Why Oh Why Don't Young People Know How to  

I think that ranks up there with annoying, no doubt. But have you gotten a machine calling you? "Please hold for______". Thats an easy hang up.

No, I don't think you're being old fashioned. Of course, starting at age 12 I think my mother made me make phone calls for her so I would learn proper phone etiquette. Now, I really dislike making calls, but at least when I do, I'm not stumbling over my words. Plus, I have enough phone skills to get what I want from the other end.

You are not old and cranky at all. As a matter of fact, you hit the nail right on the head with this one. I coudln't agree more. I'm in my mid twenties, and I've known how to place a professional phone call since I was about 10! My Dad ran an office, and though I never worked here, he made sure I knew how to make a business call.

I think you just got a weirdo on the other line. Maybe she was just groggy because it was a Monday today. I don't know. I think even I would have the common sense to not just space out like that. Then again, I am really bad when it comes to talking to people, but I'm working on that. You know what? I bet that there was a large bug crawling on her desk and she got preoccupied with watching it. That happens to me sometimes.

I can't imagine that caller as a professional. That can be classified as a prank call. Call center agents like me were taught proper etiquette even if the caller is irate. Business is business no matter what.

I am crankier than you because i have actually hung up on them. My husband says i have no patients but i feel like if they want something out of me they can learn proper phone etiquette.

Companies don't like to take the time to train employees properly anymore.
Used to be it was a week of training now it is two days to learn everything.
What about counting change back? That is also a completely lost art. They read what the register says and counts it when they get it out for them to know but just give it to you without counting it back.
I have never gotten a phone call like that but it doesn't surprise me.

It's kind of weird phone callers these days. I thought telemarketers are the worst, but apparently some people just don't know how to have a conversation on the phone at all. I experienced weird phone conversations quite often in the last two weeks. I have a small business and I never make cold calls to market my business, but I agree if someone has to do this they supposed to be prepared and sounds like they mean business. I only make calls to reply to messages in my voicemail, it doesn't happen often I receive more messages in my e-mail inbox more than voicemail, but I always prepare myself before making these calls since I don't want to end up calling the wrong person or not sure what I am going to say. There are a couple of times I didn't get the name in the message clearly and I have to double check, it's better to be safe anyway.
I wrote about those weird phone calls here http://www.mylot.com/w/di...
No you are not being old fashioned, maybe it's me who is not following the new trend...

An establised organization should have a trained telephone operator or receptionist in their employ. The job might be easy but her responsibility is great. she is the frontline of any organization that can boost the image of the company. She makes the first impression of what the company is like to a business client. If she fails to impress the caller it can cause the company to lose business opportunities and indirectly her appointment in that company is more of a liability then an asset to her employer. If I have my own company I would make sure that I send my receptionist for courses on telephone etiquette. This is all what we expect of an advancing world of communication. Professionalism is most important.

oh, don't get me started... I work at an answering service and i take calls all night long- from people that can barely say there own name.
I get so frustrated. I ask people to spell their name because I can't understand what they are saying and instead they repeat it again.- hmm. that doesn't help- because all I heard was mumble mumble again. So I repeat "spell it please" mumble mumble. S*P*E*L*L* it... does nobody understand what spelling it means- you know with letters..lol it's crazy! we even answer for some Schools we fill their substitutes for them- and the teachers get an automated system which explains what to do give day and date they are out SPELL their names out.. what grades do you teach and what subject etc. and it tells them to hit * key after prompt to quickly go on to next question.. we are lucky if we don't waste 5 minutes sometimes waiting for the recording to go on to the next sect -because they couldn't follow directions and hit the star key. a good maybe 5-10% only actually spell their name out- so sometimes we are guessing at who is calling and what we are filling. It appalls me that the teachers teaching our children can not even follow simple direction. And then their principal actually wrote to us saying he was having a problem with the way we were taking messages because the teachers names were always so misspelled. HA! I find only about 25 % of people I talk to have a proper phone etiquette.