IMPORTANT TIPS: ON PHONING SOMEONE IN THE MIDST OF AN UNEXPECTED CRISIS

"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." (Proverbs 15:1)

Several times in the recent past, I have written about lessons I have learned from working at a telephone answering service. THIS is another. I have learned SO many practical lessons from this job! You know, some day I may even write a booklet or even a BOOK about all I have learned.

What I am sharing now may seem ridiculously simple, annoyingly basic, and logically unnecessary. Please DON'T make the mistake of thinking that! You NEED to read this piece and you need to share it! I am learning that people make SO many communication errors over the telephone! SO many times, people "hang themselves" on the phone- they GUARANTEE they will be misunderstood and/or brushed aside and ignored. This DOES NOT EVER HAVE TO HAPPEN!

Let me tell you about an actual conversation I had while on the phone answering a call this week; the mistakes the caller made, and HOW the caller could have totally turned that call around by just making some MINOR changes in her approach and manner.

I'm changing the name of the medical practice, the location of the medical practice, and the name of the caller and any other details. I'll call it BARIL MEDICAL ASSOCIATES OF CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Here is how the call went:

BOB: Good afternoon, Baril Medical Associates of Canton.

CALLER: I NEED TO TALK TO NANCY JONES!

BOB: The office is open but they're probably getting a high call volume at this time, so that's why the call is coming to us. I can take a message and FAX it to the office, if you like, or you can call back in a little bit.

CALLER: I NEED TO TALK TO NANCY JONES!

BOB: So, you'd like me to take a message?

CALLER: I WANT TO TALK TO NANCY JONES; LET ME TALK TO NANCY JONES!

BOB: OK, now what is your name?

CALLER: Nanette Jones.

BOB: No, not who you wish to SPEAK to, what is YOUR name?

CALLER: NANETTE JONES!

BOB: WHO do you wish to speak to at Baril Medical Associates?

CALLER: I TOLD YOU I WANT TO TALK TO NANCY JONES!

BOB: I'm confused. What is YOUR name?

CALLER: NANETTE JONES! This never happens, I can always get right through! What is going on? Get me Nancy Jones! Get me Nancy Jones!

BOB: So YOU are Nanette Jones and you're calling Nancy Jones? I'm confused.

CALLER: (speaking very fast, and yelling) I had a car accident, I want to speak to Nancy Jones, I'm Nanette Jones, Nancy Jones is my mother, I want to speak to Nancy Jones I want to speak to Nancy Jones (faster and louder) I WANT TO SPEAK TO NANCY JONES now stop all this stuff and give me Nancy Jones!

BOB: OK, please calm down and speak slowly. I just am required to take your phone number and I will patch you right through to the office.

CALLER: (fast and disgusted) 555-555-2068

BOB: (calls inside line- line is answered after TEN rings!)
RECEPTIONIST: Baril Medical Associates of Canton.

BOB: I have a Nanette Jones on the line. She was in a car accident. She needs to speak to Nancy Jones immediately.

RECEPTIONIST: (flustered) oh...oh...is she OK...oh...Nancy...oh...
BOB (to CALLER): Nanette, I have the office

RECEPTIONIST: Nanette, are you OK?

CALLER: (sounding hysterical) I was in a car accident...

(BOB disconnects himself from conversation at this point.)

Now, for those of you who think the caller did nothing wrong, here is how she could have changed that whole situation:

BOB: Good afternoon, Baril Medical Associates of Canton.

CALLER: Bob? My mother works there and I've just been in a car accident. I need to speak to her right away. Her name is Nancy Jones and my name is Nanette Jones. Is there a way I can speak to her?

BOB: Of course, Nanette. I am sorry to hear that. Just give me your phone number for in case we are disconnected, then I will patch you right to the office.

See? What a difference!

The caller was probably around age eighteen. A big lesson I have learned is that the first sentence you use on a call is CRUCIAL! That sentence will make you or break you!
She needed to give me the facts RIGHT AWAY, so I understood what I was dealing with.

Please understand this from an answering service operator's point of view. When we take a call for a medical practice and we hear, "I WANT TO TALK TO NANCY JONES; LET ME TALK TO NANCY JONES!" in a demanding and rapid delivery, we are thinking:

1. Is this person a drug addict who is calling to demand drugs? IT HAPPENS!

2. Is this person a former patient who has an axe to grind against the office?

3. Is this a person who has been asked to NOT call the office for some reason? IT happens!

4. Is catering to this person going to get me IN TROUBLE with that practice? (Later, we could hear, "WHY did you put that person right through to the office? Couldn't you tell they were high on drugs? That person had threatened the life of Dr. Nelson the day before. You COULD have just taken a message!")

You see, WE don't know it's the child of an employee! WE don't know there's just been a car accident. WE don't realize how TIME SENSITIVE the call is.

There are SO many other things I could write.

This week, I've had a few other people angrily hang up when I've asked "date of birth?" or "could I take your phone number?". Some have yelled, "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!" In fact, I was within seconds of patching them through to the office when they hung up!

TWO RULES TO REMEMBER:

1. Choose your FIRST SENTENCE very carefully. Make sure it contains the information you need to give. DON'T yell it. Speak clearly and at a moderate pace, BUT NOT TOO FAST. And, please TRY TO AVOID SPEAKING IN A THREATENING TONE.

2. Then, as hard as it is to do: LISTEN! I KNOW you don't want to give your phone number. "I don't need to give my phone number, my mother knows it". But I don't know it! I am taking the number because the client (Baril Medical Associates) requires it and so I can call you back if we are disconnected.

Read those two rules again. Next time you are really annoyed when you get a receptionist or an answering service operator, please remember those rules and practice them.

THIS WILL BE A HUGE HELP AND WILL POSITIVELY EXPEDITE THE SITUATION!