Answering the phone
I needed to call someone last week that I don't talk to often in person or on the phone. Not a big deal but the person the other end answered with "Hello", that was it. Not "Hello this is Jane" or "Hello Doe's, this is John". I was caught off guard by this and was a little concerned that I might have the wrong number. What ever happened to introductions? We are teaching our boys to say "Hello Schelfhout's, this is Calvin". I am a little less formal on my cell phone and say "Hello this is Chad". I understand times are changing but there still needs to be some courtesy. How do you answer you phone? Do you wish people would answer with more than hello or ya? Maybe if this keeps up, the person will pick up the phone and not say anything.
April 15th, 2006 - 13:30
A lot of common courtesy has gone by the wayside. If I don’t recognize the caller id, I answer the home phone with “Hello, this is Richard Schwartz speaking”. People seem to be caught off guard by this. Half the time the person on the phone ignores what I said and proceeds to ask for me by name. People are also caught off guard when I address them as “Sir” or “Ma’am”, which I will do even for the young folks manning a drive-through, regardless of age. If they are providing service courteously, they deserve to be addressed respectfully IMHO, but half the time the guys look at me as if I’m an alien when I do so. The young women seem to be less surprised by it, and I’m not sure why that would be the case.
April 17th, 2006 - 06:27
I always answer my work phone “Computer Systems, This is Chris” and “This is Chris” for my cell phone. What really gets me more than anything else is when someone will just call me and start talking without telling me who they are!!
We are moving to a VoIP system here and if you have the old system, then your name doesn’t show up on VoIP caller ID and vice-versa. So maybe they assume that I know who they are, but I usually don’t! They may talk for 10 seconds before giving me a chance to ask who is on the line…
April 20th, 2006 - 11:04
I was never taught to identify myself when answering the telephone. My mother is very much into manners. She told us never to identify ourselves as it could be a wrong number, and it is none of their business who answered the phone.
However, she instructed to identify ourselves when calling someone. We were supposed to say, “Hello, this Whoever, may I please speak w/whoever..”
April 20th, 2006 - 18:43
Richard, I like the drive-through greetings. I address the kids at church that way. Then they are more willing to address me as Mr. Schelfhout. The courtesy/respect goes both ways.
Betsy, you bring up a good point about the wrong number, but you are willing to identify yourself when calling someone?