If you often receive calls from colleagues and offices at the university and need to provide information such as a cell phone number you do not wish outside callers to hear, enable this greetingIf you are frequently away from your desk and need to handle internal calls, consider Single Number Reach or Cisco Jabber to keep in touch on the go instead 8/30/21 UBIT Help Center 8/20/21 Getting Help from Your Department 9/14/21 Safe Computing 9/27/21 Student service guides 9/27/21 Faculty service guides 9/27/21 Staff service guides 9/27/21 IT staff service guides 8/16/21 All UBIT News 4/1/19 UBIT Alerts 10/18/18 UBIT Blog 6/16/20 Official IT Policy Library 9/10/21 IT Guidance Documents & UBIT Policies 10/24/18 Handling Restricted Data at UB 9/8/20 Request UB Learns Administrative Course Site 9/8/20 Request UB Learns Course Combination 7/10/17 Request a New Listserv List 7/10/17 Request to Delete a Listserv List 1/28/21 Request to Send Mass Email 7/9/20 Request or Renew Secure Server Certificate 11/29/17 Faculty Liaison Application 12/30/20 MyUB Contact 3/4/21 Strategic Initiatives + Engagement 7/12/21 Governance and Advisory Groups 3/27/19 Our People 12/21/20 UBIT Jobs
Call your home phone number. Press # to interrupt the greeting, and then enter your PIN. Follow the prompts to listen to your messages. (Note: In some areas, the # key will not interrupt the greeting. Try pressing * or 2 instead.)

Oh lord…is it you…again? Well, if you must, leave a name and number after the beep. I’ll try to return the call, if I can stand it, that is.
In previous blogs, I’ve mentioned the importance of making a good first impression on a potential client. Most of the time, the first contact will be over the telephone. Since we are often in session, it is very likely that the first time a client hears our voice is on our voicemail greeting. This is why a professional greeting is so important. Identify yourself because you need to reassure the client that they have called the correct number. Clients will be a lot less likely to leave a message if they wonder who will get it. Use a warm friendly voice to say something like, “You have reached xxxx, licensed mental health counselor.” Tell clients what to do if they are in crisis. Although it seems obvious to us, clients may not realize that it could be several hours until we can return their call. I suggest something like, “If you require immediate assistance, please dial 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.” Ask for what information you need. Yes, the obvious name and number, but if it would be helpful to get their insurance information, ask for that, too. Give clients an idea about when you’ll return their call. Common business practice is within 24 business hours. Any extra messages or information you’d like clients to know. For example, if you are no longer accepting a particular insurance plan, the end of your voicemail greeting is a great place to convey that information.