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Identify the purpose of the call clearly. We must clear our minds thoroughly before we start.

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If we have various things we wish to cover, it is wise to make some notes to make sure nothing has been missed.

10.2 Difficult Calls and Difficult Callers
Many things can go wrong during a telephone call – some are due to difficult people and some
are quite simply caused by mechanical problems. Both types of difficulty need to be approached
professionally. The points below may help to overcome some of the most common problems.
Many telephone systems have lots of special functions enabling us to store telephone numbers in
a memory, programme the telephone to keep dialing a number until we get through, and so on.
Many of these functions can help us so we need to familiarize ourselves with the scope (or
limitations) of our system.
There are mechanical difficulties, however, with all telephones that are somewhat out of control,
for example:

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Crossed lines

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Being cut off

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Bad lines where we cannot hear the other person clearly

. Wrong numbers Apart from the abovementioned mechanical problems, we can face a lot of other difficulties with
the callers themselves.
Probably the caller we all most dread is the rude, aggressive person who more often than not is
complaining about something. Apart from the need to remain professional in the face of extreme
adversity, the following tips are also crucial:

Do:
.  Accept responsibility for whatever is being complained about.

.  Apologize

.  Avoid taking any insults personally.

.  Finish the call positively.

. Take follow-up action immediately and make sure you ring back if you said you would. Efficient handling of complaints can often result in a pleased and impressed customer who will come back to us again. TAKING MESSAGES One of the major complaints from people at work is that people simply do not ring back. Unfortunately, if we take a message for someone and they do not ring back, it is our fault, and that is how the caller will see it. They will probably assume the message was not passed on and they will therefore blame us. So, how can we ensure that messages are dealt with promptly and efficiently?
There are three stages to effective message taking and these are:
.  Being Prepared. At the outset, it must be said that offering to take a message is the lowest form of help. We should only offer to do this when we have explored all other avenues. Many people, when answering someone else’s phone simply say : “I’m sorry, he is out, can I take a message?” That is not helpful. Instead we should say: “I’m sorry, he is out. Can I help?” However, for those occasions when we do not have to take a message, we should be armed with a suitable message pad. It is important to use a special pad, otherwise, important messages get lost among the papers on someone’s desk.

.  Taking the Message. We have already said that if we take down any information like telephone numbers, names and so on, we should repeat them to the caller to make sure they are correct. We should also note down what action we have said will be taken. If we have said someone will call back this afternoon, we must make sure that the person dealing with the message both knows and does that.

.  Making Sure the Message Is Actioned. Having taken the message, the next step is to make sure something happens about it. It is important, therefore, to leave it in a prominent place where it will be seen. Many organizations have message boards in each department so that all messages can be pinned up.