電話対応 Answering the phone

Most of the time, I just use the two sentences here:

When someone asks to speak to one of my coworkers
はい、少々お待ちください・恐れ入りますが、ただいま席を外しておりますので、戻りましたらご連絡するようお伝えしましょうか？

When I don't know what I'm doing
担当の者に変わりますので少々お待ちください

I wondered about that too. I'm not sure, but I think you're right. Maybe it's better to just use　戻りましたら連絡いたしましょうか or be safe and use 席を外しておりまして...　then wait for an answer?

At my office everyone does "折り返しさせましょうか"

i just ask people like

"どうされますでしょうか？" and then i don't have to prompt them with anything. if i say "shall i take a message?" then they're gonna give me a message and idc

usually they're just like "we'll call back later" and i'm like "damn right you will *CLICK*"

Jitenshaa's Super Helpful 出んわ対応list:

はい、（豊橋市役所）、多文化共生・国際課（Asawo）でございます
Write down Name and Division(or number if 内線), repeat and check
→恐れ入りますがもう一度お名前・ご所属を頂いてもよろしいでしょうか
→お世話になっております
→担当の者に替わりますので少々お待ちください
→ただ今席を外しておりますが、戻りましたらご連絡するようお伝えしましょうか
→別の電話に出ておりまして
→今日一日お休みをを頂いています
→会議中・打ち合わせ中・来客中
→戻り次第折り返しさせましょうか

We have two phone threads so I was debating which one to post in but this one was newer so...

I finally finally managed to say 恐れ入りますが instead of すみません or ごめんなさい when I couldn't catch somebody's name, yesss. This is something I have been trying to do for forever (because it sounds more polished) but it never comes to mind fast enough so the fact that I did it today without even thinking about it is a small victory for my 電話対応。


(以上です。)

i'm certain this never gets easier.

what i would suggest is get really good at asking for their name again (maybe even slowly)
some people will suggest being like "hue i am GAIKOKJIN can you say it at retard speed please" but that's up to you.

i hear my coworkers unable to make out the name, so try shoot for either their name OR what 団体・課 they are calling from. half the time they will know who's calling anyway.

i think it's fair to ask for their name, but i understand it can feel awkward too.

learning set phrases like 「恐れ入りますが、*お名前もう一度お願いできますでしょうか」 and getting that practiced so it comes out naturally will take away precious brain resources from thinking of what you need to say and screwing up, and more importantly, thinking about what you just said when they're now saying their name again.

(*at this very moment in this post i took a call, didn't understand a single word cos it was a 内線 and he calls all the time, but i was just like "。。。すみません、もう一度お願いします" and he said it and it was fine)

tl;dr - it doesn't get easier, and people won't realise you're a foreigner who is having difficulty understanding, so just get really good at asking for their name.

I think using your last name is pretty standard especially if it is 外線. Also because you never know WHO is exactly calling you on the phone (someone you may have met or not), they may or may not know you even if it's 内線 so you want to just stick to a 無難 route?

(I do not have a surname so it's the same for me wherever ^^

i do that in my current company

the catch in that is that because im in the international business department, im introduced to people outside of japan as my last name and sometimes even though i tell them my first name people insist on calling me by my last name (which makes it seem super 硬い）

also when calls come in asking for me with my first name it might be confusing for my japanese coworkers (although people usually just transfer it over when they hear english)

#gaijinproblems

Gloriaria

a few tips in an incoherent list form

-pay attention to the phone calls that happen around you. listen in to how they speak, who typically calls for whom, what offices often call and about what. there are a lot of patterns if you start to pay attention.
-it is no problem to confirm their name at the end of the call to make sure you have it. (hell, sometimes they dont even say it). saying something along the lines of 恐れ入りますが、もう一度お名前をいただけませんか。is typically the best/easiest way to ask. sometimes tho, even after asking again, you still cant catch it. that happens. you can either move on to my next tips or try asking again, probably adding すみません、電話がちょっと遠くて。。。
-it is also not a bad idea (if you have the time and mental 余裕) to confirm their name/課 to make sure you got it
-especially for the first while, it is usually not a huge deal to not get all the info. native speakers have trouble sometimes. things to note, make sure you put them on hold while you talk the person you are transferring the call to (so the caller doesnt hear that you didnt get all the important info). and include as much as you can. なんちゃら国際何とかの木村？さんからの電話です。 typically, the person they are calling for knows who it is and they can fill in the blanks. more often than not, after being transferred, the caller will 名乗る again anyway

hope that helps!

I second listening to and parroting other people’s phone language in the office (although most people here will use お世話様です and I’m not sure if that’s a bit too slangy so I’ve been avoiding that…).

The one thing I still can’t deal with though is random old people. There’s no kokusaika at my office, so I work in kikakuzaiseika, and the guy I share the phone with is in charge of the local buses. And he is always always away from the desk. Usually people will just say they’ll call back later. But occasionally I’ll get some elderly dude trying to call about when the next bus is or whatever and neither of us can understand each other well enough to move the call forward so they’ll usually just shout ‘HA? HA?’ until I pass the phone off onto someone else ><

Not sure if I should put this here or in miff thread but.
There's 9 people in my section and right now it's just me, the RINJI staff, and the SHITSUCHO in so we're doing rusuban for the others who are out. But the shitsucho and rinji staff won't answer the phones! They just kind of ignore it and I go over to answer it; if there's any reaction from them it's just "oh, thanks leita heheh". On one hand I've been in this office for about...half a year longer than our rinji staff and shitsucho but still. They don't understand the pains of answering phones as a non-native speaker. Shitsucho will take the phone call if I come over to him and ask for help, but he won't answer anyone else's phone even if I'm the only person left. SOS ;;

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting. I only just found out this site exists today.


I just finished JET as an ALT and now work as a non-JET CIR for my local City Hall.


I'm having a lot of trouble answering the phone and would love any advice you have about it.
I find it basically impossible to catch the name of the caller/their company. Even when I ask them to repeat themselves, they say it so fast, so usually I'm only able to catch part of it.


I'm worried that I'm annoying my coworkers when I transfer the call but can't tell them exactly who is calling.
Does it get easier? Or is there anything I can do to fix it? I don't have terrible listening skills in general, but still very nervous/uncomfortable using the office phone.


Thank you.