Attention telemarketers and salespeople -
Secretaries - Personal Assistants - Receptionists .... whatever their title may be, they are the Gatekeepers : The more powerful or busy the executive or business owner, the more likely the person who answers their phone can control the incoming calls and appointments. Anger or annoy the gatekeeper, and your attempts to talk to any specific person just got a whole lot more difficult.
1# when the person you are calling to talk to isn't available, insulting or hanging up on the person who had answered the phone is NOT the way to get what you want. You may have hung up before I could find out who you were calling on behalf of ... but Caller ID tells me who you are and now that your no longer wasting my time on the phone i can to add you to our blackball list of companies and individuals we won't do business with. And YES i do have the authority to do that.
#2 Don't tell me you were talking to XXX and were just disconnected, because I was chatting with him for the 10 minutes prior to your call - at his desk, in our shared office .... Nope, don't want to do business with someone who starts it off with lies. - even if we might have been interested in the services you could provide, I would call a different provider. (I'm not going to sample the multitude of lies i've been told in the pitiful attempt to skip the reception desk by pretending to already be doing business with us, but it's about 20% of ALL marketing calls)
#3 No I will not tell
you whether his is in, or when he'll be back, or even the best time to
call, or anything else, not until you tell me who you are, and the
reason you're calling. I started the conversation by telling you who I
was and who I worked for, and if you want information, you're going to have
to do the same. Telling me it's A "financial matter" is like telling an emergency room doctor it's a "medical issue" or telling the mechanic theres something wrong with your car .... it says nothing and will get you nothing in return.
#4 "please stay on the line for an important call" If it was so important that you reach someone here, try picking up the phone instead of programming the number into your computer! The recordings change, but my response is the same : if' i'm so-unimportant that you have a computer dial, then i'll decline to take your call until i'm important enough for a live person.
Your job provides a service, but bullying, lying, and/or simply being rude gives your whole class of employment a bad reputation and at the rate some of you are going, used car salesmen and lawyers are the only ones who will be listening to you soon.