Is your company’s phone greeting putting your callers to sleep?

My husband, who is a general manager at a family restaurant and I were having a discussion about the restaurant’s phone greeting. I told him that it was too long. He agreed and went on to talk about other ways the restaurant could be more efficient and I tuned out. Are your customers tuning you out because your message is too long?

I’m finding that more and more companies are trying to plug so much into their phone greetings that I often forget why I called in the first place.

My husband’s employer, for instance, has a greeting that is just too darned long. It goes something like this: “Hi, this is Amy, thank you for calling McDonald’s Farms. May I direct your call to our take-out line where you can try one of our delicious summer salads today?” Yes, it SOUNDS quite nice, which is what I told my husband. A marketing person certainly had a hand in scripting that phone greeting.

When I answer my phone at work I say, “It’s a great day at Company B! How may I help you?” It usually gets a chuckle from my cube mates and fortunately we have caller ID at work, so I only do this when my good friend calls me. But I actually got the idea from a realtor who had her receptionist and sales team to answer the phone in that manner.

No one cares what kind of day you’re having do they? No! They call because they’re wanting something from you, and unless you’re the weather hotline, don’t give answer with, “It’s a great day!”

Here are some things that you should include in your greeting along with some tips for ensuring your callers encounter a professional individual on the other end of the line.

Keep your greeting simple. Make sure your greeting includes your company’s name and the name of the person answering the phone. When you’re part of a large operation, it’s important that callers know who they spoke with. This helps with follow up.

Remain professional at all times. There are companies that can “go there,” like novelty, recreational or other specialty stores and shops. But if your industry is banking, healthcare or education, no one wants to hear: “Thank you for calling First National Bank where we stash your cash!” Not cute.

Monitor your incoming calls. Listen to how people are representing your organization. For your customers, nothing is more irritating than calling a business and hearing the boredom emanate through the receiver. It used to be commonplace to smile while you spoke a company’s greeting so listeners could “hear” the happiness in your voice.

Streamline your messages. Is everyone answering the same way? If your company offers different promotions, make sure that everyone is up to speed on them.