Phone etiquette

Just talked to a very angry man who was upset that someone here had answered the phone, and when Mr. Mad asked for one of my coworkers, that person had asked who was calling. He said "it's rude to screen calls."

I disagree, and see nothing wrong with my usual "may I tell him who's calling?" Then again, I grew up in a household where Emily Post's book was regularly consulted, and was expected to answer my home phone in the same manner. Am I missing something? Did the rules change, or is it stupid to even assume a society that regularly shops in its pajamas would understand proper etiquette?

Margie

Seriously? Wow, that is odd. What business doesn't ask who is calling? It is standard practice for every company I have ever called in the past 30 years.

Hell, if I call a business and an actual person answers the phone, Im instantly happy. Im sick of automated phone trees and voice recognition...you never get who you need, and usually end up explaining your story to half the staff, including the cleaning crew. Good on you guys for answering in general. That guy can go suck it...

In reply to Marjorie Suddard:

No, you're a snob.

Round here if someone talks to me, I can say, "Get the berkeley off the property or you can leave in a police car." Perks of the job.

Mr. Mad sounds like a real shiny happy person.

That's what we do too.

In reply to bravenrace:

No E36 M3. But that wasn't the question. ;-)

Margie

Half the calls that come in to our shop is telemarketers. How are we supposed to know who to put on hold and ignore?

I hear a concrete mixer firing up.

"Who is calling?" is a perfectly legitimate question, especially at a business. Tell him to pound sand in a rathole, grow the berkeley up and learn to control his anger issues.

"push 666 to be connected to Satan"

Nope, the rules haven't changed, this guy is just being a dick. He knows who he called because he called them. You have no idea who's on the incoming call (leave call ID out of it for now), and it's perfectly reasonable to ask who it is before passing them along.

Your right Marjorie. It is a business, and that's how you answer the phone. Mr.Mad should take a chill pill, if he thinks it's screening he doesn't need to give his name.

I think Mr. Mad just forgot to take his meds.

Zactly. I've never had someone blow up when I pleasantly asked who they were.

Of course, if they call up and ask for "the person that handles your website marketing" so they can sell SEO snake oil, they get abused. My coworkers enjoy eavesdropping on those...

clownkiller wrote: Your right Marjorie. It is a business, and that's how you answer the phone. Mr.Mad should take a chill pill, if he thinks it's screening he doesn't need to give his name.

the guy doesn't have to give his real name at that point- he could have fun with it and pick one of the many, many names that Bart Simpson used when he prank called Moe's bar over the years..

some people just like getting outraged...

If I had given my name then the "co-worker" would have known it was me. And she wouldn't have taken my call. I don't know why she won't take my calls any more. Most women would be grateful for a man to call them 20 times a day asking about their apparel.

Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone with a dick.

"It's rude to screen calls" on what berkeleying planet? Hell, I don't answer half the time when my friends call, and I like them. If I don't know the number on my screen, you can bet your ass you'll be hearing my outgoing voicemail message.

And I've answered phones in a "professional" environment (or about as professional as a motorcycle shop gets) and my boss would have had my head on a pike if I passed calls to him without screening. And I wouldn't blame him. Half the time I'd pretend to be someone else so I could screen calls for myself.

Not only appropriate for business calls, but for home calls as well. That's the way I was raised, at least.

Kids these days...

Marjorie Suddard wrote: In reply to bravenrace: No E36 M3. But that wasn't the question. ;-) Margie

You ask a question on an interwebz forum and expect answers to that question?

Hell, I got a lady pissed at me for calling her "Ma'am"

I'll bet Mr Mad finds himself angry a lot. 1 out of every 5 people is an shiny happy person. If you find that everyone else is an shiny happy person, then you're the 1 in 5

Whats an etiquette?