| 1. Being put on hold for a long period of time . 2. Being asked to identify myself and then being told that the person in question is not in. If they are not in just say so and ask if the calling party wants to leave a voice mail. |
| 1. Being sent through to someone's voice mail without being told the person is not available. 2. Calling an 800 number for service and not being given the option to speak to a person and not having a clear option to solve the problem at hand. Additionally, if you can get through to a live human being your hold time is way too long. |
| 1. Fools who hide behind their voicemail. Much of the time, if I was their boss, I'd determine that they're not cut out to make decisions or to tackle the tough stuff. Hiding behind voicemail is a very bad reflection on that party. So return those calls! remember: 'Bad News is better than No News!' 2. The worst is being returned to the secretary (from 'hold') because my party is still talking, instead of going into his voicemail, where I can 'read the bible' (leave a long detailed message) if necessary, thereby allowing them to call back with The Answer. Secretaries are not the one to leave detailed or complex messages. Get me to voicemail immediately if I can't talk to my party! |
| 1. Individuals and businesses who haven't made the minimal investment in an answering device. I should be able t call 24 hours a day and at least leave a message. 2. People who leave messages that only say 'call me back'. We can avoid wasting time on phone tag by leaving a complete message. |
| 1. Not being able to leave a voice mail 2. Being put on hold for over a minute 3. Not having call returned |
| 1. Phone tag; but I have to admit that I am often the source of this problem as I can often be on the phone or in meetings. This is one of the reasons why I like e-mail as issues can be dealt with when both individuals have time. 2. People that call and leave a voice mail, but no indication as to why they are calling. |
| 1. They are sitting at their desk and not answering the phone as their voice mail will take a message 2. When you leave specific information on a voice-mail and request that they return your call as it is important. And they do not return your call. 3. When you are trying to reach a party and instead of the receptionist offering their extension number (in case you need to call again) they just put you through and you find that 'again' you are talking to their voice mail. |
| 1. Dealing with automated phone systems. 2.When asking a receptionist if you can talk to so and so, receptionist says yes, puts you through to a machine. 3. persons leaving their return number so fast it is difficult to understand. |
| 1. Having someone call me and then immediately place me on hold. 2. Having some one call who has call waiting, and then cuts you off or hangs up to talk with someone else. If you call to talk to me then finish talking to me before switching to someone else. |
| 1. Not being able to reach a person or voice mail. |
| 1. Salespeople that continue to call you unsolicited after you have asked them to only fax or e-mail offers. 2. Having an operator tell you your party is not available when you have just talked to them and they are expecting a return call. 3. Caller ID that doesn't identify caller 4. Automated systems that send you in circles and you can't seem to get a live person 5. Automated systems that take you through more than 1 menu to get to a live person |
| 1. Small talk. |
| 1. Unreturned phone calls 2. Persistent calls from potential vendors with nothing of substance to offer me 3. Lack of receptionist (automated answering systems with multiple menus) |
| 1. Not being able to communicate to the party when you need to. i.e. put on hold, out to lunch, not available. 2. Having the whole sales staff out to lunch at the same time!!! |
| A supplier not returning a call within a reasonable amount of time (1-2 hours) |
| Absence of feedback provided by facial expression |
| Accuracy in quotes and or promises made |
| Actually it saves time. I accept it's downside. |
| Actually making contact and automated answering systems. |
| After having done this for thirty years, not much. Probably the most frustrating is when we play phone tag (but that's just part of the program). |
| Aggressive, will not take no for an answer, pushy person. Phone solicitation etiquette is lacking. Cell phone service is poor. Fully automated systems are the pits. Want you to do surveys or continue to sell you more services. What happened to taking care of my problem? |
| All of it. |
| All the automation. |
| Always getting voice mail. Phone tag. |
| Answering Home Depot calls. |
| Asking for an individual, then being put on hold because the person who answered was to lazy, or incompetent to advise you that the person you need to talk with is tied up, or on the phone already. This usually results in another call having to be placed to the same party. |
| At times, it is harder reach an individual than being there in person. |
| auto/ans. |
| automated answer |
| Automated answer systems and then having to leave a voice mail, not knowing if the party is in or not. |
| automated answerers |
| automated answering |
| Automated answering - and being dead-ended into a voice mail box. |
| automated answering and it takes more time than emailing |
| Automated answering machines. |
| Automated answering service |
| Automated answering services. It takes too long to go through all the options. |
| Automated Answering systems |
| automated answering systems and voice mail jail. |
| Automated answering systems and voice mail. This costs the customer doing business with us a ton of money do to the lost opportunity to purchase lumber especially when markets are active. I hang up and go to the next customer |
| Automated answering systems that force you to listen to multiple options before giving you the option to talk directly to a real person. |
| Automated answering systems with lengthy options to reach the desired party. |
| Automated answering systems with no options to talk with a person. |
| automated attendants |
| Automated automatic phone systems --- I want to speak to a person |
| Automated menu based phone systems that take lots of time to find out the individual is not available |
| Automated phone answering services are the bane of our industry, causing a huge amount of wasted time both playing phone tag, and waiting through the options. |
| Automated Phone services that go no place |
| Automated phone systems |
| Automated phone systems Limited mobile phone coverage |
| Automated phone systems . They need to be outlawed !!!!!!!! |
| Automated phone systems that keep you from a live person. |
| Automated switchboards that go directly to voice mail without the option to speak with a person. Also, someone eating or chewing gum while on the phone (especially a headset) |
| Automated systems. |
| Automated systems - with no personal contact |
| Automated systems or receptionists that are rude or not very helpful. |
| Automated systems that do not allow you to talk to a person and people who eat or chew gum while talking. |
| Automated systems that don't allow you to talk to a real person. |
| Automated systems that go through too many options. |
| Automated systems that put you thru 3-4 menus and never give you a chance to go back to start |
| Automated systems that require entry of information and no way to 'back up' if an error is made, or that just 'dump' you into automation hell. Automated phone systems are a pox on humanity. |
| Automated systems that you can't get out of or get anywhere |
| Automated systems with no options and no live people People who are continuously out of the office and no one else will return a call. |
| Automated telephone service and playing phone tag. |
| Automated voice services. |
| Automatic answering machines. |
| Availability of person being contacted |
| Availability of the other person. I also don't like the flippant attitude of some company frontline people who give the impression that they don't value your business call. |
| Availability of the sought out party. |
| Bad attitudes |
| Bad communication. Some people here only what they want to hear. |
| Bad receptionist, being cut-off, being put on hold, and forgot about. |
| Because we choose to take every phone call, we get some really annoying New York stock exchange traders that say 'you asked me to call back with some recommendations to buy'. |
| Being able to reach the person who is trying to get a hold of you. |
| Being asked several times who I am and what company I am from. |
| Being asked who is calling BEFORE knowing if the other person is available. (call screening) |
| Being asked 'Who may I say is calling'. Being interrupted during a conversation. People who won't leave information on my voicemail when they know what information I need. Instead, they leave 'Tag your it' message, and I have to call them back. GET ME THE INFORMATION YOU KNOW I'M AFTER! If there is circumstantial situation that we need to talk about then fine, let me know when is a good time to call get a hold of them. Let me know what I need to do to get a hold of them personally. |
| Being at the mercy of whoever answers. |
| Being forgotten on hold. |
| Being forwarded to voice mail, and not being told by the operator or the recording, that the person I'm trying to contact is out of the office. |
| Being given voice mail by a receptionist, leaving a message, and finding out later when no return call is received that they aren't there and haven't been there. Losing an order because you can't get through to a live person. |
| Being interrupted on either end. This is rude no matter how you look at it. |
| Being left on hold forever, and automated phone answering systems that do not let you get back to a live person for help. |
| Being left on hold with no where to go or talk to |
| Being on hold |
| Being on hold for long periods |
| Being on switchboard, I personally think it is rude to do screening. It is none of my business who phone who. |
| Being placed on hold and no one comes back to you |
| Being placed on hold by the originator of the call |
| Being placed on hold not knowing if the person is even there. |
| Being put into a computerized answering system and not knowing the extension of the party that I'm trying to reach |
| Being put into voice mail without being told that a caller is busy and unavailable. |
| Being put off by a buyer and him not calling back. |
| Being put on call to answer another line. |
| Being put on eternal hold |
| Being put on 'eternal' hold & not having someone come back to check on me |
| Being put on eternal hold or people who do not return their voice mail |
| Being put on 'eternal' hold! |
| Being put on forget. |
| Being put on hold |
| Being put on hold and left there. |
| Being put on hold and no answer and no one coming back - No return phone call - message never delivered - |
| Being put on hold and not being able to talk to anyone |
| Being put on hold and not being checked on. Telephone marketing that will not except no and that you don't have time to talk. |
| Being put on hold and not checked back with in a short time period. |
| Being put on hold and not knowing the person I called isn't even in his or her office. Also computerized phone answering devices should be blown off the map. |
| Being put on hold and not taking my name |
| Being put on hold by an automated system and then being told that the person isn't available |
| Being put on hold for a long time. |
| Being put on hold for long period of times and not being checked on. Also being asked to leave a message and never getting a returned called. |
| Being put on hold for long periods of time to find out info about something I've asked about. |
| Being put on hold for long periods of time. |
| Being put on hold for too long... |
| Being put on hold forever and nobody comes back to you a switch board operator whose main job is not answering the phone and looking after the caller |
| Being put on hold forever. |
| Being put on hold foreverrrrrrrrrrrrr the person you need to talk to NEVER being available when you call.... always having to leave a voice mail or call him back. |
| Being put on hold so another call can be taken, i.e. call waiting. |
| Being put on hold so they can take another call |
| Being put on hold when I don't have time myself to accomplish my work. |
| Being put on hold when the person I'm trying to reach is not even there. AND/OR Getting voice mail when I know the person I'm trying to reach is at their desk. |
| being put on hold while person talking to answers another call! |
| Being put on hold without being told the person called in already on another line. |
| Being put to voice mail without being asked Going straight to automated system We like people, he's at lunch, he's sick etc. |
| Being screened and the person not taking your calls. |
| being stuck in a chair all the time and not knowing who you're talking to well |
| being told no |
| Being transferred to one department and then another and then another and it appears as though no one can help you. Being treated as some one who doesn't know anything. Having the person on the other end do the 'yes, oh, hmmm' which indicates they are not listening |
| Being transferred to voice mail automatically. phone tag and un-detailed voicemail. |
| Being unable to get a hold of person. |
| Being unable to reach people when needed or when something is fresh on your mind. |
| Being unable to reach the person called on the first attempt. |
| Busy signal ... |
| Call being answered by speaker phone without identifying any other people in the room. Being slammed onto 'mold' without any warning. Receptionist not checking back when on hold. Other party eating while trying to talk on the phone. Receptionists with no personality. |
| Call screening and some one who will take several other calls while he puts you on hold to take them we should get rid of call waiting |
| Call waiting, being interrupted while in conversation. |
| Call who will not tell switchboard who they are and what they want both in full they never get through |
| Calling a customer and the other party putting me on hold for another call |
| Calling an automated phone system and having to go through 10 steps to get to where you want to go. Getting put on hold and left there. |
| Calling and getting an automated system that tells you to enter the party's ext. number but does not offer a directory, or has you enter their name for directory and you don't know who to talk to. Also asking for a party and not being told they are not in just sent to the VM system. |
| Calls not being returned |
| Calls not returned Caller not identifying self Caller not telling nature of business up front |
| Calls screeners with zero sense of urgency or are simply lazy to get intended party |
| Calls to companies using answering machines |
| Can't 'see' the facial/emotional expressions-loss of translation |
| Can't see the reaction. No personal contact. |
| Call phone coverages. |
| Cell phone reception. |
| Cell phone with weak signal |
| Cold callers. |
| Cold calls that don't respect my time. Never do they ask if I have time to listen to them. Voice mail systems which just state names and they are away from their desks. I feel they should be updated daily, so the caller knows if they are in the office on the day they call. |
| Communicating with people who never learned to speak English. I do business in the USA and Canada only. If I were to live where another language is predominant and expected to do business , I would expect to become proficient in the language. |
| Companies that obviously need, but never incorporate a dedicated receptionist make me crazy. Automated general mailboxes with no options are even worse. I deal with a company that I hope reads this, that if the phones not busy, then the general automated mailbox picks up that you have to dial like *8100 or something to actually get a 20% chance of talking to a human. I'm their vendor and it makes me crazy, can't imagine what their customers think. It amazes me that companies can't see how important the entry point of their business is. |
| Constant interruptions |
| Contacts that don't return calls. |
| Continual phone tag. But once contact is made, it is okay. |
| Dealing with automated systems that don't offer opportunity to talk to a 'real' person |
| Dealing with companies that have not invested in decent technology as in no voice mail. Leaving a voice mail accomplishes so much more than just leaving a message to return your call. |
| Dealing with overloaded receptionists. Not having the ability to dial direct to the contact I am trying to reach. |
| Dealing with people who are juts too busy - they need help to cover all their calls and they do not have an assistant that you can talk to. |
| Dealing with people who don't listen to specific instruction. |
| Dealing with receptionists that HATE their jobs. |
| Different time zones. people who become very aggressive on the phone, yet meeting them they are very meek. |
| Difficulty getting hold of people when the market is active. |
| Difficulty in getting the certain person needed on the phone in a timely manner. This is especially annoying in the midst of a volatile market when trying to place orders on material that has been quoted as sub-prior. |
| Difficulty reaching the party called. Not knowing is party called gets the message or not to call back. Party called not calling back. Not be offered other options to handle the reason call was made. |
| Doing business in person and the other person keeps taking calls especially on a cell phone. |
| E-mail gets things down 'on paper' which established accountability. |
| Endless automated attendant menus. |
| Endless automated menus |
| Eternal hold. INFOMERCIALS on hold. Automated phone service. Screening calls |
| Everything about it, being on the phone for hours is hard. Some days I jump just hearing a phone ring.. |
| Eye to eye contact |
| Failure of suppliers to promptly return calls or inquiries |
| Failure to receive a prompt call back. |
| Fighting the frenzy activity of a hot market. Also, I hate when someone takes half a message and then says...'hold on...they are getting off the phone.' Just finish the message and let me go. :) |
| Getting a hold of people |
| Getting a hold of the other party.. |
| Getting a hold of the people you need to talk to. |
| Getting an automated answer when calling and then having to spend 2-5 minutes pushing buttons before a live person comes on the line. |
| Getting an automated operator and having a hard time to talk with a real person. |
| Getting around voice mail |
| Getting automated answering systems |
| Getting automated phone answering service that does not work properly. |
| Getting bounced around until you find the right person that you are looking for. |
| Getting caught in an unrelated conversation that detracts from getting my work accomplished. |
| Getting hold of the person. |
| Getting information to everyone quickly - one at a time ! |
| Getting into a phone loop that won't let you talk to someone |
| Getting lost in a voice mail maze. |
| Getting my answer now |
| Getting off topic for long periods |
| Getting people to leave a full message instead of just call me |
| Getting put on hold by automated teller without having any other options |
| Getting put on hold forever without a voicemail or message option |
| Getting that person on the phone, with no interruptions and that I can trust that our verbal arrangement will hold up. |
| Getting the attention of the party |
| Getting the person on the phone to begin the transaction. |
| Getting the right person prompt when you need to. |
| Getting through to the person you need, efficiently. |
| Getting through to your sales person during a good market |
| Getting to the person that you need to talk to.... |
| Getting 'trapped' in voice mail and never speaking to a 'live' person. |
| Getting Voice Mail, especially in moving markets |
| Going thru several options to get to a human |
| Going to voice mail |
| Hate automated systems rude receptionists businesses w/out multiple lines (always busy) |
| Having a call answered by an automated system |
| Having a connection with poor sound quality. |
| having a non human answer the phone. I would rather have a busy signal. Also, non returned calls. |
| Having an automated answering system hang up on you! |
| Having callers get voicemail instead of the person they are calling for. And when creditors or sales people call in and are rude when they can't speak to employees. |
| Having misunderstandings that need resolved face to face. |
| Having people know that you're on a timeline and not calling back to give you a progress report if they are unable to meet your deadline. I don't like having to call them back to ask what the status is. |
| Having someone put you on hold for more than a few seconds to answer another call especially after you have been on hold for several minutes. |
| Having someone talks on speaker phone when it's an individual call. It's just plain rude. |
| Having the person sound put out while they are talking to you. Can not see their emotions. Not getting your point across clearly enough as you could in person. |
| Having the receiver page for whom is needed and not indicating to the caller that they are busy and may not be with you as quickly as you would like. |
| Having to call back a few times to finally connect. |
| Having to deal with unprofessional receptionist. It seems a lot of companies use the receptionist chair for an entry level job into the rest of the office. Hard to find a good receptionist that is well-trained. |
| Having to dial. |
| Having to explain my business to another person before I am put through to my party. |
| Having to go thru an automated telephone system, and not being able to reach the correct person I want to talk to. I would really like to see all executives place all their telephone calls, and see how they react to automated telephones. But they probably won't because it would be a waste of their time! Don't worry about who is on the other end. |
| Having to hold for ten minutes for someone that you need to talk to. However, they are good that's why they are busy. |
| having to leave a call back message, then not getting a call back for a very long time |
| Having to leave a Vmail rather than someone just leaving a note. Most Vmail takes an extra 2 mins just to get to a point to leave a message. Being placed on hold and then after holding being told that the person is not available. |
| Having to leave message after message, call after call for a customer who wants an immediate answer. Almost as bad as a customer saying they will call back within 'a few minutes' and do not call back for several days, if ever. |
| Having to listen to small talk before getting down to business |
| having to listen to someone stories that you don't care about when leaving a voice message and the machine cut you off before your done with the message |
| Having to make multiple calls regarding the same subject because of party availability. |
| Having to make multiple calls to get in touch with a vendor, lack of return calls. |
| Having to read the mood - especially when its a delicate or hostile call. Particularly if you don't know that person well. 'was that sarcasm or did he really say that?' Getting a voice mail where the person calling rapid fires his phone number, thus eliminating any chance to make the return call Receptionists that respond to you with 'just a sec' and now you're on hold - or more often, permanent ignore which means you actually have to call back in order to leave a message |
| Having to rely on verbal communication alone is not the best way to get your message across, so sometimes it can be limiting. |
| Having to talk to one 'assigned' person to our area knowing at there may be other people in the office knowing the same information but they won't talk to you because they either don't get credit or are assigned to you so they are unwilling to help you. |
| Having to wait |
| Having too many voicemails backed up to be able to check. Email is usually the best way to get a hold of Vendors. |
| Hearing well enough Receptionists/secretaries who mumble softly or indistinctly, or seem to be in a big rush to transfer your call. |
| Hold without options. Hold without being checked on. |
| Holding! |
| Holding for long periods of time only to have their phone system 'drop' your call. |
| Holding while other calls/clients are holding for you. |
| Holding without knowing when the person will become available |
| How fast phones have made business become and how more efficient you need to be because of more communication. |
| I am on the road all the time, difficult to return calls |
| I believe the phone tag issue when you are trying to get an answer quickly to facilitate a purchase or a sale. |
| I don't find many frustrations. Most people have voice mail which works well. |
| I don't find the phone to be frustrating most of the time. If the other party is difficult to reach/never returns calls then it becomes so. |
| I don't have a receptionist, just 2 lines I try always to catch, voice mail from which I return calls religiously and a mobile phone for emergencies (not to mention e-mail and a text pager). People whose egos are such that they will only call my mobile phone are a piece of work! |
| I feel that voicemail is very frustrating for us. As a manufacturing facility, it has made cold calling for our sales people almost impossible. I know that some firms feel it's a luxury to not have to speak to someone if you don't feel you want to, but how can you promote yourself, your company, your products with this type of attitude? |
| I find doing business on the phone fun. the only drawback is the impact on my personal life...I never want to talk on the phone after hours. from a business perspective, probably telephone tag is the most frustrating. as well as receptionists that never learn to identify you and it is like your first call every call. Very irritating. |
| I find retrieving voicemails most frustrating. I try to manage all calls without having receptionist put them to voicemail. |
| I find the following VERY ANNOYING! 1) Callers you've never spoken with behaving as if they know you and calling you by your first name. 2) Prospecting Sales Reps leaving a callback number that requires you to call them long distance. Get an 800 number! |
| I hate speakerphones for 1 on 1 conversations. |
| I have 2 phones on my desk with 8 lines on each one. I also have 2 cell phones with 2 lines on each one. The most frustrating aspect?... I can't escape! |
| I like eye contact. |
| I like the voice mail option but I am frustrated the greatest when I have to go through several platforms/options before I get to the person I need to or go through several options only to hit a dead end with a need to redial. Also, It is frustrating when the options do not cover all the options. i.e.. the options may say 'For Sales' or 'For Service' but not 'For Billing Questions' Also, many directories are set up requesting full names or last names. In my business I know many on a first name basis and either do not know their last name or if I do know it, I can not spell it. |
| I personally hate automated answering systems. They waste MY time. |
| I really dislike automated phone systems that many time require 4 or 5 functions to speak to a live person. |
| I really have no problems do business on the phone. If I did I wouldn't be in this business |
| I think it's a tie between playing voice-mail phone tag and cellular phones that cut in and out or have horrible reception. |
| I would like to mention 2- One that is not mentioned on your survey- when the other party is rude/uncaring. That happens more these days than it used to. Another is inefficiency of the use of the system- i.e. when a voice mail can be left in detail, I can call back with an answer rather than call back to find out what the question is. Another example of this frustration would be the duplication of efforts- where several people from the same location call in about the same topic. |
| If i were to have a problem I would follow with a fax. |
| If something is time sensitive and you are playing phone tag |
| I'm not out in the woods practicing forestry. Cellular reception sucks in our tree farm - causing a lot of frustration trying to make connections. |
| Impatient switchboard operators that just want to get rid of the call. |
| impersonal |
| In calling people, the most frustrating thing is not being able to reach them or someone who can 'get it done'. In being called, being inundated with calls that should be done via e-mail is frustrating and is compounded by people who leave voicemails with no specific information. Thus, the worst scenario is to receive a voicemail with no detail that requires that I call someone back (potentially playing phone tag) only to find out that what they were calling me about could have been done by a 10 word e-mail. The core principal is to respect the time of others. if everyone does this, most problems go away. |
| In my position as a buyer, when the market is going crazy and I can not reach the people via phone. |
| Inability to deal face-to-face |
| Inability to get called party on line on first call. Being directed to voice mail without being given the option to leave a message with operator |
| Inability to reach a live person. |
| Inability to reach other party |
| Inability to reach party called. |
| Inability to reach someone...the perpetual game of phone tag. |
| Inability to reach the desired party on the first call. |
| Inability to reach the person being called on a timely basis |
| Incoming calls that do not identify themselves |
| Incompetent receptionists |
| Interminable phone option trees that lead to voicemail. |
| Interruptions |
| Interruptions during important conversations within the office by other business or by the needs of staff. |
| Interruptions from either side. |
| It is not personal--eye to eye. |
| It is what i do, so I guess I wouldn't know. |
| It seldom happens with forest product industry, but having 1 to 5 options and pressing 3, then having another 5 options and by the time they get to the fifth message I forget which option is correct and then having to start the process all over again because I don't know which of the 5 option is correct and having to redial and start over again and finally getting the right department find out there is a 20 minute wait to talk to a live person and then find out they really can't help me and then have to start the process all over again. |
| It's hit or miss as to reaching the other party and it takes too much time. We use email and Nextel 2-way radio much more often. |
| I've been doing this for so long, as it's an integral part of our business, that I guess I no longer see any frustrations. It's just part of what we do. |
| Just being told the party requested is not available, and no options about contact. I.E. He is not here! then silence. |
| Lack of accountability if something goes wrong, he said she said. |
| Lack of face-to-face; ability to read situation. |
| lack of good cell coverage in all regions; |
| Lack of personal connection. |
| Lack of quality hardware/headset |
| lack of returned calls. |
| Lack of well trained receptionists; systems that are ill programmed when using auto-attendant; people who do not return calls promptly |
| lazy receptionists |
| Leaving a message for someone and finding out later that the person I want to speak to is out of office or out of town. |
| Leaving a message regarding a hot topic and not getting a call back, either within a reasonable amount of time or not at all. |
| Leaving a voicemail in a situation you need an immediate answer |
| Leaving messages that are not returned. Also leaving a detailed voice message and when the call is returned the party did not listen to the entire message, which was left with the intention of saving time for both of us. |
| leaving messages that aren't returned. |
| Leaving several voice messages and either that person not updating their message about being out of town or not being able to transfer to an assistant. |
| Length of time it takes |
| Line busy |
| Listen to their personal problems. This has happened in the past and the two sales reps were asked not to return and if the did the companies would be removed from our vendor list. This did work |
| Listening to a canned voice say 'thank you for your patience' and keeping me on hold indefinitely. |
| Listening to company propaganda |
| Listening to salesmen when you are to busy to talk. |
| Loose personal relationship. |
| Losing the 'face to face' interaction |
| Loss of time waiting to contact that person. |
| Loss of time. |
| Lost in phone mail or calling and only getting answer transferred to another voice mail. |
| machine contact only |
| making actual contact with the party |
| Making contact with the party you want to reach. The quality of cell phone conversations Automated answering systems. |
| Menus |
| Miscommunication |
| Miscommunications still occur - and phone tag |
| Missing calls |
| Missing important calls because of lack of patience. |
| Most auto answer systems, too impersonal. |
| Never being able to put a face with a name. |
| Never getting to speak to the person you are calling. |
| Not being able to observe the other persons expressions, or mannerisms. |
| No call backs |
| No face to face contact |
| No frustrations. I don't think there is a better way. I believe its the people handling the phones that mis-use them. I think all calls are important and I treat them all equally with respect. |
| No indication of whether your message is coming across. |
| No paper trail. |
| No record of conversation |
| No resolution on issues. |
| No return call |
| No return calls to voice mail |
| No visual contact |
| No visual feedback during a discussion |
| No voice mail available |
| No voice mail or message options |
| Not able to look the other in the face. Sometimes it is nice to be able to read body language. |
| Not always understanding the situation you have called into, what's going on before or after the call. The persons attention level during the call..... |
| Not being able to communicate details. |
| Not being able accomplish something else while tied up on phone |
| Not being able to be face to face and make a more meaningful connection with the other party. |
| Not being able to connect same as for last thirty years |
| Not being able to connect with the party you are calling, then playing phone tag. |
| Not being able to connect with the person on the first attempt. |
| Not being able to contact the right party |
| Not being able to discuss everything I want to offer without losing my customers interest. |
| Not being able to get a hold of a person when I want to talk to them. |
| Not being able to get a hold of anyone at the company in person |
| Not being able to get a hold of intended party, and waiting extended periods of time for the return call |
| Not being able to get a hold of people, automated phone systems, and receptionists that will not take down a hand written message. |
| Not being able to get a hold of the individual who will make the decision. |
| Not being able to get hold of the person you need to, and having to talk to someone else who hasn't a clue what you are asking about |
| Not being able to get in touch w/ a person and not having the option to go to a receptionist. Leaving a message for someone who is gone but hasn't changed their voicemail to let people know they are gone. |
| Not being able to get in touch with a real person |
| Not being able to get someone on the phone. Playing 'phone tag' |
| Not being able to get the person I want. Not being able to hear. (I need a hearing aid) |
| Not being able to get through |
| Not being able to get through to the person you need to speak with. |
| Not being able to get to a real person. Automation may save money up front, but I suspect it costs much more in lost business in the long run. |
| Not being able to hold for the intended party when the conversation is critical. Also, when put on hold, having to listen to Canadian political news and the idiots calling in with their moronic views. |
| Not being able to leave a message |
| Not being able to leave a voice mail message that the person will respond to. |
| Not being able to look the other party in the eye |
| Not being able to pick up non verbal signals |
| Not being able to reach a specific person, then, if a voice mail is left, that person not responding with a return call in a timely manner. |
| Not being able to reach key people in a time of crisis. |
| Not being able to reach party. |
| Not being able to reach somebody, phone tag. |
| Not being able to reach someone and especially if they don't return calls timely |
| Not being able to reach someone and having to call back. |
| Not being able to reach someone. |
| Not being able to reach the party you want to talk to and not getting a reasonable prompt call back. Automated answering that go through is some cases as many as 6+ prompts before you even get to someone and in some cases never get to a live person. |
| Not being able to reach the person and not knowing when they will be back, where they are (they could be on vacation for the next month) or if they will call back soon. |
| Not being able to reach the person you are calling |
| Not being able to reach the person you are trying to get a hold of. Also, people that have their calls screened. |
| Not being able to reach the person you called. Automated systems not much in the industry but hate them |
| Not being able to reach the person you need to speak to. Playing phone tag. |
| Not being able to reach them |
| Not being able to reach your party with no idea when they will return. |
| Not being able to read body language |
| Not being able to read the customer's facial and body language. Only able to interpret voice expressions. |
| Not being able to see the facial expressions of the person on the other end of the line. |
| Not being able to see the person face-to-face. |
| Not being able to see the person react to your conversation i.e.; prices, delivery |
| Not being able to see what the other person is doing body language can be huge |
| Not being able to share written information such as spreadsheets and memo's which would better explain your conversation. |
| Not being able to speak to a live person when it's very important I reach someone regarding what I consider an emergency. Phone tag. |
| Not being able to speak to a real person |
| Not being able to speak to the person the person called (person is either 'On the phone or away from their desk) |
| Not being able to speak with a real person but instead an automated system. or an incompetent receptionist |
| Not being able to talk to someone when I need to. |
| Not being able to talk to the party I am calling the first time |
| Not being able to talk with the customer, and having to identify myself more than once. |
| Not being called backed |
| Not checking back. |
| Not connecting with the intended party when called. |
| Not consistent enough to contact people that you need. That is why a lot is done through computer functions |
| Not face to face |
| Not getting a call back in a timely manner, or having brokers call and not caring if this is a good time to call or not. |
| Not getting a call returned |
| Not getting a return call |
| Not getting returned calls. |
| Not getting the person I need in a timely manner. |
| Not getting the person you are calling on the phone. |
| Not getting the person you are calling when you call and having the call dropped when transferred to voice mail or not having the option to leave a message with a real person. |
| Not getting the person you want in a timely manner. Or people who have there phone on Ignore all day. |
| Not getting the person you want on the phone |
| Not getting through on the first call. |
| Not getting through to a person who can make a decision |
| Not getting through to my party and having to leave a message or v-mail. |
| Not getting through to someone, leaving them a several voicemails and they do not return your calls. |
| Not getting through to who you need right away |
| Not getting to speak to the person I called |
| Not having a live person answer the phone, and then get put to e-mail without being told. |
| Not having a person answering; but instead getting an automated system that thinks they know what you want. |
| Not having calls returned. Poor phone connections |
| Not having calls returned promptly |
| Not having calls returned, Having to many options on auto systems Uh-Uh |
| Not having calls returned. |
| Not having documentation of the conversation |
| Not having my call returned by a supplier (sawmill), which happens way too often. Too many sawmill sales people lack professionalism. Otherwise, phone sales are great. Too many suppliers have a person screening their calls with no thought that the practice may cost the company business. |
| Not having the actual conversation. |
| Not having the full attention of the person that you are communicating with. |
| Not having the personalism. |
| Not having your called returned within a reasonable amount of time. |
| Not hearing back |
| Not knowing if you have their full attention |
| Not 'official' enough to take action on. |
| Not reaching a person when you have time sensitive issues to discuss like logistics or purchasing to cover orders in a rising market. |
| Not reaching the individual in an important situation. Automated phone systems that take forever to reach the intended individual. Someone not having a direct voicemail. |
| Not reaching the intended party on the first go, and having to wade through automated options before being able to leave a message. And especially, not getting the option to return to a live operator if routed through to the party's voice mail. |
| Not reaching the person (and not getting return calls) |
| Not reaching the person called on the first try. Not having calls returned timely. |
| Not reaching the person or their voicemail on the first attempt. |
| Not returning phone calls. |
| Not saying goodbye |
| Not seeing people's body language |
| Not seeing the person you are talking to. Body language can tell you a lot. Some automated systems are not user friendly. |
| Not so much on a 'land line' but having bad reception on cell phones where the calling party is constantly cutting in and out. The most frequent excuse is that the calling party is in a bad area. Well if you're in a bad area, don't call me until you reach an area where the reception is better! |
| Not speaking to a live body |
| Not talking to a live person. |
| Nothing really - assuming that the person I'm calling will either takes calls, or return calls in a timely manner. |
| Nothing, it beats the crap out of the mail system. Just be patient. We are so spoiled by technology, don't let it get you down. |
| Nothing... I like doing business on the phone. |
| Nuisance calls (who sometimes are otherwise good well established customers) but call and say 'I know you can't cover this, but....' Missing an opportunity to write an order because you were unable to connect (this is not a frequent event, but it does happen). For me though, the single most frustrating aspect of doing business via the phone is that some customers want to start every call by exchanging local weather reports...I don't really care what the weather is here and I sure as hell don't care what the weather is elsewhere.... |
| One incoming call right after another, and callers holding because they won't talk to anyone else (and aren't afraid to tell you about it either) |
| Options where you have to press 1 then 9 then something else. endless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
| Original call is answered by an automated system. |
| Our business does not offer enough lines, and they are antiquated. |
| Particularly during a 'hot' market. Can't get to the person(s) I want to talk to for interruptions (Either personal or 'junk' phone calls from others). Then, by the time you finally get through to the person you wanted, they have nothing left to sell. 'junk' call: 'Good morning, this is Fred, wanted to check in to see what you might be looking for today.' |
| People -- it's in our nature to frustrate each other! Seriously, we all want a perfect world but we are our own worse enemies. America needs to get back to phone basics, I mean, answer your phone with a message or operator that talks to you with options. Companies today are getting carried away with cost cutting on (my opinion) one of the most important tools we have, (contact) the phone. Use real people not machines, live people is America not machines that sound like drive ups. Use real people, and give the caller and the receiver options..... |
| People at other end take down the info correctly. |
| People in a hurry not paying attention |
| People not calling you back |
| People not following the 'Golden Rule'. |
| people not getting messages no face to face contact to see if they are lying |
| People not returning a phone call |
| People not returning voice mail messages in a timely manner, at least withing the day. Automated answering machines with 100 option, you can wait all day to get the ext. number you need or pass the one you need trying to figure which one you need. |
| People returning my call and not reporting a detailed response to the questions I asked. |
| People saying they aren't there, when they are! |
| People surprising you with calls at moments that are inconvenient. |
| People that do not return your message promptly |
| People that expect you to immediately handle their crises when they call regardless of what you were doing before that. |
| People that ramble on when they should know everyone in this business is busy |
| People using voice mail to screen their calls |
| People who are too busy (or important) to communicate. |
| People who do not return phone calls. |
| People who don't return calls |
| People who don't return phone calls |
| People who haven't yet learned to leave a message on voice mail so you can return to them with an answer. Equally annoying are people who have voice mail available in their company, but won't use it or check it. |
| People who use voice mail to avoid taking calls and then never return the calls. |
| People who won't call back or follow up. If someone is taking care of the issue that I left on voicemail, it is nice to be told that so I don't think that I am being ignored. |
| People won't come to the phone. |
| Perma-hold |
| Person answering phone and putting you on hold and not coming back to the call so you can leave a message for the person you called. |
| Person called not returning the call at all. |
| Persons talking fast and not plain |
| Persons unavailable. |
| Phone attendants who do not acknowledge your request, the simply plug you through and say nothing. Being put through to voice mail after I've asked not to be. Phone attendants who act incredulous |
| Phone calls not being returned. |
| Bad phone lines (noisey), hearing others in background |
| Phone tag. Delay to respond. Not knowing if the person is absent for a long period or not |
| Phone tag. The endless tunnel of automated phone systems |
| Phone tag automated systems |
| Phone tag - most cases you can communicate 75% of the message by using voice mail. Take the time to explain why the call back is needed. |
| Phone tag. Voice mail. |
| Phone tag & receptionist that do not know what they are doing. |
| Phone tag and holding. |
| Phone tag and not getting called back and then some one say's did you get my e mail. When I dealing on the phone I expect to get an answer on the phone |
| Phone tag and the receptionist put me to voice mail without indicating that it is going to happen. |
| Phone tag is the most frustrating aspect. That is why I like e-mail so much better. |
| Phone tag when there is no voice mail |
| Phone tag when you need an answer NOW |
| Phone tag! |
| Phone tag, and un-returned calls. |
| Phone tag, screening (caller id) |
| Phone tag. Long messages before being able to leave voice mail for someone. |
| Phone tag. Leave a message with your question or your answer, so I can respond |
| Phone tag...but the phone is still the best way to get to the most customers in the shortest amount of time |
| Phone tag...I'll call back twice and then its on the bottom of my pile. |
| Phone Tag...Put on hold & forgotten...People that don't return calls. |
| Phone tag and hold time |
| Placed on hold and playing 'phone tag' |
| Placement into a voice mail system when the person is out or on vacation and you need a live body to get an immediate answer. |
| Playing phone tag and a face to face conversation is required at times, to convey information like explaining a simple drawing. |
| Playing phone tag and not getting return calls promptly |
| Playing phone tag on an important matter. |
| Playing 'phone tag' or having to leave multiple voice mails can get very frustrating, especially when the market is very active. |
| Playing phone tag. |
| Playing phone tag. Not getting calls returned |
| Playing phone tag. Dealing with those that don't return calls or forward their phone because they are currently to busy. We are all busy. |
| Playing phone tag. It wastes time for everyone involved |
| Playing phone tag; having a hard time contacting the customer. |
| Playing telephone tag Poor cellular service |
| Playing telephone tag and people leaving a voicemail message with no detail. These usually go hand in hand and are started by a message that says ' hey call me' and it takes most of a day to connect only to find out what they wanted in the first place and then having to get the information and then play tag again to give it to them. |
| Playing the phone tag game. This results in not being able to complete a task timely. |
| Poor telephone answering habits. i.e. not identifying company, who is answering, can I help you. Just normal courtesy. |
| Poorly trained staff. The other thing I hate is voice messages that are too long. Most annoying is when a voice message with the person's voice, of whom you are trying to reach, comes on; then another voice comes on to tell you to leave a message at the tone; and sometimes another voice comes on to tell you to hang up or press # when done. If there is a person on earth who does not know that stuff... Messages should be as short as possible. Callers know what to do. Also, annoying is a phone message that never gets changed. So, you never know when the message that you left will ever get answered. Could they be on vacation? One may never know. |
| Potential for miscommunication and errors. |
| Prospecting can be tough |
| Reaching the party |
| Reaching the people you need to speak with. |
| Reaching the person needed in a quick way. |
| Reaching the person you are calling |
| Receptionists that have not been trained properly with phone etiquette |
| Receptionists that want to send me into voice mail rather than putting me on hold and allowing me to wait for the party I called to get off the phone |
| Receptionists who ask 'and does he know what this is regarding' (I want to reach through there and ring their little neck) |
| Receptionists who do not wish to take a message. |
| Receptionists who don't know where your party is or when they will return. |
| Receptionists who screen calls for salespeople. |
| Ringing in to an automated telephone system, not knowing the person's extension, having to listen to the phone tree for all of the options, then getting the person's voice mail and leaving a message for him/her only to find out a few days later that they forgot to update their voice mail message when they left for vacation and they really aren't in the office to return your phone call. |
| Rude and/or indifferent persons screening calls and not knowing if messages are delivered. |
| Rude arrogant people not passing message on to your contact bad manners being hung up on left on hold for long period of time switch around to the wrong person. |
| Rude clerical staff, those who tell you the person is not available, but doesn't ask to take a message or send you to voice mail. They sound like, 'He's on the phone, I'm in control, what are you going to do about it?' Another great one, which I even see in our office, is the 'not my department and I'm not going to lift a finger for you' response. |
| Rude people |
| Rude people who treat an incoming call as if were a nuisance. |
| Rude phone etiquette |
| Rude receptionists on speaker phones who put you through to voice mail without telling you that the party you are calling is out until a future date. |
| Rudeness of the receptionist or person answering the phone. |
| Screened calls. Sometimes it takes 30 seconds to identify yourself to the receptionist prior to speaking with the person to whom you are returning their call |
| See the last question, plus customers not returning my calls |
| Sharing time. With e-mail, instant messaging, Nextel walkie talkie and pagers available many people use all of these devices at the same time with no regard or respect for the first calling party's time, 'please hold while I answer my incoming e-mail, page, Nextel, instant message etc.' i.e. 'you are not as important as my incoming call.' |
| Solicitation calls |
| Solicitations for ink or toner cartridges. |
| Some automated phone systems |
| Some automated services. Unreturned voicemails |
| Someone chewing gum while on the phone |
| Sometimes it's very difficult to really understand what the other person wants or needs when you cannot see them. Some people more than others, aren't the best about expressing things over the phone. |
| Sometimes you feel like you don't have someone's complete attention & you can tell because they seemed zoned out. |
| Sometimes you never actually meet your counterparty |
| Speaking with someone who is not a professional. They do not speak clearly, are indifferent to your requests or do not know how to utilize their phone system. |
| Surveys |
| Tag |
| Tag and on hold |
| Takes too long too many people not available to talk |
| Talking to an automated voice rather than real people. |
| Talking to someone that cannot speak understandable English. |
| Talking to someone who knows something. |
| Telephone tag |
| That person being available to talk |
| That you are always on the phone all day long |
| The amount of phone tag that is played. |
| The amount of time wasted waiting to connect with the person you need |
| The attitudes of unsolicited vendors that think you actually owe them the time to chat and discuss your business...........QUIT CALLING! |
| The automated call service |
| The automated voice system not being able to reach a real person |
| The inability to talk with someone when I need them. |
| The indifference of some 'unknown' clerical types who feel free to assure action and then promptly forgetting both the promise and the action. The anonymity is a cloak of incompetence for a few. |
| The 'introductory' sales call fishing for information on our company/my buying habits, etc. Too time consuming/scripted. Send a letter/fax/email. I hate industry related PHONE surveys. I am willing to participate, but they turn in to the same long, drawn out format. I like this surveys format. Nice job. |
| The lack of recorded information to easily reference back to. |
| The need for 'polite conversation' -- sometimes you just want to state your business and move on without a lot of conversation |
| The noise |
| The time aspect is usually at the caller's whim. The receiver has to react to a call and do it on the caller's time. OR Voice mail is overused. If something can wait, don't leave a voice mail. If someone is gone, use e-mail if possible. Voice mail receivers sometimes tend to allow calls to go into voice mail for screening purposes and won't answer the phone, even if they are in. |
| The time spent waiting for mills and or customers to call back. |
| The 'untouchables' .ie - people who obviously are trying to avoid calls. they have their cell phone ring to their office instead of voicemail and they are never in the office. The funny part is a lot of them claim they don't want people to have to go to voicemail and claim to do this for 'better' customer service. We all know the truth though. |
| There are times when talking over the phone just doesn't cut it. You need to be able to sit down with the person to have a real conversation. Also rude receptionists and awful elevator hold music can set the tone for a not-very-happy phone call. |
| There isn't one really. I live on the road-without a cell phone there would be a lot less business... |
| Time |
| Time it takes to get person you need to talk to. |
| Time spent on hold. I can usually check a few e-mails while on hold. Although e-mail doesn't have the personal touch, it is by far the most efficient way to do business. |
| Time spent on hold. It is somewhat unproductive. |
| Time spent waiting for a person or a call back |
| Time wasted missing calls or caller |
| Time wasted on phone tag |
| Time zone differences. |
| Time zones. Getting phone calls returned promptly. Being put on perpetual hold. |
| Time zones. I'm EST and its frustrating having to wait 3 or 4 hours before West Coast companies start work. |
| Times that I feel screened and receive no return phone call and the automated categories that may or may not fit my needs |
| Timing, reaching the person you want to communicate with on the first try. |
| Too many calls from office jockies |
| Too many steps in an automated answering system. Someone that talks too fast. |
| Too slow |
| Try solving problems that can only be solved by personal visit. |
| Trying to complete sale and having other lines ringing to be answered |
| Trying to dial through to a supplier when they open for business, and all you get is a busy signal. |
| Trying to give someone an order and they ask you to hold on with out putting you on hold and you hear them talking to someone next to them very loud back ground noises or conversations going on always playing phone tag because they will not leave a detailed message they just say call me back |
| Trying to reach a certain person |
| Trying to reach a salesperson during a busy market. |
| Trying to wade through an automated system that never allows you to talk to a person. When a person doesn't update their voice mail message so you know if they will even get the message you leave. |
| Unable to reach someone. |
| Unanswered voice messages |
| Understanding customer who do not speak loud enough or clear enough to get their name or inquire. |
| Undivided attention |
| Unfriendly or rood receptionists. LOOOOOOOOONG voice mail messages. |
| Unprofessional morons who use profanity |
| Unreturned calls |
| Urgency to my problem, which is really my customers. this show poor customer service on both parties, |
| Usually the incompetence of the person most companies put forth to handle phone inquiries, and their programmed, inflexible responses. |
| Various problems getting to person |
| Verbal agreements may not hold after transaction is processed. |
| Very impersonal |
| Vocal box |
| Voice mail |
| Voice mail (also known as 'avoid' or 'ignore') multiple fax numbers for one company (it system only allows for one entry) |
| Voice mail / call screening |
| Voice Mail Jail, not being able to contact someone after 1 or 2 attempts |
| Voice mail. Knowing someone is at their desk and they activate voice mail as they are too lazy to answer the call |
| Voice mail messages that are inaccurate or that do not communicate actionable information |
| Voice mail: callers not leaving detailed messages; not having voicemail available; and when the market is moving lack of prompt reply to voicemail. |
| Voice messages that a so fast you can understand what the person is staying. |
| Voice messages which ask that you return the call, with out leaving a reason to return the call. |
| Wading through an automated phone system. Especially at a mill. |
| Waiting |
| Waiting for a call back and feeling like a pest calling back because I do not get a call back on an inquiry. |
| Waiting for all the options on an automated system. I still choose the wrong one most of the time. And receiving unwanted calls, especially from brokerage firms. |
| Waiting for person to pick up |
| Waiting for a person to answer |
| Waiting for someone to call back, especially if you need to get a hold of them. It's also hard to gauge if you have a customer's full attention. |
| Waiting for the phone to ring! |
| Waiting for the recipient |
| Waiting on someone to either come to the phone or waiting for them to call you back |
| Waiting time. |
| Waiting. Calling automated systems with no live body to talk to. People who don't return calls - seldom or never. Having a receptionist answer and immediately say 'can you hold'. |
| Wasted time |
| Weird sound on the telephone line. |
| When a market is moving being held on the phone with someone who can't make up their mind or just wants to bs. |
| When I ask for a certain individual, and sent to voice mail |
| When I'm not able to get to the person I am trying to reach. |
| When in the middle of business with someone on the phone, they put you on hold to take an incoming call on their second line -- usually leads to being on hold for prolonged period, and person you were talking with loses track of everything we were talking about. |
| When people do not answer the phone and you are put on hold constantly. |
| When people either make assumptions about what I need without taking the time to ask questions (people trying to 'sell' me) or when I am trying to reach someone, being screened so stringently it makes it almost impossible to reach the person I need to speak with. |
| When someone calls and doesn't leave a message .... when people are in, but to often in meetings that they can't be reached......... |
| When someone repeats themselves over and over again. |
| When the other person doesn't give you a decent response to what you are calling them about. |
| When the party I am trying to reach does not have voicemail, and I have to relate a complex message to a phone reception person. |
| When the person answering the phone is incompetent, and when the call is answered by an automatic answering service and you have to punch SEVERAL numbers to get to where you want to go. |
| When the person you are talking to has another conversation going with either someone in their office of another client on another line. |
| When the person you are talking to just starts talking to someone else without asking if you can wait a moment. Most people I deal with are very professional on the phone, the ones who aren't get very few call from me. |
| When the phone service is out, then business gets put on hold. |
| When upper management forgets the importance of having a real person as the first point of contact |
| When you answer an incoming call, and the caller has you on hold. |
| When you call and can't reach a real person |
| When you cannot get someone on the phone that you need to talk to. |
| When you can't get a hold of someone, or get an answer about something. |
| When you get to many phone calls from lumber traders when you are not buying and they know it. |
| When you have lousy hearing combine with bad phone service. |
| When you have to navigate through automated phone systems - It is horrible!!! |
| When you have to wait on a automated system to listen for your option so that you know the correct button to press, and it takes forever. |
| When you leave messages and the callee does not get back to you within a reasonable timeframe |
| When you lose orders, because you can not get somebody on the phone. |
| When your operator puts you with the client's operator and your client's phone is busy forever. |
| Working through some automated answering machines |
| You can only make so many phone calls in a given day. Other avenues of communication in conjunction with the phone are needed to conduct business, especially in a fast paced market. Holding and automated systems are very frustrating. |
| You can only reach one customer at a time. |
| You can see the expression of the person on the other end of the line. |
| You can't actually reach out and wring a neck or two. |
| You can't demonstrate your people skills. When first starting in the business you get a lot of no's or you can't get through the gatekeeper. Usually meeting a customer face to face works better, or it is easier make a sale. |
| You don't know when they will call back |
| Your questions address it. |
