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I have a customer who somehow got my personal number instead of my work phone line. Since this individual has my number they believe that the office hours no longer apply to them. This person has been contacting me late (after 8pm) expecting me to pickup the phone, and will often call repetitively.
How do I tell the customer that it is not acceptable to contact me outside of the office, especially late at night?
Just block them if you can.
It is a bit rude, but so is ringing your personal number after hours. There is no need to tell them you're blocking them. I have several clients who can ring me any time. Anyone who rings that isn't on that select list, I don't even answer.
Apart from blocking him, I would also try to find out how he got my private number.
If a colleague gave it to him, make sure this never happens again. If it's listed somewhere on the website, it should be deleted.
Maybe the customer doesn't even know it's your private number.
Instead of blocking them - let the answering machine take a message.
They soon get the idea that it is not worth calling you after hours.
If you are in a position where a customer would contact you directly your employer presumes that you have the professional experience and demeanor to directly interact with them. After all your interactions with that customer are a reflection of the company and have a direct impact on the customer relationship.
Even if the customer insists on calling you on your personal phone outside of business hours you must show the same level of professionalism and demeanor. But, that doesn't mean that you have to automatically accept the intrusion into your personal life.
Blocking the number should be an absolute last resort and you shouldn't do it without having a discussion with the customer and your immediate supervisor. Jumping to the last resort of blocking the number is extremely unprofessional regardless of the of the customers' actions.
Your first step should be to inform the customer that they are calling your personal phone and that it's outside of normal business hours. Unless you are directly responsible for supporting mission critical operations simply instruct them to call your work number and leave a voicemail; obviously let them know that you'll follow up during business hours.
If these calls continue or if they refuse to follow your instructions then you should escalate the issue to your immediate superior and work with them to resolve the issue and manage customer expectations.
Give them your business number, tell them that it's your new number and your old number will no longer work. Then block them from your personal number.
One could see it as slightly dishonest, but I think it's acceptable in this situation, as you're telling a white lie to protect your relationship with your client.
Something to think about is:
Does the customer think your company is solving their problem or you personally?
It seems possible that higher-ups in your organization will think that this is you forming a business relationship with the customer outside of your company with the possibility that you will take this customer with you when you leave. I would suggest discussing this with your management and, if necessary, prompting them to tell you not to have contact with the customer outside of official channels. When the customer calls, you calmly and politely blame it on your boss and keep doing that until they get the message.
I dealt with several variations of this theme in the past.
Speaking from experience: If it is a personal number was somewhat leaked, just change it, and be sure to not give it to anyone besides your superior/your boss. Blocking numbers won´t work, has the person will try to call with a different number to see if it gets through.
It also happened in the past that I had a service/work mobile number known by too many people, and the help desk people gave the number to customers behind my back. Answering only when working/on and ignoring calls not from workmates outside work time works pretty well to curb on unwanted behaviour.
Nevertheless, I would stress that to block out unwanted calls, you have got to have a separate work and mobile number.
PS. It would be interesting doing some detective work how your number leaked. In the past I had a lowly IT person putting it on a global phone list "by accident", and help desk people giving it behind my back to customers.
After those incidents, usually only three trusted people in the organisation knew my personnel mobile number, and they only called me when it was really needed.
Here's your reply: "Oh hello, Mr. Smith from company XYZ, you realise this is my private number, don't you? Just wait a second, there's something that needs my attention in the kitchen..."
A minute later if they are still on the phone: "Sorry for the delay Mr. Smith, you know this is my private number, don't you? Can you just wait one minute longer? ..."
Repeat until he hangs up. Coming back after a minute will have the psychological affect of them trying longer, and wasting their time at minimal effort of your own is of course what you want.
If he doesn't learn, then about the third time he calls you can reply: "Oh hello, Mr. Smith from company XYZ, you realise this is my private number, don't you? Sorry, I'm reading War and Peace right now, so you'll have to wait a minute until I finished. I'm at Chapter 3 already, so it won't take long."
PS. @Ramhound: This isn't "passive/aggressive", this is having a bit of fun with someone who has to learn what borders are. And I don't know if you noticed, but this is not "in business". It's the OP's personal number. He's at home. He is not at business. If you call someone on their private number, you get what you deserved. That customer cannot expect better treatment than these "Microsoft representatives" who tell you there is a virus on my computer. My wife loves playing with them. Gets them right to the point where they think they found a mark before she crushes them.
One reply that I actually heard being said to a customer: "Have you looked at the calendar by any chance? Do you realise it is CHRISTMAS? Don't you have a life? "
(PS. My boss has my private number. He has the judgement to know when to use it. Never used it, but he could).
