Yes, that happened to me once too, & I pissed the customer off as well, but you know what, I apologized proffucely, explained the situation & he was ok with it b/c I was honest & apologetic about it.
One has to know how to handle customers when they call & not just treat them like they are the guy next door.
This guy just ignored me & I could tell he either didn't care or just didn't understand my English.
That's where he lost me b/c nothing will turn me off faster than people who ignore what I have to say. That's disrespectful & a slap in the face.
I work from home too & I have no problem with people who work from home, but if one gets tons of calls (I don't b/c I would never give out my home #), then I feel at that point it's time to invest in a new number, or at the very least a VM #. That's what I have now, with a complete VM system in place.
In fact I just switched from a local # to a toll free one & I realized this bumps up my image 10 fold. I even get more calls now than I did b4 & yes it costs me an extra $3/month, but how many extra sales do I make too b/c I look more professional?
Professionalism goes a long way & when tons of people online can scam you b/c they aren't a real company, or there's no hiearchy so if you have a problem you have no one to turn to, one has to show they are very professional, even if they are working from home.
I especially don't like it when retail companies answer that way. I've had restaurants answer that way & it seems foreigners are the worst. Most seem not to know biz etiquette at all.
Hello, branding is crucial in biz & if someone doesn't know how to run a biz in somewhat of a proper manner, I admit, that turns me off.
I mean, come on, as a biz person everyone should want their biz name to be out there. Say it to millions of people. Make them remember you. That's what good biz is all about.
End of rant :)
Michelle
Uh oh. I work from home and the phone number printed on my media kits (to sell advertising on DaniWeb) is sometimes used as a personal line and I am guilty of answering with "hello".