DEAR ABBY: I have a pet peeve: people who call me on the phone and expect me to recognize their voices. This is especially irritating when it involves business calls. One of our company's clients never identifies himself. He has a pleasant voice but it has no unique quality, and every time he calls I have to ask who is calling. It's embarrassing for me and I worry that it insults him. I don't want to lose a client, and I certainly don't want to tell him that his voice is so ordinary I simply cannot recognize it.
Isn't it a matter of courtesy when you call someone to announce your name and ask for the person with whom you would like to speak? -- CLUELESS IN MILWAUKEE
DEAR CLUELESS: I agree it is courteous to identify yourself when placing a call -- especially a business call. One way to eliminate embarrassment is by answering business calls with an introduction that pleasantly requests callers to identify themselves right off the bat. For example: "Good afternoon. Company ABC. Mary Smith speaking. Who's calling, please?"