MUSIC: ...dont leave me hanging on the telephone, dont leave me hanging on the telephone...

RS: One person you dont want to leave hanging on the phone is Nancy Friedman. For the past eighteen years ... ever since this Saint Louis, Missouri, businesswoman got fed up with her insurance agents rude staff ... shes been traveling the country, and now abroad, on a mission.

AA: That mission, in her words: "training corporations to do a better job when the public calls." Nancy Friedman calls herself the Telephone Doctor. Lets start with her prescription for answering the phone:

TAPE: CUT ONE -- FRIEDMAN"So it would be good morning, XYZ company, this is Mary -- stop. Anything after our name, erases our name. How can I help you? is not necessary in initial greetings. Were there to help, thats why weve picked up the telephone. I can guarantee you that most how can I help yous are interrupted by somebody asking for somebody or needing some help."RS: Nancy Friedman says, dont underestimate the power of those first few seconds on the phone.

TAPE: CUT TWO -- FRIEDMAN"Thats where a sale is made, where somebody says Good morning, thanks for calling, Telephone Doctors office, this is Nancy, thats the point where the person thinks, Do I want to do business with this company or dont I. And number two, the other nice part of this is when you give your name, eighty percent of the time you will get the callers name. So if I were saying, Good afternoon, Telephone Doctors office, this is Nancy, you might say, Hi Nancy, this is Rosanne."RS: And theres a reason she phrases it "this is Nancy."TAPE: CUT THREE -- FRIEDMANFRIEDMAN: "Not Nancy speaking, please remember -- not Nancy speaking. We dont want that."AA: "Why not?"FRIEDMAN: "Well, we dont want Nancy speaking because Nancy Speaking is married to Bob Speaking. They have two children, Judy Speaking (laughter) ... "RS: "Exactly!"FRIEDMAN: "Well, I make a joke on that, but the bottom line is they wont remember your name."AA: OK, lets say youre on the phone with someone and youre not sure who it is, is it polite to ask: "Who is this?" Thats a question our listener Njideka Umeh in Lagos, Nigeria would like answered.

TAPE: CUT FOUR -- FRIEDMANFRIEDMAN: "Well, it is not polite to ask who is this? over the telephone any more than if you would walk up to somebody at a party and say who are you? We would shake our hand, we would put our hand out as a sign of friendship and we would say, Hello, my name is Nancy. And you are? And they would say it. So on the telephone we want to remember to do pretty much the same thing. When somebody calls up and gives a name, it is very rude to say, Im sorry, what was your name again? You can say, I apologize, I know you gave your name and I missed it. My name is Nancy and you are?"RS: But what if the caller never gave his or her name right up?

AA: Extracting the callers name can require going beyond the obivious questions -- questions that might sound rude.

TAPE: CUT FIVE -- FRIEDMAN"Who is this, what company are you with, what is this concerning -- those are all very threatening and very frustrating questions to ask and to answer, so we simply believe if somebody hasnt identified themselves, and you ask for Mister Smith [the reply should be]: Ill be glad to ring his office -- let me tell him whos calling, please, and not can I ask whos calling, not who is this, let me tell him whos calling please. But that has a second part to it and a very important second part. If youre turning around and telling Mr. Bigshot its Mrs. Smith on the phone, Mr. Bigshot must answer the phone with Mrs. Smiths name or dont screen."RS: In other words, dont try to find out whos calling.

AA: Nancy Friedman has some other rules of customer service.

TAPE: CUT SIX -- FRIEDMAN/ARDITTIFRIEDMAN: "Smile before you pick up the phone, because the callers can hear it, [and] dont rush callers. We find that sometimes, especially when theres a language barrier, each side tries to rush the other caller. Ending a phone call should be done as pleasantly as the beginning. Hey, great to talk with you, good meeting you by phone -- whatever closing signature youd like. You do it on a letter: best wishes, stay well, all those things. Do it on the telephone, too."AA: Nancy Friedman, dispensing advice as the Telephone Doctor, at www.telephonedoctor.com.

RS: If you have a problem the Wordmasters could cure, write to [email protected], or VOA Wordmaster, Washington DC 20237 USA.

AA: And, if youd like, include your telephone number and the best time to reach you. With Rosanne Skirble, Im Avi Arditti.

MUSIC: "The Telephone Hour"/Original Broadway cast of "Bye-Bye Birdie"