Later today, I received a phone call from British American Tobacco (BAT). It was a bad timing that they call me while I was on the phone to my parents. I am a family guy, so I told them to call me back in five minutes. They did call me again but I am still on the phone. So they leave me a voice message. That is absolutely fine.

They promised to call me on Monday. How funny that it is going my Graduation day! Even if Richard Branson were to call me and offered me a job, I wouldn’t answer the phone. (I’ll explain why some other time).

I listen to the voicemail but they (she) did not mention:

1. Her name
2. Which HQ they she is calling from

So, I have got to do some guess work. I called both London HQ and Kuala Lumpur HQ. I left voice messages and sent emails to both and hopefully the person in charge will be notified.

Few years ago, my dad who used to be a white collared worker in a nationally renowned company, listened to my phone conversation with a representative from Petronas. Right after I finished, he came to me and told me about phone manners. Since then, I never forget it!

• First, when you call someone. Introduce yourself, very basic – name. If you are receiving, ask who are you talking to? Write it down if possible. You can ask later before you ended the phone call if you need to follow up.
• Tell a bit about yourself. See the context. In this case, she should mentioned which BAT as it is all over the world – over 35 countries.

The above two manners are essential. I just finished my degree and they do not teach you that in class. But it is customary in business world. Learn it, pass it along.