Is it "unprofessional" to talk to your customers on your speaker phone?

[andrewlm]

No, unless you have a bad quality phone with echo, disturbance and also co-workers or employees within earshot, then its going to piss them off too.

[jmeijers]

Yeah!! it is very unprofessional, buy a headset.. more pleasant to use..

Yep, you can get great wireless headsets (I find Plantronics have great sound quality) which will let you hop around the house naked without your clients noticing it

[bigredtomato]

All depends on background noise and whether your room echos and the quality of the speaker.

I agree with previous correspondent. Go with the headset. That's much better and keeps your hands free.

[Danslides]

if you're in a meeting room that has good acoustics and you have a good speakerphone, I think it's fine. We used to do it all the time.

[shariROCKS]

The worst thing you can do is NOT inform a client that you have them on speaker phone. I often use speaker phone to follow up with clients but I always ask them if it is okay and there is normally a reason for it. IE. I am working on getting something together for them and it requires both hands to do it while I ask them questions. I did invest in a headset because I Skype with a lot of my clients-which may be a good option for you. My clients enjoy seeing me and talking at the same time...Gives them the hands on feel with out me actually being there...(And the cat walking across the keyboard gets a good laugh!!!!) I also Skype without video a lot and continue to multi-task while I am talking with a vendor or on a conference call

PS if you work in an environment that people can hear your conversations, speaker phone is a bad idea all together when speaking with clients!

[peteyflow]

I prefer using the handset rather than the headset just because it feels like I can stay focus and able to deliver the message across promptly to my clients when there's no background distraction involved.

[Jwright12382]

Yes, unprofessional...and I would even also consider that person lazy unless (as shari stated) that person says "Hey, I've got you on speaker for reason x or y" And if Joe Blow's on the line or in the office too, I need to know that up-front.

[efreet]

hate it, it annoys me when someone else doing it to me. Just buy a headset

[brissy1992]

I'd say its only unprofessional if they can't make out what your saying or if there's lots of noise in the background.

[NeutroHost [Jon]]

Speaker phones are the bane of communication technology.. they are rather selfish inventions to start of with.

Get a wireless earpiece if you need to.

[richkid]

I think it is an invasion of privacy, especially if people are in earshot of your conversation. As people have mentioned, if you don't like holding a headset, just buy an ear piece.

[hippie_wantab]

I'm going to have to ring in against speaker phone. I only ever use it when driving with team members and we all need to be in on the call. I even have a headset for my landline. It' keeps your hands free which may cause you to be more relaxed. (a clenched fist can cause muscles throughout your body to tense)

[Future of Edu]

If I know that I'm on speaker, i stop the conversation and ask the person to pick up the phone. I use a headset and never speaker. Unless conference... lol

I saw someone mention state of mind. As a business owner, rarely am I focused on only the person speaking to me. I'm usually multi tasking. If you can not multi task and stay involved in a convo, then yes it's an issue and you shoudl just pick up the phone. Otherwise, multi-tasking is a neccesity for me.

Enjoy Life,
Nick

[zmonique2007]

If you're in a private room and nobody hears your conversation, it's fine.

[Future of Edu]

If you're in a private room and nobody hears your conversation, it's fine.

reason behind this being fine? How does the person on the other end know?

Enjoy Life,
Nick