Re: Answer your phone...
I can definitely see both sides. I agree that the person you're with deserves your undivided attention. I rarely see clients in my home office, so that isn't a factor. And when I pick up work from a client, I'm just picking up work from the receptionist, not meeting with anyone. I would never interrupt a meeting to take a call; to me that's just plain rude and makes the client feel bad.
But in this day and age so many businesses have automated answering systems or VM all the time and I just think people get tired of it. They want a live person on the other end for a change. And sometimes people want an answer right now, or they want to find someone right now, so they just go down whatever list they have until someone answers.
I'll never answer the phone with a client present or if running up against a tight deadline, but I have been getting lax over the years in answering it other times, like if I'm somewhere else in the house I usually just let the answering machine pick up. Or if I'm on a transcript that's not a rush. My phone doesn't ring so much that I'd never finish if I kept answering the phone! LOL That's the type of thing I'm changing, and possibly forwarding to my cell phone when I do have to go out during business hours.
|