HANDLING THE TELEPHONE PROFESSIONALLY

Telephone should be answered promptly within 3 rings in a courteous manner (with a smile – People can hear smile!).
Always be polite and speak in a cheerful and helpful tone.

Answering calls:

Helpful line:
Good morning/afternoon/evening. Tbilisi Mall. (name) speaking. How may I help/assist you?

Transferring calls:

 Listen carefully and understand the nature of request before transferring a call;
 Give the caller your name and extension in case you get disconnected. Ask the caller for their name (Mr.X)
 Inform caller to whom they will be transferred;
 You should not blindly transfer the call as soon as you hear the other phone ring. Wait for the other person to
answer and explain to them the reason for the transferred call. This will give the other person a chance to
prepare for the call and the caller will not have to explain the situation all over again.
 Return to the caller and announce the name/department that you will be transferring the call to.
 Thank the caller for their patience and ask if there is anything else that you can do.

Helpful lines:
Could you hold the line please, I will try to connect you. / One moment please, I will transfer your call.
Thank you for holding. Mr. X is not available at the moment.

Taking messages:
 Prepare yourself with a pen and paper while taking a call so you can note down the information of the customer.
 Ask the caller if they would like to leave message.
 Write down full message.
 Confirm with the caller you wrote everything correctly.

Telephone message should include: Name of caller/Company; telephone number; time & date when message taken; action
to be taken; comments if any.

Helpful lines:
Would you like to leave a message for her/him or call back later?

Tips:

Do not chew gum, eat or drink while on the phone with a caller.
Avoid “Ah”, “Um”, “Like” and other meaningless filler words or sounds.
Avoid using mute or hold button when serving a customer.