Are customers sitting through excessive phone menus or automated messages? A receptionist is quicker to pick up the phone and provides the first customer interaction, so consider removing the long phone menu and routing all customers to a receptionist. The alternative is to shorten your phone menu recording.
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Are customers being forwarded to the sales line and sitting on hold? To avoid dead time in the transfer between the receptionist and other departments, the receptionist should ensure someone is available to take that call instead of transferring the call and hoping someone answers. Ensure departments are staffed appropriately to handle the volume of calls so customers don't have to wait.
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Are customers sitting on hold after reaching a sales associate? If the associate cannot find a quick answer to the customer's question, train them to ask the customer if they'd like to stay on hold or receive a call back. Giving the customer a choice makes them feel like they have control, and gives the salesperson a chance to get that customer's contact information.