Handling Sales Phone Calls

When a call comes in for a salesperson, if they are not actively with a customer, any conversation they are having with another employee can be cut short, and they immediately take the call. But if they are on the phone with a customer, or with a customer in person, they should not take the call. Unless a salesperson has specifically told Reception that they MUST talk to a particular customer when they call, salespeople who are with customers are not to be interrupted. See LHFJ Policy “Phone Calls.”

So if they are with a customer, tell the customer that their sales person is helping someone else and they will call you back shortly. Ask the customer how quickly they need a reply as well. You ask them this because it may be URGENT, as in they need a gift today, or it may be something they are looking for next month. In the first case you should e-mail the sales person and hand write a note to tape to their computer screen. The hand written note is in case the sales person is so busy that they can’t get to their e-mails that day. In the second case an e-mail will do.

When taking the message find out what they want. If the customer is already involved with a salesperson and is asking specifically for one person, they may not want to get into it with you, but still find out as much as you can and whether or not you can help them in some way. Take a complete message and if you can handle something, then do so.

For example, if they bought a ring that needed sizing, they may be calling to see if it is ready. Knowing that, you can route the call to the Repair Dept to have them tell the customer if it is ready. Having done so, be sure to leave a detailed message for the appropriate salesperson so they can update the computer and follow up on it. Make sure you sign the message in case they need to talk to you about it. (If you send the message from reception the sales person may not know who was at reception at the time if you don’t sign your e-mail.)

Another type of call you will take is from a potential new customer who has seen our ad somewhere. They often will ask for availability and price on a watch or piece of jewelry. ALWAYS ROUTE THIS CALL TO A SALESPERSON IF ONE IS AVAILABLE!! The salespeople are trained to get these people in the store where they can sell them something. If all the salespeople are busy, and there is an experienced sales assistant available, you could rout the call to them. But only if they are experienced. Otherwise take a COMPLETE message and send to the “next up” sales person.

The order of phone answering is:

1. Receptionist
2. Salespeople
3. Sales Assistants
4. All other staff

In all cases the key is getting the customer to the person that can actually help them the best and who’s job it is to deal with that particular customer’s needs.