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Got Voice Mail? "There's not anybody who really cares about using
voice messaging the way I envisioned it." According to
Gordon Matthews, the inventor of voice mail, he never anticipated
that his automated message system would be used to confuse and
frustrate business callers. He didn't foresee how many ways
businesses could devise to misuse his system.
When asked
what aggravates them most about modern phone communication the
majority of people will say that it is voice mail. Pressed for
details, they explain that it is the automated answering process that
companies use to screen and direct calls that bugs them, not the
basic messaging-taking function.
Companies are spending
large sums of money to antagonize their customers and it only seems
to get worse. When a person needs help with a problem and can't reach
another human, the situation deteriorates rapidly. Using the numbers
on your touch tone pad is fine when you want to verify your bank
balance, pay a bill or have a dry newspaper delivered; but when your
pipes are backing up, your new computer just crashed, or a tree just
fell on your brand new SUV, call processing may not be the
answer.
There are advantages to an automated system. It
saves money in salaries and benefits. It prevents old-fashioned phone
tag by allowing people to leave detailed messages in their own voice
with clear and correct information. Voice mail crosses all time zones
so people can leave and retrieve messages at their convenience.
The disadvantages are that people can hide behind voice mail,
often the prompts are confusing, working through the menu can be more
time-consuming than speaking to a "live" person, and some
people just don't like talking to machines.
If your company
uses an automated system to process calls make sure it provides the
best customer service by following these suggestions:
1.
Keep your greeting short and sweet. (No one cares that your menu
options have changed. They only want to know what options they have
now.)
2. List your menu options according to popular usage.
3. Tell callers how to reach another human early in the
process.
4. Think twice before using voice mail for customer
service issues.
5. Survey your customers from time to time
to see how they feel about your voice mail system.
6. Try
calling your own system occasionally and find out first hand what
your customers are experiencing.
Voice mail can be either an
incredible asset to your business or an incredible pain for your
customers. Don't force innocent people to spend their valuable time
in your voice mail jail.
© Lydia Ramsey. All rights
reserved. Reprint rights granted so long as article and by-line are
published intact and with all links made live.
 
About the
Author  Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional speaker, corporate trainer and author of MANNERS THAT SELL - ADDING THE POLISH THAT BUILDS PROFITS. She has been quoted or featured in The New York Times, Investors' Business Daily, Entrepreneur, Inc., Real Simple and Woman's
Day. For more information about her programs, products and services visit her web site at http://www.mannersthatsell.com
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