Telephone Etiquette and Courtesy in the Carpet Cleaning Business

The cleaning community has many qualified “dirt busters”, but lacks professionalism in answering telephone inquiries. Growth and success comes to those who have trained, knowledgeable people answer their telephones and even in the most difficult economy, these experts will schedule many more appointments than competitors who use voice mail or an answering service.

“He’s in the rest room.” "He hasn’t come in yet this morning.” “He’s playing golf today.” or “She doesn’t want to talk to anyone today.” These are all sure fire ways to offend a caller or make the person being called look bad. The only acceptable statements a telephone receptionist should make are: “He’s out of the office,” “She’s on another line,” or “She’s away from her desk.” always followed by, “May I take a message or could someone else help you?”

Do not ask who is calling! The epitome of being offensive is the person who screens a call by saying, “May I tell him who’s calling?” and then doesn’t give the name of the caller to the person being called. Even more insulting is to come back on the line and say, “He just stepped out of his office, may I take a message.” If a caller chooses to wait on the line for someone, they should not be left on “hold” indefinitely. An occasional inquiry to see if they would like to continue to wait or perhaps leave a message, is proper telephone procedure.

These days, callers are treated to impersonal telephone equipment, endless menus of computerized choices and then lengthy hold-time before they ever get to speak to a real, live person. A little warmth by a real person can do wonders for customer relations. And customers are not the only beneficiaries to good telephone manners. Vendors especially appreciate being treated with respect and their goodwill is important to the success of any company. Sales people who call may have a need for carpet, upholstery or hard-floor care at their home or place of business and may refer you to their friends and neighbors. Be courteous!

Some telephone tips for carpet cleaning companies:

Do not allow a business phone to ring more than three times. Most people hang up if the phone doesn’t get answered after five or six rings. The longer the phone rings, the more irritated the customer beomes.
Put on a smile before placing or answering a phone call - have a positive attitude.
Don’t call or answer the phone when your mouth is full of food, drink or chewing gum.
Remember - your voice on the phone is sometimes the only impression of your company a caller will get.
Have a pen or pencil and paper ready in case you need to take notes and to help you remember their name.
Identify your company by name and thank your customer for calling you.
Adding your own name when you answer the phone is a nice gesture.
The phone must take precedence over paper work. Stop what you are doing and give the caller your undivided attention.
Don’t rush callers. Their questions are very important to them.
Don’t be too busy to be friendly.
Don’t leave callers “hanging on hold.” A return call is preferred.
When taking a customer off of hold, thank the caller to show that their time is respected.
Always return phone calls if a return call has been promised, preferably the same day.
Utilize common courtesies such as, “May I please schedule an appointment for you?” or “Thank you for choosing to call us.”
Never say “I don’t know” when talking with someone on the phone. If you don’t know, tell them you’ll get someone that has the answer or tell them “I’ll check on that for you.” and call them back as soon as possible.
Of course, slang, swear words, offensive words, racist words, etc. don’t belong on a business phone - even if the call is personal in nature. Words can come back to bite you.
At the end of the call, do not hang up the phone without a positive closure such as “Thank you for calling” or “Have a Good Day.”

Additional Carpet Cleaning Company Information:

15 Factors to Success in the Carpet Cleaning Business
Building Your Own Carpet Cleaning Business
Four Characteristics of a Successful Person
Telephone Etiquette
Twenty Steps to Success in the Carpet Cleaning Business
What makes a company successful in the Carpet Cleaning Business?

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