S A M P L E T E L E P H O N I C M E S S A G E S C R I P T F O R C I T Y D E P A R T M E N T S
THIS DOCUMENT IS FOR GUIDANCE PURPOSES ONLY
According to the San Francisco Language Access Ordinance : If your Department has a general telephonic message in English , this message should also be available in each of the City ’ s threshold languages or ( where applicable ) in languages where there is a “ Concentrated Number of Limited English Speaking Persons .”
Departments are encouraged to record telephonic messages with information about :
Business hours Office location ( s ) Services offered Means of accessing services
Availability of free language assistance For Boards or Commissions , the messages should also include : the time , date , and place of meetings .
THIS IS A SUGGESTED MESSAGE . ADJUST AS NEEDED FOR YOUR DEPARTMENT 1 . " This is a multilingual message ." 2 . " Thank you for calling ( Department name )."
3 . " We provide ( summary of types of services ) to ( population served )."
4 . " If this is an emergency and you need immediate assistance , press ( number ) or call ( phone number e . g ., 911 )."
5 . " We are located at ( Department address )."
Provide information in the threshold languages and any other languages typically spoken by LEP clients .
For example :
Chinese : “ 這是一個含多種
語言的口訊 ”
Spanish : “ Este es un mensaje multilingüe ”
Filipino : “ Ito ay isang mensahe sa iba ’ t-ibang wika ”
6 . " Our business hours are ( day of the week ) through ( day of the week ) from ( time ) to ( time )."
7 . " If you receive this message during our business hours , it is because we are either assisting another client or away from our desk ."
8 . " Please leave your name , phone number and a detailed message after the tone and we will return your call as soon as possible ."
9 . " Thank you ."
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