Yes, we still answer the phone if we're not open.

[notalwaysright]

The title is pretty much it. There are people in the store from about 6AM-10PM. Except on some days when there are people in the store as early as 2:30AM. Oh, and sometimes when we're doing overnights there are people in the store literally 24 hours a day for weeks. We're open 9-9 except Sundays.

So you're a person who is wondering when we're open. For whatever reason you aren't able / don't want to look up our hours online. That's fine. I'm fairly sure our recorded message says our hours, but let's say it doesn't. So you listen to the recorded message which doesn't answer your question. You stay on the line until it starts ringing. Someone answers! You ask when the store opens, and are ASTONISHED that the store is not open presently, and vocalize that thought in one of the following ways:

If you're not open, why are you answering the phone? (Someone calling off, store support calling, store manager calling, etc, etc)

What are you doing there if you're not open? (Do you have a brain?)

I didn't think anyone would answer. (Then why did you let the phone ring for over 30 seconds?)

You don't open until when???? (...the time I just told you.)

So yes, I understand that some places don't answer the phone if they aren't open, but -and I can't stress this enough- we do. I can't imagine we're the only place on earth which does this, but hey, maybe we are and I'm the crazy one.

[Sunshine]

We have that where I am too. I'll say my store security and they'll just ask the question they have.

[bainsidhe]

I'll say my store security and they'll just ask the question they have.

Yeah, that. When I used to work *DVD store*, we'd answer the phones after hours by saying "Security". It reduced the chances of someone wanting to spend 20 minutes having us check inventory or asking us to stay open 'cause they were on their way over.

[Racket_Man]

At my pizza place:

Generally before we open (11am) we will answer the phone because it is usually someone calling to place a lunch order.

HOWEVER after close (1am or 2am) we will not answer the phone UNLESS there is a driver still on the road.

People have complained (on the national corp. website or the 800 complaint line) that they tried to call after close and no one answered.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

At my pizza place:

People have complained (on the national corp. website or the 800 complaint line) that they tried to call after close and no one answered.

I'd love to be a fly on that wall at Corporate to experience what they'd say about those complaints.

[XCashier]

I'd love to be a fly on that wall at Corporate to experience what they'd say about those complaints.

"What, nobody answered when you called at 3:00 AM, long after we closed?



I'm sure this comes as a real shock to you, but we're all home and asleep at that time, you expect us to keep the store open just in case you're jonesing for a pizza?!"

[Racket_Man]

"What, nobody answered when you called at 3:00 AM, long after we closed?


I'm sure this comes as a real shock to you, but we're all home and asleep at that time, you expect us to keep the store open just in case you're jonesing for a pizza?!"

That was one the BIG reasons we stopped answering the phones after official close time unless there was a driver(s) still on the road.

People wanted to friggin argue and argue and argue wasting our time yappin with them and not doing valuable cleaning and closing tasks and getting the FUCK OUTTA there time.

Franchise corp. used to bitch at us but they have been quiet on that front lately.

[raudf]

At MW Repair, we had a separate line for employees and corporate* to call in on, so we didn't answer the phones until we were open.

*The stores could sit and spin on calling us. Only the store manager had the "you better damn well answer it" line's number. Apparently, years ago, a store employee abused this to call us while we were closed. Repeatedly. Asking about a product he had put in for repair. So.. corporate pulled the plug on regular store associates calling us through that line. They had to wait their turns just like the customers. Considering most of what they would call about was things customers would ask them, it was a fair trade.

[prjkt]

At my store my rule is that if we're not open, the phone only gets answered for staff, head office and security.

[EricKei]

Back at DaddyJim's Pizza, the DM would call us just after hours every day or three just to make damn sure we were still answering the phones. If we were there, we were expected to answer. They even "neglected" to get Caller ID on the phone systems just to make sure we answered every time, within 2 rings, just in case. If course, this short-sighted act made it impossible to allow us to ignore possible prank calls -- this was back when most places refused to accept cell phone calls (they still had distinctive prefixes then) simply because those, like pay phone orders, were usually pranks and/or robbery attempt setups.

[notalwaysright]

Back at DaddyJim's Pizza, the DM would call us just after hours every day or three just to make damn sure we were still answering the phones. If we were there, we were expected to answer. They even "neglected" to get Caller ID on the phone systems just to make sure we answered every time, within 2 rings, just in case.

We don't have caller ID and probably never will. I don't think our DM has ever tested us like this, but we are waiting to see who gets the position now that our old DM retired. Having a line specifically for employees and corporate would be awesome, but make way too much sense.

Today someone called before we were open and immediately started peppering me with questions, and I kept saying that we weren't open, and I needed to transfer him to someone on the sales floor who could help him. It took me three times before he stopped talking and I was able to put him on hold. And I never heard what happened, but I noticed he was off the line in like 30 seconds, so either someone magically answered his all questions in record time, or (more likely) he got impatient and hung up.

[Racket_Man]

We don't have caller ID and probably never will. I don't think our DM has ever tested us like this, but we are waiting to see who gets the position now that our old DM retired. Having a line specifically for employees and corporate would be awesome, but make way too much sense.

.

The reason we do not have Caller ID is because of our phone surveys. every couple of months the office gets a bug up its hinny and makes sure we are all following the prescribed phone script. Not sure who they use for their surveys ie. someone/some employee at home or some indie calling company.

I am still NOT sure why they want us of answer phone AFTER CLOSE when all we want to do is get the FUCK outta there. It serves NO useful purpose and interrupts real work.

[EricKei]

RM - I have a related anecdote for that.

Background the First: At this place, they even drill down to things like the exact thickness of the crust in quality measurements. As in, when a quality audit takes place, they will whip out little plastic rulers and see how high the poofy edge of the crust rises, and judge it down to tiny little increments. This will become relevant later.

Background the Second: Back at the aforementioned pizza joint, someone at either the franchise or at corporate got a hair up their ass -- maybe about some of our stores in general, or maybe about our SM or someone else they personally disliked at our store; I doubt I'll ever know. They claimed that they had been getting quality complaints from stores in our franchise/area. They decided to put together the food quality audit from hell on us (we found out after the fact). Whatever the motivation, they decided to audit OUR store, and no others. This, despite the fact that we had been the store with -- by far-- the FEWEST quality complaints, if any at all.

The Plot: They sent about a hundred of our repeat customers a few free cards (coupon for any free pizza, any size, any toppings), a disposable camera, a little plastic ruler to measure/confirm consistent thickness, and a sheet showing things to look out for. The idea was, to use "random" customers to do the audits. This included things like how hot the pizza was upon arrival, whether the toppings were laid out properly (not too many, not too few), whether it was cut symmetrically, whether there was *gasp* *OH MY GOD NOOOO* any stray cheese on the outer rim of the crust...stuff like that. They also had custys take some snapshots immediately upon arrival, right before eating, halfway in progress (to make sure the cheese didn't slide off, etc). They also included a taste survey.

It turns out that most of the people who did this, did indeed fill out and return the surveys, along with the cameras. The end result....Drumroll, please...

No complaints on the surveys. No citation-worthy faults on the pies (not gonna claim perfection here, but there was a REASON our store always did well on these things: we were good at our jobs).

We had gotten wind of the uber-audit before the results came in, and, deprived of their chance to rake us across the coals (or maybe, ya know, do this to a PROBLEM store instead so that their issues could be addressed), the camera-audit program was quietly laid to rest in our region, never to be spoken of again.