The Phone Lady's Blog

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telephone customer service

Clear the Queue vs. Deliver Excellence

By Mary Jane Copps | March 17, 2019

Sara Moginot is a customer service aficionado, a regular reader of this blog … and the author of this article. While walking along the beach one afternoon, I watched my big red dog dart in and out of the waves. Groot brings zest to everything he … Read more

Accident-al Conversations: How Compassion Can Change Everything

By Mary Jane Copps | January 20, 2019

On Monday afternoon at 1:20 pm, driving back to my office from a workshop in Truro, I was rear-ended at a stop light. (It’s important to say here that I’m fine. The car is undergoing repairs until early February, but I’m perfectly fine.) The next … Read more

What I’m Thinking About: Customer Service

By Mary Jane Copps | July 22, 2018

I have a bill on my desk that is twice what I expected. It arrived from my accounting software company several months ago. Because I have this company set up for monthly auto payments, this large bill has already been paid … even though I … Read more

Strategies for Difficult Conversations – Part II

By Mary Jane Copps | May 18, 2018

One person always makes an appearance at my customer service workshops and coaching sessions – someone I’ve named the “constant talker”. I discovered them years ago while doing call evaluations and listening to a 45-minute customer conversation during which the company representative maybe said 20 … Read more

Customers That Do This … Want to Work With You!

By Mary Jane Copps | February 4, 2018

Andrea Kaye, owner of Alta-Sask Wellness, reminded me earlier this week of a very basic change in phone communication that has a big impact on her business. In her busy clinic she encounters this phone behaviour daily, and it’s possible you do, as well. Here’s … Read more

Top 5 Ways to Create an Excellent ‘On Hold’ Experience

By Mary Jane Copps | April 16, 2017

The first time I put someone on hold was 40 years ago. It was a summer job in the offices of an iron ore mine in Northern Ontario and there were very specific guidelines I had to follow. The etiquette of how to put someone … Read more

Communication Breakdown

By Mary Jane Copps | June 15, 2014

When communication between a customer and a company falls apart, it’s usually because the company representative forgot the #1 rule of great service … It’s Not About You! The example below provided courtesy of Scott Anderson: I recently called a well-known hardware store chain to … Read more

Communicating Your Desire to be of Service

By Mary Jane Copps | April 6, 2014

I want to thank my dear friend Janet E. Bardon,  HR Administrator,  Department of Psychiatry,  Dalhousie University for this week’s post. One of my core values in phone communication is we must always speak so that our customers “hear” our desire to be of service. … Read more

3 “Must-Do’s” for B2B Phone Sales in 2014 (Part II)

By Mary Jane Copps | December 15, 2013

Using email to sell to prospects and clients without any conversation is like working on a jigsaw puzzle with pieces missing. The end result won’t be what you wanted and … it won’t be as much fun! It isn’t that I don’t appreciate email. Know … Read more

Stories of Do and Don’t

By Mary Jane Copps | November 24, 2013

Recent work calling into Vancouver has provided a great story of how not to answer the phone: At one association I was greeted by what I’ll call an “unengaged” receptionist. She wasn’t unpleasant, but she wasn’t welcoming either. She did not use her name when … Read more

Radio New Zealand logo
How to tackle your telephone hang-ups. People with bad cases of telephone anxiety can experience nausea, increased heart rate and shortness of breath at the sound of a ringtone. Listen in...
Why it’s completely normal for a phone call to fill you with dread (and how to get over it). Read the stats and Mary Jane's advice.

Phone Phobia Hits the News

Phone phobia, or telephobia, has been getting a lot of attention in the news recently. See what Mary Jane has to say about it...
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
22 Minutes correspondent, Brandon Hackett, figures out which end is up on this thing called a telephone, with help from The Phone Lady. Watch Telephone Lessons for Millennials.
The Wall Street Journal.
Banks Curtail Employee Use of Voice Mail: Voice mail is viewed as an expensive vestige of a bygone era. See what The Phone Lady has to say.