branding

The voice is female, and sounds like a housewife answering the phone of her husband, not sure if she is allowed to do so. You get the picture.

Me: "Have I reached ABC corp?"

Her (sounding unsure): "Yes..."

Me: "Am I talking to ...?"

Her (suspicious this time): "Yeees..."
Then: "Who am I talking to?"


I realize that I have made up my mind already in her first "Hello...?". This is not a company I would want to deal with.

Her: "Excuse me a second..." and the line goes on hold.

I start wondering what I am dealing with here. Obviously, this is no professional company. My mind wonders off, and I seriously consider just hanging up.

But, I brace myself, and continue - I am on a mission, after all:

Me: "So, listen...I was wondering, do you deal with ...?" (Insert the service/product name here).

Her (hesitating): "Yes, I could do that."

Wow. So, this company is her. No-one else, it seems. And obviously she is not used to customers rushing down her phone.

We continue our conversation, which continues to break up with "Please hold a sec..." every 30 seconds or so. As I have gathered the information I wanted, I start to wrap up. And now she has changed her approach, and starts to seem desperate.

Me: "So, let me get back to you."

Her: "Please do. I can do this. I really can, I assure you. Really."

I hung up.

Imagine, I wrote one third of this post while on hold - during the conversation - with this company. I posed as a potential client. I would pay. I would be a long term client of hers.

But it is all ruined by the first impression. The first "Hello...?". The lack of a presentation. The total lack of professionalism and commitment. It just makes me sick.

And this reminds me that branding is a full time commitment. Your company's public image is created by that first phone call. And if you drive potential clients away, you will end up with a broken back before you know it!