How to Handle Dropped Calls

Have you ever been on an important call, where you were in the middle of a long conversation, only to discover that the person you were talking to is no longer on the line? Ever had a call drop?

Duh. This happens DAILY and it's extremely frustrating for both the person speaking and the person trying to listen. Try this the next time you drop a call... just pick up your call where you lost it.

Simply start talking from the point where you were cut off, if your not sure when you lost the other party, ask "where did I lose you?" Then keep talking. There's no need to say your name again, or say hello again or describe the tunnel you passed through, or describe how tall the buildings are where you're walking, or how the cellular service "sucks" with Cingular, Sprint or T-Mobile. Blah Blah Blah.

Doing so wastes time and worse than that - you'll lose your train of thought or the passion of the topic being discussed. Just get back to business! The person on the other end of the phone will appreciate your directness and be very surprised... why? Because they are used to hearing this:

"Tom, hey it's Bill I lost you." [Duh.] "I don't know what happened, I'm outside of the city and I just passed through this long tunnel [Maybe it was the tunnel genius], have you been out to the east side in the last few months?" "No Bill I haven't" [And I don't care, get back to telling me about the topic we were discussing.] "It's incredible Tom, I haven't seen so many homes built so fast, you'd be blown away." "Bill, I'm sure it's the most incredible site - I can't wait to get out there." [And I really can't wait to get off this call!]

What could be worse? Tom actually encouraging the dialogue. You can see that after 120 seconds of this kind of dialogue, most people wouldn't even remember why they called each other in the first place!

So, next time you lose a call, call the person back, and start talking from the point were the call was dropped. Not sure when you lost the other person? Ask "where did I lose you?" Then get to the point.

Do this and you'll maximize your time and minimize the frustration that comes with dealing with technology.

TK