phone rings... hi, is fred there?

[seabeyond]

who is this

stormy

well, hey stormy, who are you

i am with culligan

does anyone know how to make a profession business call anymore.

i learned to say:

this is welma with coca cola, is bob there?

one of my pet peeves and i get a little... oh, not so nice.

on edit... thinking, it isnt even business call. i was taught and taught my children to identify themselves with all calls.

[Warren DeMontague]

1. I think they've realized that they get hung up on alot if it's clear they're selling something

I've noticed some 'creative' cold-calling techniques, lately. AND I'm on the DNC list.

[seabeyond]

2. that may be, but this was a company we use, and needed to set up a date for service.

i am so consistently finding that companies are not teaching people how to start a phone call.

i understand the orgs trying to get money. that is a whole other animal.

[JoePhilly]

12. They try to make it sound as if you know them by being informal ..

So that you will say "Yes, this is Fred".

Some of them skip the question and go straight to "Hey Fred, how are you!"

If you are Fred, you have to say "Good", or "Who is this?" Which seems rude if it is a friend.

Its a game.

[seabeyond]

16. yes. and then when you say, not interested. they say, you dont want a free million dollars

nope.

and i hang up

[JoePhilly]

34. If I am not absolutely sure .... I say "No, Fred isn't here, who is this?"

If it is some one I know, I explain my protocol. If not, they usually ask when Fred will return ... and I inform them that Fred travels a great deal and I don't his schedule. Then I ask what the purpose of their call is and if there is a number Fred could call them back on if he thinks this is important.

At this point they usually drop ... because I've begun to waste THEIR time.

I figure that if they are going to waste my (Fred's) time, then I should be able to waste some of their time and have some fun in the process.

[seabeyond]

39. you're funny. nt

[RockaFowler]

3. I hate it when this happens

I also hate when I call a company and they just say Hello. I always ask if this is XYZ company before I go on. I really shouldn't have to do that, though.

[KansDem]

8. Then there's the other extreme...

Hi,this.is.ABC.Company.where.the.deal.is.real.and.where.we.have.for.today.only.50%.off.xyz.product.so.how.can.I.make.your.day.awesome?

[seabeyond]

11. lol lol. yup. nt

[redqueen]

4. Basic phone etiquette....

as with all other forms, it is not as popular as it once was.

I blame bad parenting as well as poor job training.

[seabeyond]

6. it was funny. when i finally found out who stormy was and what she wanted

i said

well stormy, i am the one you want to talk to.

who are you

fuck off.... lol. no, da wife. dumb shit. sometimes names match.

[redqueen]

9. Holy crap...

that is one seriously stupid person.

And yeah, it's sad that she's so not disproving the stereotype most would have about someone named "Stormy".

[seabeyond]

14. she tells me, and you should remember you get a month free. i said, no... you should remember

i get that month free

as she is doing up my bill.

she laughed.... lol

ya she says. lol

[Arkansas Granny]

18. Basic etiquette seems to be lacking these days, not just phone etiquette.

That's unfortunate because many times the first contact a customer has with a business is over the phone and that contact should leave a good impression. I was taught to smile when answering the phone because the person on the other end can "hear" that smile.

[seabeyond]

21. yes... me, too. nt

[mainstreetonce]

5. Is your mother there?

I cannot tell you how many times I get that greeting when I answer the phone. I sometimes say.......I am my mother

[seabeyond]

7. i have a son going thru puberty. we get people confused a lot. not bad when they call me my son

but son is not thrilled to be called me.

[hamsterjill]

10. State Farm

Someone from my agent's office returned a phone call to me a while back. She called my office and left a message. She did not leave her name, did not leave her company affiliation. Just said she was returning my call and left a phone number.

It was not until I dialed the number that I realized which company I was calling. Then, I had to spend ten minutes once the phone was answered for their office to figure out WHO it was that had called me. When I finally got to the woman who had called me, I tried to explain this scenario to her. Trust me...she NEVER understood why I was complaining.

Are people really that ignorant? Or is it that they just don't give a damn about their jobs? Or both?

[seabeyond]

17. wow. so are you saying, when service guy comes to my house and i tell him to tell stormy

she needs to identify herself and company on the phone, they will all be clueless. lol

that is something

[snooper2]

13. that's what CLID is for :)

[seabeyond]

19. ya, well, before that is useful you MIGHT want to tell me what CLID is, stormy

i mean

snoop

[snooper2]

22. calling line identification

Caller ID (caller identification, CID), also called calling line identification (CLID) or calling number identification (CNID) or Calling Line Identification Presentation (CLIP), is a telephone service, available in analog and digital phone systems and most Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications, that transmits a caller's number to the called party's telephone equipment during the ringing signal, or when the call is being set up but before the call is answered. Where available, caller ID can also provide a name associated with the calling telephone number. The information made available to the called party may be displayed on a telephone's display or on a separately attached device.


Wiki accurate on this one :)

[seabeyond]

23. edtied cause.... uh

kitchen phone. been on the wall at least three decades. it doesnt have a clue about CALLER ID, what most of us normal people call it.

but ya. if i had one of my other three phones that are anywhere but where they are suppose to be, i would have been able to look at clid.

thanks snoop

[gratuitous]

15. So . . . WAS Fred there?

Damn, I hate when people leave you hanging!

[seabeyond]

20. lmfao.... NO, he is at WORK. where most people are at this hour.

whooosh, feel better? lol.

happy ever ending.

sheeeit, i will do that with him standing right next to me, just to make a point to the caller

[southernyankeebelle]

24. Boy I am sick and tired of getting these calls. I gave to the St Jude Hosp. and

from then on I can't tell you how many people call to ask for money. I get phone calls and letters from the same place. I'm sick and tired. Now I send their letter "return to sender". I had some lady call this morning I finally told her to stop calling me and take me off their list. She said ok and had the nerve to ask if mailing would be ok. I said no. I am not giving to anyone any more. I give locally now.

[RevStPatrick]

25. My mom recently started getting into the habit of...

...when I answer the phone saying "Hi, it's me."
Even when I recognize that it's her (and I don't always, depending upon background noise) I ALWAYS say "me who?"

I've also done that to my wife and past girlfriends and others who do that.
Don't EVER call me and say "It's me."
I know way too many me's...

[seabeyond]

28. cute post. nt

[ieoeja]

26. My favorite: "please hold while we attach you to a representative".

*They* robocall *me* to put me on hold!?!


Regarding a subthread upstream about how they should have been calling you, not him ... back when I was married she was looking for a new car. She told every car salesman we encountered that she was looking for a new car. And without a single exception, every car salesman tried selling a car to me instead.

This actually worked to her advantage. While I played the perfect "oh, wow, that is super keen" dupe, she got to sit back and concentrate. Then she'd say something like, "okay, I'm ready to go," and off we'd go.

"I thought you said you loved the car."

"I do. But she's the one buying a car, not me. Maybe you should have tried selling a car to her instead?"

Never laughed so much car shopping before or since.

[seabeyond]

29. love your post, also

i was single so long and i took care of all this stuff, and everyone knew i ddi. i was the only one. get married, and supposedly all hubbys, except i still take care of all the stuff.

i hear ya.

[SoCalDem]

35. I'm also the car-buyer in the family

I'm the one who found my husband's "new" truck. He loved it & test drove it, and as we were wrapping things up, the guy said. "I'm sorry, the best we can do is 15,500." Then I said, well, all I have is $14,000, as I emptied out a manila envelope with $14,000 in hundreds, so I guess we'll keep looking, unless you'll sell it for that..

We left with his new truck..:rofl:

[ieoeja]

38. Cash has a very loud voice.

Though that much would probably send up some red flags. In fact, I'm pretty sure they have to report a purchase like that to some federal agency.


Sometime after we split up, I had to get a new car. Learning from my experience with her, I bought along a friend to be shopper while I was thinking. He's not naturally full of it like me, so I flipped back to being the dupe and let him be my brain while I talked.

Which is real scary cause the guy ain't all that bright.

That ended with the salesman saying, "I have to have some offer to go to my boss with." While I was musing that my friend said, "that's his problem, not yours."

Okay, he ain't completely stupid either. So that one was fun too. Ended up buying elsewhere where they dropped $5k off the price before I even got to see the car (last '97 on the lot for that make & model while the '98s were already rolling in).

[SoCalDem]

41. We always have the "form" to fill out when we buy a car for cash

but no one has refused to take it yet:)..and when I withdraw it from the bank, there's a paper trail to prove where it came from:)

[Lionessa]

27. Wow, you must be really young, or been very protected.

We get/got so many calls like that, that we instructed our children to say, "may I ask whose calling please." before even commenting on whether Mr or Mrs were in available. If it wasn't someone the child knew, they were instructed to get name and phone and indicate Mr or Mrs would call back in a few minutes, never actually responding to who was or wasn't home, not even if the caller asked for us or any member by name.

We as adults, btw, did the same thing. Even if someone calls, "hi may I speak to frank?" and I'm frank, I'd say, "may I ask whose calling." If I didn't like the answer, I'd simply say, "not at this number," and hang up.

How you've managed to never have a phone call where the salesperson/creditor/fundraiser fails to identify the company their with before trying to capture you on the phone is mind boggling.

[seabeyond]

30. one of my pet peeves

think it is a pretty clear indicator this is far from the first time.

but you worked hard at turning it around on me.

whatever

[Lionessa]

33. Perhaps I'm in a mood today. Sincerely Sorry.

[seabeyond]

40. wink....

been there, done that.

[SoCalDem]

36. I am at "phone-war" with Kaiser..

I'm a day-sleeper, and sometimes their phone robots call me 3 or 4 times a day to "remind" me to get this check up or that one..:grr:

I did reach a human once when I called them back, and told her that if they were an ex-boyfriend, I would have them arrested for stalking..she laughed, but they still call all the time... I just lift the receiver and then set it down again..or unplug the phone if I need sleep..

[JI7]

31. i hate it when someone calls and asks "who is this" ?

they call , i pick up the phone and say "hello" and they ask "who is this".

you are the one who called, you tell me who you are or who you want to talk to.

[seabeyond]

32. yup. i throw back a, who is THIS.... nt

[Lucian]

37. I think we need a translating system for you.

I have no idea what the hell you are saying 7/8's of the time.

[seabeyond]

43. meh... and the majority do. there are always the few that have issue.

if you are a linear thinker or grammatically anal, then you may never understand me.

it is ok. you dont have to. don't bother with my posts.

you do note, how many people know exactly what i am saying?

[Lucian]

44. I can think in all kinds of directions.

You have the grammatical capacity of a two year old. It's cute with kids, but not with adults.

[seabeyond]

47. again. solution. don't read. nt

[DaveJ]

42. Yeah this is on my top 5 pet peeves for sure

Right after,

1) tailgaters
2) excessive horn honkers
3) (reserved)
4) people who take up whole sidewalk or isle
5) People who don't announce themselves when they call

I answer the phone for my boss a lot, since we occasionally get calls from customers. Usually it's telemarketers, occasionally business associates, but I'd say only about 2% actually announce themselves right away. I'm surprised they don't, because one would think they'd be proud of who they are and the business they're with. It's like free advertising. It's kind of like getting calls from 8th graders. Very annoying.

[Recursion]

45. I've always thought the calling station should identify first

Though in business it seems to be that the receiving station is expected to.

Also I like Bell's idea that we should answer the phone with "ahoy!"

[stevedeshazer]

46. As a former customer service manager,

I would never hire someone with such poor skills.

There's a hell of a lot of older C/S reps out there who are skilled and unemployed.

I'd much rather hire and work with them.

[seabeyond]

48. i was reading your post, phone rings

hi, is fred there. who is this. stephanie. hey steph, who are you

security company.

for real. lol. i said, you know steph, you are suppose to say, this is stephanie from the security company, is fred there. lol.

told her, just reading a thread on this on my discussion board.

sigh...

bugs me.

[stevedeshazer]

49. My ears were burning.

Now I know why.

That's irony, right there.

[seabeyond]

50. funny, huh. lol. nt

[hfojvt]

51. maybe she just wanted to bring back the sunny day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQC44abDw-Q