Exam Info

When You're Going to Be Gone for a Day or 2

Examiners tend to imagine the worst. They think that the day they take off to go to the beach for a few hours swimming will be the day when their potentially best customer will call, be angry that the examiner is not available, and call someone else, never to return.

So how to handle your business if you're going to be gone a day or so? (Tomorrow, I'll try and cover longer-term absences).

First, stop worrying. Nobody (well, almost nobody) expects you to be on call 24/7. If you do a good job, they'll put up with your occasional absences.

Secondly, be honest. If someone wants to schedule an appointment the day or 2 you'll be gone, tell them you're taking a couple days off, and can you schedule it before or after those days?

If they can't move to another day, suggest that you can set it up with a competitor. This is one of the reasons you should be on good terms with your competition. They'll help you out in such circumstances, and they will ask you to do the same. Know your competitors, speak well of them, get to know them, and help them out. In the end, this will help your business. If you're a newbie, it sounds crazy, but you've got to trust me on this.

Third, change your voicemail message. Make it specific: "Hi, this is Joe Blow, at 555-1212. I'm out of town today, March 19th, and tomorrow, the 20th [or whatever], but I'll be back at work on the 21st. Please leave a message, and I'll call you as soon as I get back in."

(Invariably, you will have someone who doesn't listen to your message, and will be pleading with you to call them back immediately. Some people can't listen; I don't know an answer for such people).

Make sure you're caught up on paperwork before you're gone. Don't leave stuff sitting in the hopper. It's irritating to agents, and it's depressing to see a stack of paperwork when you get back to work. (Ask me how I know ... )

For myself, I check my voicemail messages. It doesn't take long. I also return messages if they sound urgent (if nothing more than to say, "I got your message; I'll call you as soon as I get back"). This is not a rule. If you're really stressed, and need to completely get away, just don't check them. For me, it's easier to do so.

posted by Jim Huffman @ 5:10 PM