"May I help you?" - do you care?

Today I listened to receptionists answer telephone calls for two businesses. Both had clearly been doing this all day, and may have been tired. Although they used basically the same words, one's tone of voice sounded like she clearly didn't care about the person at the other end. The other, although not enthusiastic, was more welcoming.

Tone of voice can make a difference between welcoming a prospective or current customer, and turning him or her away.
All it takes is a desire to welcome the customer and a little bit of both training and energy.

Sound like you care - every time. If you don't care, the customer may not share his time and business with you. After all, would you want to do business with a company whose first impression is of not caring?

Business Speech Improvement provides intensive training in verbal skills, from diction and sales communication to American English pronunciation and more.