Most of us have, at one time or another, been on a date which was interrupted by a phone call. Your feelings on phone etiquette probably determined your response. Perhaps you thought nothing of it. It is possible, though, that it colored your perception of the person you were with. If it were a first date, you may have felt neglected enough that you declined to see the person again. Even if you had been seeing the person for a while, you may have felt some irritation at them taking a non-essential phone call during your private time. The truth is, even under the dictation of modern etiquette, it is never okay to conduct business phone calls or transactions on a date. No matter how important your business is, it is up to you to make sure that your work does not invade your personal life, leaving you to treat others poorly. Your business must be managed at all times, and you can not always be the present force who is taking phone calls.
For this reason, it is important that business owners consider using telephone answering services for their off hours. Services like these field phone calls, take messages and direct customers or clients to the information they need without ever interrupting your personal time. Live answering services give clients a chance to interact with an actual person about their questions or issues regarding their business. Using an answering service ensures that you will never be the one who is running away from the nicest table at a four star restaurant to take a call about your business that easily could have been handled by someone else. As a businessperson and a date, you do not want to make a negative impression. Fortunately, the use of an answering service allows your business to continue to have a presence without sacrificing any hope of having a personal life. When you come home after the date or go to work the next day, you will be able to field any messages that you missed. You and your business will not have missed a beat.
Being a present force in your business can be very stressful, and it is easy to begin feeling like you have to preside over the business with every waking hour. The sooner you separate yourself from this mentality, the better. It is important, both for you and the people in your life, that you be able to conduct your personal life in a manner that shows those you spend time with that they are as important to you as your work. This is one of many reasons why an answering service can be beneficial to business people.
