Why Should You Answer The Phone Within 3 Rings?

With so much attention being paid to online communication, whether it's via email or social media, it seems that talking to your actual voice is a lost art. But answering the phone and phone tags is still a big part of the experience for many businesses.

Whether you're a retailer, a restaurant, or any other type of service industry, phone calls are still extremely important. Customers will call you on the phone, and the conversation they have with you will shape their perception of your company.

In order to make a positive impression, here's how you can step up your way of helping customers on the phone:

• Answer the phone as quickly as possible.

Most of the people who call you will hang up if they don't answer the phone after five or six rings. Patient clients will wait as long as they need to, but if you answer after the 20th ring, you can be sure they 're not going to be in a good mood.

Just as you have time tracking needs as a manager, the customer also wants to save as much time as possible.

If it takes you forever to answer your phone, the customer's first impression is that you're either lazy, you don't have a way, or you just don't care. And that's a big no-no when it comes to the phone etiquette. They might also think your business is understaffed or disorganized.

It shouldn't take you more than three or four rings to answer your phone. It's a fast-paced world, and people just don't want to wait for any kind of service these days — especially not on the phone.

A common phone etiquette question is what to do if you 're dealing with a live customer and the phone starts ringing. In this case , it is recommended that you politely ask the customer if they would mind if you took a second to answer the phone. Most will appreciate the fact that you asked for the first time, and tell you that it's all right.

• It can’t hurt to rehearse.

If you're going to respond to the phone with the mentality that you're just going to wing it, then you're going to set yourself up for failure. There's nothing wrong with practicing or at least knowing what you're going to say when someone calls. Your company probably has guidelines for email communication, after all. You 're supposed to approach phone calls in a very similar way. You should start with a standardized greeting that is both polite and informative. Let the customer know who they're talking to right away.

• Know who you need to connect to.

There will be times when you are unable to help the customer and need to connect them to the right person. Note that we said "connect" and not "transfer." Customers who are "transferred" often feel like they're being passed away. They also complain that having to tell more than one person their story is just a waste of time. And the word "connect" just sounds a lot more friendly than the word "transfer."

• Putting the caller on hold.

There 's absolutely nothing more maddening than being held back as soon as your call has been picked up. This is one of the cardinal rules of the phone etiquette. And the worst thing about this is that it's a common occurrence. The person who answers the phone is putting you on hold even before they can hear your voice. Sound familiar to you? It's easily one of the worst things people worry about when they're calling customer service. If it is really necessary to hold the customer, be sure to do it properly. Answer the phone, thank the person for calling, and then ask them politely if it's okay if you put them on hold for a few seconds.

• Make time for a proper ending.

Whether or not you helped solve the customer's query, ending the call needs to be done the right way. Once again, it's all about being as polite and warm to the caller as possible. Don't make it feel like you're in a hurry to get off the phone with the caller. First and foremost, you need to ask them if there's anything else you can do to help them.