Episode 84 - What Does Your Outgoing Voice Mail Message Say About You?
How do you feel when you hear a voice mail message that starts with, “Today is Monday,” but you are calling on Wednesday?! If you’re like me, you laugh and think she is a couple of days behind. No big deal. Or is it? Yes.
We have the power to teach others how to treat us. That Monday message on Wednesday could teach others the person isn’t so good with details.
Here’s another example, if your voice mail message says, “I’m either on another call or away from my desk right now. Please leave a message and I’ll call you back as soon as possible,” do you really call back as soon as possible? Or do you wait until the end of the day? Or do you never call them back? I suggest you eliminate the insincere part about “I’ll call you back as soon as possible.” Not fulfilling your pledge sends a subconscious message that your words cannot be trusted.
Is this a little thing? Yes, it’s microscopic. But big reputations are built by lots of little things. For example, in one of my customer service seminars, an executive with Nordstrom’s Department Stores said, “Doug, may I share something with everyone? We are so focused on quality customer experiences that in my department we update our outgoing messages 3 to 5 times every day.” As many of you know, Nordstrom’s has been consistently rated number 1 in the U.S. for customer service. They sound like smart people to me.