How to Leave a Phone Message
Do we *really* need to devote a specific page to instructions on how to leave a phone message? In this day and age, when pretty much everyone has a cell phone, you would think leaving a phone message was a no brainer BUT we receive phone messages similar to the following with alarming regularity:
“hey, it’s me, call me back.”
We (unfortunately) don’t have any psychics on staff… We get a lot of phone calls from a lot of people, and based on how our phone tree is set up, we don’t have proper caller ID, so a message like this causes confusion and delay. Without a specific name or a number left in the message, it means we have to spend time and effort trying to track down contact info instead of getting back to you directly to answer your questions, take your order, or otherwise help out.
So, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, here are a few tips to use if you should call us and end up having to leave a message:
“hey, it’s me, call me back.”
We (unfortunately) don’t have any psychics on staff… We get a lot of phone calls from a lot of people, and based on how our phone tree is set up, we don’t have proper caller ID, so a message like this causes confusion and delay. Without a specific name or a number left in the message, it means we have to spend time and effort trying to track down contact info instead of getting back to you directly to answer your questions, take your order, or otherwise help out.
So, just to make sure everyone is on the same page, here are a few tips to use if you should call us and end up having to leave a message:
1. When leaving us a phone message, please specifically mention a. your name, b. your phone number (with area code), and c. the reason you are calling. So, for example, an excellent phone message would be something along these lines:
“Hi, this is Joe Smith from Brownsville, Texas. I have some questions about your climbing ropes and my number is 956-234-5678.”
2. You are (understandably) most likely to get through during normal business hours, but at times phone traffic is substantial so you may get diverted to voicemail when that is the case.
3. Phone messages are returned at the earliest possible opportunity, usually within the hour that they are left. Phone messages left outside of normal business hours, on weekends, or during holidays are returned at the next available opportunity — most often first thing in the following business day.
4. You are more than welcome to give us a call any time day or night — even 3am – but if you decide to call us during such times, please do us the courtesy of actually leaving a message instead of simply hanging up. We will be more than happy to call you back as soon as we can
5. Another thing to keep in mind is your calling location. At times, we have received voicemails from a caller who sounds like they are calling us from inside a wind tunnel — there is extremely loud background noise and it is difficult to make out what he or she is saying. While bad connections are sometimes unavoidable, if at all possible, please give us a call or leave your message from an area with minimal background noise.
6. You would also be amazed at how many people leave us a voicemail, and we call back almost immediately only to find that their own voice mail box is either full or not set up.
7. You’ve got about 60 seconds to leave your phone message through our phone system. This should be more than enough time to provide all the pertinent information in most cases but if your case requires a lot of detail, it would be an excellent idea to also send us an email with any additional info, etc.
“Hi, this is Joe Smith from Brownsville, Texas. I have some questions about your climbing ropes and my number is 956-234-5678.”
2. You are (understandably) most likely to get through during normal business hours, but at times phone traffic is substantial so you may get diverted to voicemail when that is the case.
3. Phone messages are returned at the earliest possible opportunity, usually within the hour that they are left. Phone messages left outside of normal business hours, on weekends, or during holidays are returned at the next available opportunity — most often first thing in the following business day.
4. You are more than welcome to give us a call any time day or night — even 3am – but if you decide to call us during such times, please do us the courtesy of actually leaving a message instead of simply hanging up. We will be more than happy to call you back as soon as we can
5. Another thing to keep in mind is your calling location. At times, we have received voicemails from a caller who sounds like they are calling us from inside a wind tunnel — there is extremely loud background noise and it is difficult to make out what he or she is saying. While bad connections are sometimes unavoidable, if at all possible, please give us a call or leave your message from an area with minimal background noise.
6. You would also be amazed at how many people leave us a voicemail, and we call back almost immediately only to find that their own voice mail box is either full or not set up.
7. You’ve got about 60 seconds to leave your phone message through our phone system. This should be more than enough time to provide all the pertinent information in most cases but if your case requires a lot of detail, it would be an excellent idea to also send us an email with any additional info, etc.