For those with phone phobia, e-mails are a blessing and the voice is only used for more pressing matters. Thankfully, serviced office providers are not about to become complacent when it comes to the all-important spoken word.
Businesses using a virtual office with call-answering support are entrusting their company image to whoever answers the phone and how they deal with all manner of inquiries. Phone etiquette could make the difference between clinching a lucrative deal and alienating a customer.
'The way a company answers phone calls directly affects perceptions of its efficiency, friendliness and the way it treats its customers and business partners,' says Nicolette Tong, operations director for Compass Offices.
The sense of emotion conveyed by the human voice, ranging from assuring a worried customer to convincing a potential buyer, is seen as so important to successful businesses in the United States and Europe that companies devote resources to training their staff on communicating via phone.
Independent training consultancies do very well out of this, but many serviced office providers believe the task should start with them - with the help of the best technology available.
'We know only too well that we can only look good when our clients look good,' Tong says. 'We insist on giving our colleagues customised telephone training. To make sure we meet each client's specific requirements, we practise and conduct test calls to make sure we're perfect before handling real ones. And we cover phone techniques such as tone of voice and use of language through role play.