There is nothing in this world more annoying than being place on hold for an extended period of time. Not only is the music mostly horrible, but many companies use it to try and fool you into thinking you're really not holding for very long. Wrong! Most telephones today have the ability to track the time of the call. Really, now, don't you think being placed on hold for five minutes while listening to the Muzak version of "Copa Cabana" is a bit much?

When a live person finally answers your call, they may know very little about who you want to talk with, whether or not that person actually works there and, oh yes, "Can you hold while I catch the other line?"

Business owners who are in the know have trained their staff to understand that the next telephone call could be that million dollar deal. They are trained to speak to every caller with respect and courtesy. Mary Kay Ashe, founder of Mary Kaye Cosmetics, had a philosophy that every person has an invisible sign right across their heart that says, "make me feel special."

If we train our employees to make every customer feel special, there will be very little hold time on the telephone.

Communication is the key to making folks feel special. Let the caller know that there will be a delay in handling their call. You don't necessarily have to say why, just say something! It just might be that million dollar call.