ls, taking calls in meetings, and not identifying yourself on the phone. The standard rule in business is to return routine phone calls within 24 hours and to apologize if the call is later. Return phone calls, fax, write a note or have your staff call, but do get back to people. It is an expected professional gesture to identify yourself when you place a call. Say your name, the company or business you represent to take people off the spot. Then state the nature of you call. If you do not identify yourself, expect to be asked and do not take offense. When answering telephone calls, your expected to make a connection promptly when a call comes in. This is more than a form of courtesy; prompt telephone service suggests to callers an efficient company. The appropriate telephone greeting conforms with the time of day and then the policy of the company - for example, "Good afternoon, The Smith Company," or , "Good afternoon, Procter and Gamble." Knowing that he/she has the right number, the caller merely has to ask for the individual he/she is calling. Anyone who has a visitor in his office should avoid making calls, unless they are pertinent to the business being discussed. As for incoming calls, when the individual who is you guest is very important, or the subject of your discussion is involved, tell your secretary not to put through any but the utmost urgent calls that come in for hem/her even when he/she has a guest, because the alternative is a long list of calls to be made afterwards. If call do come in, excuse yourself to your guest and make the telephone conversation as brief as possible. Do not continue your conversation with your guest as you pick up the receiver; finish what you are say first and then pick it up (Parker .) Interruptions are another complaint that is commonly observed as rude business etiquette. These r...
