areas and discuss how to handle that ahead of time.
...
There is a lot of money to be made with a few simple concepts:
1) Answer the phone professionally (first impressions...)
2) Manage customer expectations
3) Stick to your word
</end rant>
If you run a business and you have a phone number listed with that business do NOT answer the phone with "Hello?" Please answer the phone stating the name of the business!!! You are making a first impression. Don't make people start out by guessing if they even dialed the right number.
Background:
We do cutting and carving of parts for high end cabinet and furniture makers. These folks are the best in the area, work on multi-million dollar homes, pay their bills on time, are very professional, and are great to work with.
We are about to begin remodeling our house. Since we don't live in a multi-million dollar home we have been calling contractors farther down the scale to get estimates: painter, plumbers, drywall, HVAC, etc. A typical phone conversation starts out:
(ringing...)
Contractor: Hello?
Me: Is this XYZ Contruction?
Contractor: Uh, yeah... How'd you get this number?
Me: It was on your ad in the Chamber of Commerce book
Contractor: Really?
...
Or you set up to have them come out for an estimate and then they don't show up....
...
Or you ask them to come give an estimate but they claim they already did -- even though you haven't given them the address yet
.......
So far the most professional people we've found is a construction company made up of Russian immigrants. They came highly recommended by friends who have used them on several projects. Their English is poor but they answer the phone professionally. Their quotes are reasonable. They spot troublesome areas and discuss how to handle that ahead of time.
...
There is a lot of money to be made with a few simple concepts:
1) Answer the phone professionally (first impressions...)
2) Manage customer expectations
3) Stick to your word
</end rant>