Udanta:
Whatsapp calls are interrupted when you have an actual call coming through, there are also issues with call clarity because of internet signal fluctuations. Couple this with the fact that whatsapp is still perceived as a form of social media and you begin to see why it may not be the best platform for hosting critical business calls.

In a formal business environment, the cost of the call should not be an issue. I worked internationally within corporate structures and this is my observation.

You do know that many of the calls to your colleagues and customers while you worked at those international employers with corporate structures were no different from WhatsApp calls? Absolutely no difference. Just a different software used but exactly the same thing

Juniorangel:
My WhatsApp is my business official or unofficial. But if a particular client requests otherwise then there is no harm in a direct call.

Same here.

An uncouth person is an uncouth person, regardless.

TOBILOBA2023:
I noticed that some people sees use of WhatsApp for calls as unprofessional.

I prefer WhatsApp calls to normal voice calls because it's more cheaper and also helps save normal call airtime for lines that are not registered on WhatsApp.

A woman refused to engage me in business discussion because I called her via WhatsApp. She feels I'm not serious or professional enough.

Do you have any issues with WhatsApp calls for business/official purposes?

It's unreliable especially in this part of the world. Not that it's unprofessional.

Over there, they do biz, job interview, meetings etc on Skype, zoom, teams etc

RealEzee:
na because of cost of data na y most peeps in naija off dia data lets b honest .

When i won reach out to peeps in d states na whatsapp or zoom ,we no dey do cellular calls ,save cost abeg .

Some interviews i have done for remote jobs has been via whatsapp,skype or zoom,even my yankee school my peer mentor and the likes dey use whatsapp communicate with me ,what we face in naija is d cost of data

You said it's because of cost that people turn off their data, so what about you who refused to buy recharge card to make an important call? No business receives whatsapp call as a primary means of communication, whatsapp is secondary. You want to consume someone's data as if you're the one subscribing for that person and you expect to be taken seriously? Go and buy airtime if you're serious!

In the cases mentioned above, you can see that there's clearly a reason for the whatsapp call. International calls are far cheaper using data, so it makes perfect sense and interviews being conducted on whatsapp are already preplanned. But in cases where you're trying to make an enquiry from a business, it makes no sense to rely on Whatsapp when you don't even know if they use whatsapp at all...

I agree. You use WhatsApp call for your friends and colleagues not first time official calls.

Most of you are saying rubbish on this thread. What if there wasn't anything like WhatsApp at all. So you won't make calls. Before WhatsApp came in, we re making our normal traditional SMS/text messages and normal phone/ GSM telephony calls. And is it everybody that's internet savy, some are not on WhatsApp, and this so called WhatsApp is dependent on some certain factors.

Houseontherock1:
It's a bit unprofessional in naija because of the network issues. However, if you are sure of your network and the receiver's network, you can use WhatsApp...but how do you ensure you both have good network? It's irritating when you are making a business call or a very serious call and it keeps saying "reconnecting".

End of discussion.

It depends on the location,my office location is inside the biggest market in Lagos. I used whatsapp for most official calls,then if it's a virtual meeting I use zoom or microsoft teams.

When you use WhatsApp to call a responsible person like me I will think you are a nuisance

All of you saying you won't pick, make una dey play,

The HR person that reached out to me for my current job called via WhatsApp, she called from our Kenya office and we had a short chat before she set up a preliminary interview session on teams.

Well,I will say this for people from a different timezone though, however if it is not as if you know the person calling or that is the person usual pattern, please pick your call, you don't have anything to loose.

TOBILOBA2023:
I noticed that some people sees use of WhatsApp for calls as unprofessional.

I prefer WhatsApp calls to normal voice calls because it's more cheaper and also helps save normal call airtime for lines that are not registered on WhatsApp.

A woman refused to engage me in business discussion because I called her via WhatsApp. She feels I'm not serious or professional enough.

Do you have any issues with WhatsApp calls for business/official purposes?

Well, I think it's unprofessional. But that call cheap die.
Imagine 20mins call costing just 2mb

I can use it if we have spkn via d normal phone call bf n would ask ma is this ur watsap number,so i can chat u at intervals.kini very gud medium

airsaylongcome:


So I've seen a couple of your responses and thought to engage. Personally, I think it's highly unprofessional for the first business contact to be a whatsapp call. I will never (and this is my personal opinion) answer anyone, even Tony Elumelu or Femi Otedola if their first contact is a whatsapp call. But there's a caveat to this. If the business I work with has provided me an official number which they also registered on WhatsApp and have whatsapp as one of their valid means of communication, I will engage any and every whatsapp call to that official number. My personal number is exclusively for my private communications and my WhatsApp is more specifically for contacts with family and friends. If someone with an unknown number initiates a chat with me on WhatsApp to introduce themselves and then request to call over whatsapp, that's perfectly fine. But if their first contact to my personal whatsapp is a phone call, I'm never going to respond to that call. Whatsapp recently introduced a privacy feature to Silence unknown callers and I have that turned on

Infact, you expatiated my line of thought. The first time is never WhatsApp. But subsequently and especially if I have to show you pictures, and you are very active on Whatsapp, my experience is they prefer WhatsApp calls.

BigBen23:


Well, I think it's unprofessional. But that call cheap die.
Imagine 20mins call costing just 2mb

Costing you 2mb. The receiving party is also paying for that call

Why are people not using telegram to make calls?

bigadler:


You said it's because of cost that people turn off their data, so what about you who refused to buy recharge card to make an important call? No business receives whatsapp call as a primary means of communication, whatsapp is secondary. You want to consume someone's data as if you're the one subscribing for that person and you expect to be taken seriously? Go and buy airtime if you're serious!

In the cases mentioned above, you can see that there's clearly a reason for the whatsapp call. International calls are far cheaper using data, so it makes perfect sense and interviews being conducted on whatsapp are already preplanned. But in cases where you're trying to make an enquiry from a business, it makes no sense to rely on Whatsapp when you don't even know if they use whatsapp at all...

y not switch off ur phone naa so i no drain ur battery with normal calls ,y'all r not even close to been 'professional' like other developed countries yet those peeps use whatsapp and likes to communicate,shebi i don tell u say remote jobs i have gotten from clients in yankee na whatsapp,zoom n skype we take run am ,dey dia dey wait for cellular call ,even my current externship program na zoom dem take call me run d package .

Data bundle and call card which one cost pass ? Even some data plan offer call over d internet ,abeg stop all dis talk of 'professional' balablu ,try doing normal call wif ur international client as if u no go get sense to use apps like whatsapp and d likes after u don burn card taya.
technology is always improving ,get d memo .

What made blackberry revolutionary in its prime was dat it sold data n dat was way cheaper compared to d popular mode of comm via minutes ,just buy data n text more n call more .

Stone03:
Why are people not using telegram to make calls?

i do ooo

Dotman2210:
All of you saying you won't pick, make una dey play,

The HR person that reached out to me for my current job called via WhatsApp, she called from our Kenya office and we had a short chat before she set up a preliminary interview session on teams.

Well,I will say this for people from a different timezone though, however if it is not as if you know the person calling or that is the person usual pattern, please pick your call, you don't have anything to loose.

abi ooo no mind dem

Father4all:
When you use WhatsApp to call a responsible person like me I will think you are a nuisance

u r not responsible

Adewale1603:
Most of you are saying rubbish on this thread. What if there wasn't anything like WhatsApp at all. So you won't make calls. Before WhatsApp came in, we re making our normal traditional SMS/text messages and normal phone/ GSM telephony calls. And is it everybody that's internet savy, some are not on WhatsApp, and this so called WhatsApp is dependent on some certain factors.

before traditional sms n calls there was letter ,you don't you stick to that mode ? Shebi no b everybody been get phone for house or sabi how to use phone then,but the world is getting more creative on how we can do things.

The issue is not to outright condemn the use of apps like whatsapp and the likes for 'professional' communication....naija professional communication .

RealEzee:
u r not responsible

just get lost

Each to their own. I just stated what the norms were in response to the original question . There will always be exceptions.

The world is changing quickly but in large organisations, there are, in most cases policies regarding communication. For instance, some international organisations do not accept whatsapp as an official means of company communication. You cannot share sensitive comms via WhatsApp neither can you report absence and conducting meetings on the platform is not really encouraged.

The most common use case I have seen is internal team comms and even then, you cannot force everyone to download whatsapp which defeats the purpose. Some people will even refuse to download whatsapp on principle just to be awkward. I have seen it happen.

Again there will be outliers and companies that do it differently and there is nothing wrong with that. Just that all the companies I worked for when I was younger had over 500 staff and I was in senior management, so was very familiar with the guidelines.

airsaylongcome:


You do know that many of the calls to your colleagues and customers while you worked at those international employers with corporate structures were no different from WhatsApp calls? Absolutely no difference. Just a different software used but exactly the same thing

Stanislause94:
Nigerians and their yeye forming, what’s the difference calling on WhatsApp and normal call? Let’s try to be understanding at times.

Honestly Nigerians can be so annoying

chickenfoot:
Isn't that why there's WhatsApp business?

I wonder oo.... Nigerians ehn

RealEzee:
y not switch off ur phone naa so i no drain ur battery with normal calls ,y'all r not even close to been 'professional' like other developed countries yet those peeps use whatsapp and likes to communicate,shebi i don tell u say remote jobs i have gotten from clients in yankee na whatsapp,zoom n skype we take run am ,dey dia dey wait for cellular call ,even my current externship program na zoom dem take call me run d package .

Data bundle and call card which one cost pass ? Even some data plan offer call over d internet ,abeg stop all dis talk of 'professional' balablu ,try doing normal call wif ur international client as if u no go get sense to use apps like whatsapp and d likes after u don burn card taya.
technology is always improving ,get d memo .

What made blackberry revolutionary in its prime was dat it sold data n dat was way cheaper compared to d popular mode of comm via minutes ,just buy data n text more n call more .

Oga rest. You are just writing jargons that make no sense. Nobody uses WhatsApp for business calls or emergencies. If you like, argue from today till tomorrow.

If you like, stay there and keep arguing cos you don't want to buy airtime. When you want to do business, keep looking for someone that will talk to you on WhatsApp. You go soon wise.

As for me, I use watsapp call for International calls, surprisingly, its more clearer when making international call than local calls. You don't expect me to use my credit to explain and price style with my customers nah, where the credit de?. They too don't even use their call credit, they use watsapp.

RecentHistory:
If you're calling me for the first time and you call me on WhatsApp calls, I won't pick.

If you don't give me advance notice that you want to talk on WhatsApp, I no go pick.

But funny enough, if I'm having a conversation on large numbers or private stuff, I use WhatsApp calls. It's safer.

So if nah person wey go help ur business or want to trade with u.. that's how u ll lose customers..African mentality with I don't pick new number

Ayobeck:

So if nah person wey go help ur business or want to trade with u.. that's how u ll lose customers..African mentality with I don't pick new number

Sorry o, Mr European.
Maybe you are a trader or hawker that they call about.

The day you start running a profitable business, you will learn how to separate serious clients from time-wasters. Till then, keep doing your thing.

bigadler:


Oga rest. You are just writing jargons that make no sense. Nobody uses WhatsApp for business calls or emergencies. If you like, argue from today till tomorrow.

If you like, stay there and keep arguing cos you don't want to buy airtime. When you want to do business, keep looking for someone that will talk to you on WhatsApp. You go soon wise.

Don't mind those fools

TOBILOBA2023:
I noticed that some people sees use of WhatsApp for calls as unprofessional.

I prefer WhatsApp calls to normal voice calls because it's more cheaper and also helps save normal call airtime for lines that are not registered on WhatsApp.

A woman refused to engage me in business discussion because I called her via WhatsApp. She feels I'm not serious or professional enough.

Do you have any issues with WhatsApp calls for business/official purposes?

There is really no generic answer for questions like this;
It is a matter of understanding who you're dealing with.

If you're self employed, you have to adapt to the requirements of your customer to the best of your capacity.
If you're employed, you have to work within the specified provisions/requirements of your organisation.

Customer/Client, Employee/Staff and Employer/Management satisfactions/expectation need to be met.

airsaylongcome:

What makes you say it's safer?

To avoid the conversation being recorded.

RecentHistory:


To avoid the conversation being recorded.

How does WhatsApp calls prevent calls being recorded? I can set up my phone to connect to a recording device and record the whatsapp call if I like