Answering the phone - a pet peeve

[Cynthia Daniel]

Ok, I might ruffle some feathers here, but I feel it needs to be said. A professional image is very important and how a phone is answered can contribute to or detracrt from that.

Over the years, I can't tell you how many times I've called artists and when they weren't in, another family member answered the phone, sometimes in an uprofessional manner. Usually with simply a "hello," leaving the caller with possible uncertainty as to whether they've reached the right number. Sometimes it was a husband with a gruff sounding voice, or a child.

If other family members are going to take business calls, they need to be told the proper way to answer the phone for your business. You don't need to get a separate phone line. I assume all phone companies have what is called "distinctive ring" where you can get a second number put on the same line. It rings with a double-ring and that way you know what number is being called and, therefore, how the phone should be answered. This feature costs about $6/month with my phone company.

In what professional manner you choose to answer the phone is up to you. Some artists simply answer "Joe Smith" or "Joe Smith Studio." Obviously if it's a family member answering, they would use the latter option. If small children are too young to handle it, they should be trained to let it go to the answering machine on a double-ring. And, of course, you would have a professional sounding message on your answering machine.