BASIC TELEPHONE SKILLS

Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to: State the reasons for providing professional telephone service to both internal and external callers Provide a suitable greeting and farewell to callers

Objectives
Use

the telephone effectively Transfer and/or place a call on hold Take a written message

Prior to Answering the Telephone

Be

prepared

pen and paper telephone extension list

Avoid

chewing, eating, drinking or smoking Use correct posture

Answer the call with a smile on your face!

Answering the Telephone

Focus

on the caller Answer promptly, maximum within three rings

Answering the Telephone

Provide

a greeting

Good Morning Good Afternoon Good Evening

Answering the Telephone

Identify

the department

Business Center Housekeeping Front Desk

Answering the Telephone

Identify

yourself

Abhishek speaking Pooja speaking

Answering the Telephone

Offer

assistance

How May I Help/Assist You?

Answering the Telephone

Good

Morning, Business Center, Mike speaking, How May I help you? Good Afternoon, Finance, Aseem speaking, How May I help you?

Transferring or Placing Calls on Hold

Handle

calls yourself where possible Transfer calls directly to the correct extension

Transferring or Placing Calls on Hold

Always

ask if you can put the person on hold and wait for the answer Mr Khanna,the extension is busy, May I please place your call on hold?

Transferring or Placing Calls on Hold

Explain

delays

Thank you for holding, Mr Khanna, the extension is still busy, would you like to continue holding or shall I ask Mr Kumar to call you back as soon as his extension is free?

Transferring or Placing Calls on Hold

Let

the caller know

why you are transferring the call who they are being transferred to

Mr Khanna, I am transferring your call to Abhishek who will be able to assist you in this regard.

Transferring or Placing Calls on Hold

Always

stay on the line until the transfer is complete Explain to the person receiving the call

why you are transferring the call who the caller is

Transferring a Call
Abhishek,

this is Harveen, I have Mr. Khanna on the line who needs some information about Corporate Room Rates. Good morning, Mr. Khanna, this is Abhishek. I understand that you would like to know about our Corporate Room Rates, is that correct?

Transferring a Call
Use

guests name (personalise the call) Confirm understanding of the reason for the call Ask a closed question for confirmation

Taking Messages
Message

for Name and title of caller Company name Telephone number Time and date of call Message

Taking Messages
Action

required Name/initials of person taking the message Repeat the message back

Ending the Call

End

the conversation on a positive note Thank the caller Use the callers name

Ending the Call

Thank

you for calling Mr Khanna, goodbye. Thank you for the booking, Mr Khanna, we look forward to seeing you. Goodbye Mr Khanna and thank you for calling.

THANK YOU !