Receptionist Etiquette Tip: Hesitation Is an Opportunity to Help

Offering Assistance
Photo by Andreas Johannsen

Ever been met with a less-than-eager response when offering a call to someone? It happens to our virtual receptionist team from time to time, and it goes a little something like this:

Receptionist: Hi Jim! This is Stephanie from Ruby. I have Walt Smith on the line. Would you like the call?

Jim: Oh…hmm…umm…

It doesn’t seem like Jim’s ready for Walt’s call at the moment, does it?

We’ve found that hesitation like this is often a teeny, tiny cry for help. Lucky for our clients and callers alike, the Ruby® telephone answering team is driven by a desire to help! When you’re met with a bit of hesitation in this type of situation, we suggest offering to take the next step. It’s sort of a motto at Ruby: When you think someone needs help, don’t make ’em ask for help — go ahead and offer it! In a case like this, it’s as simple as saying, “I’d be happy to take a message, or relay a message to him if you’d like.”

This is just a small example of what we call fulfilling unexpressed needs, one of the levels of our Ruby Hierarchy of Service Pyramid. Looking for ways to help the people we interact with is fundamental to being part of the Ruby team. By anticipating what a caller or client may need and offering it preemptively, we take that helpfulness a step further.

The next time you sense a need for help, try offering it before you’re asked. We think you’ll find fulfilling unexpressed needs is a fun, rewarding way to WOW!