What part of I can't help you with that do you not get?

[Chanlin]

Wow, its been awhile since I've shared any stories of my own. This one is a wonderful one from today. I'm still at the same prepaid cellular service call center. I work in technical support now IE issues where someones phone will not work for one reason or another come to me.

Anyway our phone system has this wonderfully strange glitch in it at the moment. Our main Land Line number, not our toll free number, apparently routs calls to technical support by default if no choices are picked and or if the department picked has no one available to take the call. So that means at the moment I am getting everything from subpoena requests to our employees calling off sick. Management is aware of the glitch, it juts happens to be low on the totem pole of things that need fixing. This is important to the story....

Me:
SSL: Sucky Sales Lady

Me: Intro Spiel, this is Chanlin how may I assist you (the intro spiel included the words Technical Support Department)
SSL: I want to order some phones for my store.
Me: Ok, you've reached the wrong department I really can't help you with that. IF you like I can transfer you to sales or you can e-mail sales @companyname.com
SSL: But I picked sales, why can't you help me.
Me: Mam, you've reached the technical support department. If you want I can do a credit card order for an individual phone sale, but if you need to order in bulk you need to speak to someone in the sales department, or e-mail sales@ companyname.com
SSL: Ok, whos the master distributor in my area?

Sensing where this was going I just had her hold and called over to the sales department and warm transfered the call to the guy that picked up. About 30 minutes later I get the same lady again.

Me: Same intro spiel as before.
SSL: I want to order some phones for my store.
Me: (recognizing her voice) Did sales not take care of that for you?
SSL: Well he gave me the number for the master distributor in my area and said I needed to contact them.
Me: Ok... if that's what he said then that is what you need to do.
SSL: But I need phones for my store.
Me: Ok, you can speak to the sales department again, or e-mail them at sales@ companyname.com
SSL: Ok, I want to speak to your supervisor.
Me: *WTF look on my face* Ok... Mam, this is the technical support department, my supervisor can help you with technical support issues. If you don't have a technical support issue he can't help you.
SSL: Well you haven't been helping me at all, and I need to order some phones for my store.
Me: Look mam, I can not help you with this. You need to either A: Speak to sales, which you already did. B: Follow the advice of the sales department and call the number that they gave you. C: E-mail sales@ companyname.com and they will answer any questions you have. Again this is Technical Support that you are speaking to now, if you do not have a Technical Support issues I Can Not Help You (I stressed the last words hence the bolding)
SSL: Well what should I do... if you can't help me how do I get some phones for my store?
Me: Mam, I've told you what you need to do. If you can't follow those instructions then no one here can help you.
SSL: Well... who is my master distributor then?
Me: Mam, do you have a technical support issue?
SSL: What?
Me: Is the issue you are calling about related to a technical problem in any way?
SSL: Well no one seems to be able to tell me where I can order phones for my store....
Me: So you do not have an issue that requires technical support?
SSL: Well...
Me: If not I can not help you.
SSL: Well f*** you then and f*** your company I'll just take my business elsewhere.

Would be nice if some people could grasp simple instructions, but then of course my job security would be right out the window.

[South Texan]

Me: Intro Spiel, this is Chanlin how may I assist you (the intro spiel included the words Technical Support Department)
SSL: I want to order some phones for my store.
Me: Ok, you've reached the wrong department I really can't help you with that. IF you like I can transfer you to sales or you can e-mail sales @companyname.com
SSL: But I picked sales, why can't you help me.

"I do not know what happened to connect you to my department, but let me transfer you to sales and they can help you with your order."

<Transfers call before she can say anything else.>

Me: Ok, you can speak to the sales department again, or e-mail them at sales@ companyname.com
SSL: Ok, I want to speak to your supervisor.

"Certainly, madam. I will put you through to sales and they can connect you to a sales supervisor."

<Calls sales department and explains who is on the phone and what she wants before transferrring the call.>

That was all you needed to do. The woman was a definite SC for not listening to whatever Sales told her, but there was no need to agitate or toy with her when you knew it was not her fault she was again connected to your department.

[Chanlin]

I will definitely admit in rereading this I was being a bit sucky myself.

I will also say she is the only one that has called back after talking to the appropriate department.

[CaroPhoenix]

Well, you said you were the Technical Support Department. She wanted you to technically support her by getting her some phones. (I know ... I have a bad, an awful sense of humor).

[Chanlin]

I'm more wishing they would just get the system fixed. Everyone in technical support has been bringing it up at every monthly meeting and they keep telling us its not a high priority right now. To top things off they are getting on our cases for having high transfer rates...... Anyway I think that has a bit to do with my suckiness, but I digress I got a little carried away too.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Wait, this problem is not high priority, but they get on you for transfering too many calls? And this apparently has been going on for at least a few months now? And they haven't connected these two issues yet?

[CaroPhoenix]

Well, Book, you know what Becky says. And besides, I have a feeling all the higher ups saying it's not high priority but complaining about the high amount of transfers, all have pointy hair.

[ThePhoneGoddess]

"I do not know what happened to connect you to my department, but let me transfer you to sales and they can help you with your order."

<Transfers call before she can say anything else.>

We can't just hurry up and transfer them before they can say anything else, we have to ask permission to put them on hold. Some people simply refuse to be transferred and demand that you help them, so we then end up a 10 minute 'discussion' because they keep wanting the same thing and I keep telling them I cannot help them. I understand Chanlin's frustration, those types of callers drive me batty and ruin my Average Call Time.

[mattm04]

I work in the bakery dept for a major supermarket chain. The auto-attendant say "if you know the extension, press 1, for dept X press 2, *repeat depts until option 9*, press 0 for the customer service desk"

The number of people who press 2 (my dept) then ask me some question I can not answer AND refuse to be transferred or put on hold is astounding. We go in the stupid loop:
SC: I wnat to speak to a manager
Me: Ok, pleas hold while I connect you with one
SC: I don't want to hold
Me: I have to put you on hold to transfer the call.
SC: Well I won't let you. I will hang up now, OK *click*

She kept calling for 2 HOURS every 10-15 minutes before she stopped. Never did reach a manager, hasn't been heard for since.

[Chanlin]

We can't just hurry up and transfer them before they can say anything else, we have to ask permission to put them on hold. Some people simply refuse to be transferred and demand that you help them, so we then end up a 10 minute 'discussion' because they keep wanting the same thing and I keep telling them I cannot help them. I understand Chanlin's frustration, those types of callers drive me batty and ruin my Average Call Time.

South Texan did have a point though and I could have kept my cool a little bit.

I will also say that one bit of logic going on in the back of my head that was one transfer did not work, so doing it again was going to be a waste of my time. I really can see both sides of my being sucky and not being sucky. In any case, yes it is very frustrating that managment doesn't want to fix this problem since it apparently is supposed to be an easy fix. I just sigh and roll my eyes...