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When you answer the phone, you may not always be able to call the person in charge immediately.
If the person calling you asks you to leave a specific message, it is necessary to leave a message stating that the person in charge was absent.
Accurate information must be left in order to avoid problems such as mistaken messages and forgetting to return calls.
Therefore, this time, I will introduce how to write a message memo when answering a phone call. We will also introduce etiquette for answering the phone, so please refer to it when you cannot answer the phone due to the absence of the person in charge.
Basic manners for answering telephones in the office
Even if you are not an employee whose main job is clerical work, you still need telephone skills as part of your business etiquette.
In fact, talking on the phone is faster than emailing, so there are many situations where I talk to customers and business partners on the phone.
Also, on the phone, you can’t see the faces of the people you’re talking to. Therefore, it is necessary to follow telephone etiquette and respond firmly so as not to make the other party feel uncomfortable. It is necessary to be careful because telephone correspondence is also connected to the value of the company.
The following five items are listed as basic manners for answering the phone.
- Get out within 3 calls
- Include your company name and your name
- high tone of voice
- Repeat the other party’s information/call contents
- Hang up the phone after the other party hangs up
I will explain each.
Get out within 3 calls
Generally, it is common knowledge to answer the phone within 3 calls. Answering the phone will delay the original work, but don’t think that someone will pick up the phone.
Also, when answering the phone, let’s say something like the following, depending on how many calls you answered.
- Within 2 calls “Thank you for calling”
- If 3 or more calls have been made, “Thank you for waiting”
When answering the phone, make a conscious effort to raise your voice so that the other person can hear you. I’ll explain later why you should raise your voice.
Include your company name and your name
When you call out, first give your company name and name.
If you give your company name and name here, the other party will also tell you the company name and name. Two things are important here:
- Repeat the company name and name when the other party finishes giving their name
- take notes
By repeating the company name and name of the other party, you can prevent mishearing of the name.
Also, if you need to make a phone call to the person in charge, you need to tell the person in charge the company name and name of the person who called you.
By taking notes, you can tell the person in charge the company name and name of the other party without any problems even if you need a telephone intermediary.
However, it is not always the case that the other party will give their company name and name. If the other party does not give their name, it is necessary to encourage them to do so by saying something like, “Excuse me, but may I ask for your company name and name?”
high tone of voice
Make a conscious effort to raise your voice so that the other person can easily hear you.
When you pick up the phone, your voice will unconsciously become lower, so you need to be conscious of it when you speak.
By raising your voice, you can give the other person a bright and cheerful impression. However, if the voice is too high, the other party may feel that they are being rushed or being ridiculed.
Try to be conscious of a high pitched voice that gives a good impression to the other party.
Repeat the other party’s information/call contents
As I mentioned earlier, by repeating information such as the company name and name of the other party and the content of the call, you can prevent mishearing of information and discrepancies in the conversation.
Here are some examples of what to say when repeating someone’s name to confirm. Please refer to it when answering the phone.
Examples of phrases used when repeating or confirming the other party’s name
| When repeating the other person’s name | We become indebted to. You are (name of the other party) from (company name). |
|---|---|
| When the other party gives only his or her first name | Dear (name of the other party), may I ask your company name if you don’t mind? |
| If the other party did not give their company name or name | Excuse me, but may I ask your company name and your name? |
| If you can’t hear the other person’s name | I am very sorry. It seems that the phone is a little far away, so could you say your name again? |
Also, as a basic matter, when asking for the company name and name of the other party, it is NG to say, “Can I have your company name and name?”
Names are not given to people.
Instead of “Can I have it?”, try to change it to “May I ask?”, “Can you tell me?”
Hang up the phone after the other party hangs up
It is considered good manners to hang up the phone first.
The official name for the “poop poop” sound that you hear when you hang up is the “busy tone”.
Wait for the busy tone to confirm that the other party has hung up before hanging up.
However, sometimes the other party does not hang up.
In that case, tell them, “Mr. In most cases, the other party realizes that the other party has not hung up and hangs up.
However, if there is no response from the other party even if you tell them, “Mr. Let’s hang up from here.
Items and templates for handwritten message memos when answering telephone calls
If the person in charge who wants to take the call is not available when you receive the call, write down the following items on a sticky note and leave it as a message.
- date and time when the call was received
- the name of the person calling you
- Company name and phone number of the other party
- matter
- Desired date and time to call back
- the name of the person who received the call
If there is no template, it is necessary to divide the sticky notes, write items and leave each information next to them.
At this time, if you prepare a message memo template, you can clearly convey the contents of the message to the person in charge.
If your company does not provide a template, divide the sticky note, write the above items and leave each piece of information next to it to make the content of the message easier to read.
However, it is very difficult to write down the contents of the message neatly during the phone call. It is also recommended that you first take notes that are easy for you to understand, and after you have finished talking with the other party, make a clean copy of the message memo for the person in charge.
If you take a message, leave it on the desk of the person in charge so that he or she does not forget to return the call.
It is easy for the person in charge to notice if you put a message memo sticky note on the LCD screen of the person in charge.
When you meet with the person in charge, be sure to tell them that you received a call and the date and time you would like the call to be returned.
[No message memos required] Canario is recommended if you want to streamline your telephone brokerage
If you want to streamline your telephone brokerage, we recommend NEC Networks & System Integration’s “Canario” service.
Canario is a call forwarding service that automatically forwards incoming calls to your company’s landline phone to a pre-registered person’s smartphone, mobile phone, or home landline phone.
Incoming calls to the office fixed-line phone are directly forwarded to the smartphone or mobile phone of the person in charge who has been registered in advance, eliminating the need for intermediary calls and allowing each employee to answer only the calls that they should take. We can handle it.
Also, Canario’s function is not limited to call forwarding. Convenient functions related to telephone intermediation are available.
For example, if you cannot answer a forwarded call, by linking Slack or Teams, you can follow up on the message of the call as recorded data and transcription data. Although it is not installed as standard, this “message text conversion” function can be used as an option.
“Don’t worry if you can’t answer the phone at work” Automatic message reception function is also available by linking with Slack and Teams
If you are at work and can’t answer the phone, by linking Canario with Slack and Teams, AI will automatically accept the message, convert it into text and notify you.
It is possible to prevent mistakes in messages and forgetting to return calls by the person in charge, which is assumed in conventional telephone brokerage.
In addition, since AI takes calls and messages, it is possible to shut out unnecessary sales calls. You can only answer the calls you need.
Each employee will be more efficient and able to concentrate on their work.
summary
This time, I introduced manners for answering the phone and how to write a message memo when answering the phone.
Even if you are not an employee whose main job is clerical work, you still need telephone skills as part of your business etiquette. If the person in charge who wants to take the call is not available when you receive the call, be sure to leave a message.
If you receive a call but the person in charge who wants to handle the call is not available, review the items that you should write down in the message memo.
- date and time when the call was received
- the name of the person calling you
- Company name and phone number of the other party
- matter
- Desired date and time to call back
- the name of the person who received the call
The point when taking a message memo is to write the content of the message clearly.
Divide the sticky notes for memos, write down the necessary items when returning the call, and leave each information next to it, so that the content of the message can be clearly conveyed to the person in charge. Please use this as a reference if the person in charge is not available and you cannot make a phone call.