Answering the telephone?

How many rings is correct before an answering machine answers the telephone in a business.

Say, like in a realestate office.

Do they teach this in Business courses ?

No, this is not taught in business courses, but the general rule of thumb is that you don't want to make customers aware that you are not paying attention to them. The standard voice mail seems to pick up after 3 or 4 rings, or 1 ring if the person is on the line.

I was always told you should answer before the third ring. My office phone is set to go to voicemail after the third ring.

um no this isn't something that is taught.

It depends on the answering machine settings and the company preference.

Same as with voice mail.
Most machines have a 1 or 4 ring setting before the machine picks up. However, some people will set it to go straight into voice mail at night. So then callers know that no one is there and just leave a message.