When somebody already in your customer list rings from the number you hold for them, they are now greeted by their first name. “Hi, you are through to Baker Plumbing” becomes “Hi Sarah, you are through to Baker Plumbing”. It is the difference between ringing a company and ringing a company that knows you.
Only the number the phone network provides is used. A number somebody reads out over the phone is not used for this — that is the number printed on the outside of a parcel, and it is not proof of who is holding the phone. Being greeted by name also unlocks nothing on its own: what your receptionist is willing to discuss about an account is decided by the same identity checks as before, and those are unchanged.
Only a first name, and only one we are confident about. Never a surname, never an account detail, and nothing at all if the name we hold does not look like a name — imported lists often carry “Unknown” or a blank in that column, and saying that aloud is worse than saying nothing. Anyone we do not recognise, or anyone withholding their number, hears exactly what they heard before.
You can turn it off. If greeting people by name is not right for your line of work, it is a single setting in Call Studio.
What changed
The greeting can now use a recognised customer’s first name when the incoming number matches the number held on their customer record. It adds familiarity to the opening without reading out account information.
A returning caller can hear a greeting such as “Hi Sarah” before the usual business welcome. A withheld number, unknown caller or unusable name keeps the normal greeting instead.
Before and after
Before this update: Recognised regular customers heard the same unnamed opening as other callers.
With this update: The opening can include a trustworthy first name from the matched record. The setting can be switched off in Call Studio when named greetings are not appropriate for the business.
What it means for you
Check the names and numbers in your customer list and decide whether a personal greeting suits your line of work. Keep imported placeholder names out of customer-facing speech.
A first-name greeting grants no extra account access. A number spoken by the caller is not used as proof of who holds the phone, and the normal identity rules still govern what can be discussed.