Phone a Friend

You’re beginning your first shift in the office and you really want to be ready for today’s call. What should you do first?

• Have your computer ready to reference any commonly asked questions, have something to write down information on, and a bottle of water.

• Chew bubblegum and lots of it to work out your jaw muscles.

• Sit back, kick it while chatting with your co-workers about the latest gossip.

• Have your computer browser open to Instagram so you can stalk the people you’re on the phone with. Who knows, maybe you’ll get a date out of the whole ordeal.

What should you say when you initially answer a phone call?

• Hello?

• Hola, como estas?

• Rutgers-Newark Admissions, this is Mary, How may I help you?

• Rutgers-Newark Admissions. What’s up?

A person walks into the office and asks a question. Then the phone rings, what do you do next?

• Pick up the phone and tell the caller to hold for just a moment even though you know that it will take much longer.

• Pick up the phone. You find that it’s one of your friends that you haven’t talked to in a while. Be chatty, the walk-in visitor can wait.​

• Pick up the phone & hang up immediately. Your attention belongs to the student currently in the office.​

• Tell the walk-in “one moment” & pick up the phone. Ask the person if you can take down their info to call them back. Help the walk-in, then call the person on the phone back promptly.​

What’s the most important method of transferring a call?

• Provide caller with extension you are transferring them to. Then, stay on the line until the person on the other end picks up and give them a brief overview of the caller you are transferring.​

• Transfer the call to voicemail of the person they are trying to reach.​

• Provide caller the phone number so they can call the other line themselves.​

• Ask the caller to refer to the Rutgers directory online.​

What is the best way to put someone on hold?

• Ask person if they would like to hold for a minute until someone is available or if they would like to provide their contact info to have someone return their call.

• Ask the person if they can hold.

• Tell the caller to “hold for a sec” and return minutes later.

• Tell the person to hold on while you place your phone on the desk (without hitting the “hold” button while you walk across the office to find out the answer).

If the caller shares their name with you, it is recommended that you use it throughout the remainder of the phone call.

• True

• False

It is okay to provide the caller with your supervisor’s cell phone number if they claim to know your supervisor.

• True

• False

Try to answer the phone by the _____ ring.

• second (2nd)

• No more than the fourth (4th)

• sixth (6th)

• wait for someone else to answer the call

If someone asks a question that you aren’t sure how to answer, what should you do?

• Ask your supervisor or co-worker who may know.

• Do your best to refer them to an office that can best assist them and provide them with the office number before transferring.​

• Say whatever sounds okay even if you don’t know if it is correct info. You wouldn’t want to sound clueless.​

• Say “I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I don’t know”