How to Answer the Phone Professionally

Often times, the first impression your restaurant makes on a customer is through a phone call. A patron will call either to confirm your restaurant’s hours, make a dinner reservation, or place an order for pickup/delivery. When a hostess answers that phone call, his or her etiquette can be the difference between whether a customer eats at your restaurant or somewhere else. This post will cover how to answer phones profesionally in restaurants. 

A simple, easy-to-remember phone greeting would go something like this:

“Thank you for calling ________. My name is __________. How may I help you?”

Whoever answers the phone should have a smile on his or her face. This might seem ridiculous, as there’s no way the caller will be able to see the smile. But smiiling will give your employee's voice a certain warmth that can be heard over the phone. And that warmth will certainly endear the caller to your restaurant.

Restaurants can get very busy, so there’s always going to be a time when you’ll need to put a caller on hold. In that event, answer the phone with:

“Thank you for calling ________. My name is __________. Can you please hold?”

The key with this greeting is to wait until the caller says they can hold. If your employee just puts the caller on hold before listening to a response, there’s a good chance the behavior will be interpreted as rude. And it could potentially lead to the caller eating elsewhere.

If you want to keep close tabs on whether your employees are following protocol, place a call yourself and listen to how they answer the phone. Try to do this during times of the day or night that the restaurant isn't as busy. Calling during rush hour just for a check-up can unnecessarily stop the flow of work and lead to resentment from your employees.