Dear Heloise: As a longtime administrative assistant and receptionist, I felt I had to remark on the recent letters about telephone etiquette. I learned this years ago and follow it to this day. When a customer is standing in front of you and the phone rings, always answer the phone. The customer looking at you can see how busy you are; the customer on the phone cannot.

I always say “excuse me” to the customer in front of me and then ask the customer on the phone if he or she can hold for a moment. If not, I try to take care of the call as quickly as possible. Most customers standi...

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