I hate to admit it, but I am occasionally susceptible to the powers of suggestion. Marla Schleider’s article on telephone skills last month raised my awareness level a notch in that area. You see, I have to spend an awful lot of time on the phone. And as a result of her article, I suddenly find myself paying more attention to what happens on the other end of the line than I used to. Last week, I made a call to a shop that will forever stand out as one of the worst phone answering jobs in record history.