Answering the phone?

[Miss Peregrine]

DH and I have a friendly disagreement about how to proceed when you answer a phone.

 

When you answer with, "hello?" And the caller then says, "hi," should the caller expect another greeting from the answerer, meaning, another, "hi?" Or should the caller say hi and then start on the reason for the call?

[zoobie]

That could go on forever. Get to it, caller!

[Snickerdoodle]

The proper thing to do is to say,  "Hello, this is xxx calling.  Is so-n-so there?" 

 

Not,  "Hi"   and nothing else.   WORSE is when the caller calls you and says, "Who is this?"  which is rude beyond belief.

 

Edited to say:  The caller should always identify himself.  He is intruding on your space and time. 

 

[Truscifi]

The person who initiated the call should state the reason for it or ask for the person they are calling for.

[Ellie]

DH and I have a friendly disagreement about how to proceed when you answer a phone.

 

When you answer with, "hello?" And the caller then says, "hi," should the caller expect another greeting from the answerer, meaning, another, "hi?" Or should the caller say hi and then start on the reason for the call?

 

::phone rings::

 

Me: Hello?

 

Caller: Hi.

 

Me: [waits until the caller says something]

 

[crickets]

 

[hangs up phone] [or whatever the process is to disconnect, lol]

 

What should happen:

 

::phone rings::

 

Me: Hello?

 

Caller: Hi, this is Orkie. [and continues talking]

[Cinder]

:iagree:   What Ellie said. Caller should say hi then tell who he/she is and so on.

[Garga]

I want to get to the point very quickly. But that doesn't work. It can come across as rude. A lot of times people want a little greeting session. I try and oblige so if I call someone it's like this:

 

Other person: Hello?

Me: Hi Sara, it's Garga. How are you?

OP: Oh good, how are you?

Me: Great. Hey, I'm calling to ask you...

[Miss Peregrine]

::phone rings::

 

Me: Hello?

 

Caller: Hi.

 

Me: [waits until the caller says something]

 

[crickets]

 

[hangs up phone] [or whatever the process is to disconnect, lol]

 

What should happen:

 

::phone rings::

 

Me: Hello?

 

Caller: Hi, this is Orkie. [and continues talking]

  

You answer the phone with a greeting.

The caller responds with a greeting.

Why would another greeting be necessary beyond that?

I have no idea! It's like Ellie's first situation when DH calls me. I wait and then he's like, " Aren't you going to say hi?"

 

I DID!

[Miss Peregrine]

So who's winning the bet?

Me.

[Rivka]

I think a lot of the time there is a second greeting from the answerer, isn't there? At least for friendly/personal calls.

 

Answerer: Hello?

Caller: Hi, this is Rivka.

Answerer: Oh, hi Rivka. What's up?

 

But in calls where the two people aren't personally acquainted, I guess maybe not:

 

Answerer: Hi, this is Rivka Lastname.

Caller: Hi, I'm calling to inquire about scheduling an appointment for my child.

Answerer: Okay, why don't you tell me a little about what you're looking for?

 

Answerer: Hello?

Caller: Hi, this is Jane Smith. Could I speak to Rivka?

Answerer: I'm sorry, she's not here right now. Can I take a message?

 

Yeah, I think that's it. The second "hi" is a personal greeting, as opposed to the initial "hello," which isn't a greeting so much as it is an acknowledgement that there is someone on the line you can talk to.

 

That being said, the caller should never just say "hi" and wait!

[fdrinca]

I fully expect the caller to launch into an introduction, or to state the purpose of the call if it's someone I know well (ex: DH: hey, can you please stop buying things on Amazon and not telling me?")

 

But, I don't know if my initial "hello" really constitutes a greeting. It's shorthand for "I'm answering the telephone." It's really not a proper greeting. When I was younger,I was trained to say "the XXX residence, XXX speaking," which got right to the point and was not at all a greeting.

 

I expect most of my conversations with familiar people follow this format.

me: "hello"

caller: "hi, it's Heather"
me; "oh, hi Heather! I'm glad you called."

 

Although:

1. almost everyone has caller ID now, so you almost always know who's calling ahead of time, which asks the question: do you go in with a blind "hello?" as if you have no clue who's on the other end?

2. there should be a chorus of little voices in the background of my conversation that say "who is it, Mama? Is it Grammy? who are you talking to? who is it on the telephone? what are they saying? WHO IS IT???"

[gardenmom5]

the caller has the responsibility to state to whom they wish to speak, and when speaking with that specific person - to state their purpose in calling.

 

I do not identify myself to callers.  if someone calls me, they'd better identify themself.  if they don't- I'll ask to whom they wish to speak, or how can I help them.  I never give my name unless I know who it is.

[Liz CA]

The proper thing to do is to say,  "Hello, this is xxx calling.  Is so-n-so there?" 

 

Not,  "Hi"   and nothing else.   WORSE is when the caller calls you and says, "Who is this?"  which is rude beyond belief.

 

Edited to say:  The caller should always identify himself.  He is intruding on your space and time. 

 

"Who is this?" gets my ire up. I want to say "Who do you think you called?"

[Ellie]

I fully expect the caller to launch into an introduction, or to state the purpose of the call if it's someone I know well (ex: DH: hey, can you please stop buying things on Amazon and not telling me?")

 

But, I don't know if my initial "hello" really constitutes a greeting. It's shorthand for "I'm answering the telephone." It's really not a proper greeting. When I was younger,I was trained to say "the XXX residence, XXX speaking," which got right to the point and was not at all a greeting.

 

I expect most of my conversations with familiar people follow this format.

me: "hello"

caller: "hi, it's Heather"

me; "oh, hi Heather! I'm glad you called."

 

Although:

1. almost everyone has caller ID now, so you almost always know who's calling ahead of time, which asks the question: do you go in with a blind "hello?" as if you have no clue who's on the other end?

2. there should be a chorus of little voices in the background of my conversation that say "who is it, Mama? Is it Grammy? who are you talking to? who is it on the telephone? what are they saying? WHO IS IT???"

 

Yes, your "hello" does constitute a greeting. :-) Miss Manners says that the caller should identify himself (Hi, this is Alice. May I speak to Florence please?").

 

Even with caller I.D., I still just answer with "hello," unless it's Mr. Ellie or one of my dc or my BFF. Caller I.D. just identifies the owner of that number and not necessarily the person who is actually calling, KWIM?

[Ravin]

You answer the phone with a greeting.

 

The caller responds with a greeting.

 

Why would another greeting be necessary beyond that?

Because the caller fails to identify themselves. I often get calls from my sisters and don't know which of them it is as they share their phones.

[fdrinca]

Yes, your "hello" does constitute a greeting. :-) Miss Manners says that the caller should identify himself (Hi, this is Alice. May I speak to Florence please?").

 

Even with caller I.D., I still just answer with "hello," unless it's Mr. Ellie or one of my dc or my BFF. Caller I.D. just identifies the owner of that number and not necessarily the person who is actually calling, KWIM?

 

It's a greeting, but it's a generic one. I'd still like to follow-up with a personalized one. My reaction to a call from my MIL, husband, grandmother, or best friend definitely varies. 

 

Which doesn't answer the OP's query, which is if the caller says only "hi" he should be ignored into submission.

[ThisIsTheDay]

It's the caller's responsibility to say *something*!  When they don't, my work voice kicks in:

 

Me: Hello?

 

Caller: Hi.

 

Me:  How can I help you?

 

 

 

Although I don't usually answer the phone unless I already know who is calling.

[Chris in VA]

My dad hangs up by saying, "Out."

 

He's not military by profession, only served in Korea. (Not "only," as if that's not significant--YKWIM)

 

He's weird, too. :laugh:

[kewb]

I answer the phone and say hello.  Caller then says hello and identifies themselves and states why they are calling and/or who they wish to speak to.

[QuirkyKapers]

I want to get to the point very quickly. But that doesn't work. It can come across as rude. A lot of times people want a little greeting session. I try and oblige so if I call someone it's like this:

 

Other person: Hello?

Me: Hi Sara, it's Garga. How are you?

OP: Oh good, how are you?

Me: Great. Hey, I'm calling to ask you...

 

 

:iagree: This is how I would like my conversations to go...to the point.  But, I have found that I have to say:  Me: Great.  Hey, I am calling to ask you a question.  Do you have a moment?  Too many times I have found out that if I just proceed without asking, people aren't listening if they are busy and end up asking me to call back after I have asked the question.

[Garga]

:iagree: This is how I would like my conversations to go...to the point. But, I have found that I have to say: Me: Great. Hey, I am calling to ask you a question. Do you have a moment? Too many times I have found out that if I just proceed without asking, people aren't listening if they are busy and end up asking me to call back after I have asked the question.

Oh, you're right! I've started doing that in the past couple of months. This is especially true with cell phones, I think. People tend to answer them more than they would back in the old days when they had their phone only at home. With a cell phone, they may be in the most odd places or out already with a group of people. They feel obligated to answer the phone, but are in no way ready to actually talk. Why don't they just let it go to voice mail? I don't know.

 

So, yes, I have to add on the "Do you have a moment to talk?" line. "Oh no! I'm in the middle of a flash mob proposing to my girlfriend right now. I'll call you back later." "No, Garga, can't talk, I'm swabbing the deck on a pirate ship right now. I'll call you back later."

[gardenmom5]

when a caller asks me "who is this?", I ask "who did you call?"

I think one time this happened and I just said, "Who is this?" right back to them lol
 

 

[gardenmom5]

though I do get a chuckle out of my sil calling and immediately starting into whatever she was going to say (it's very hard to get a word in edgewise with her.)

 

I will come back and say it's "me", not "my".  (her dil's name is very similar to mine, and she will occasionally dial me thinking it's her.)

[Ellie]

It's a greeting, but it's a generic one. I'd still like to follow-up with a personalized one. My reaction to a call from my MIL, husband, grandmother, or best friend definitely varies. 

 

Which doesn't answer the OP's query, which is if the caller says only "hi" he should be ignored into submission.

 

Of course it's a generic greeting. It is what your first response is to someone you don't know who has inserted himself into your day. Once the caller identifies himself, then you can say, "Oh, hello, Orkie! How nice to hear from you! What's up?"

 

I suppose you could put the negative spin on the OP's original query and say that you're ignoring the rude caller into submission. Because it is rude for the caller not to say anything. If the caller isn't going to say anything else, clearly he doesn't need to hear from me, either, so I might feel free to hang up. When he feels more conversational, he can call me back.

[tabinfl]

My husband answers calls by stating his last name.  I find that weird.  LOL

This was quite common in business once upon a time, it faded from my world around the mid-late 80s.