They Have a Story to Tell!

[dougiezerts]

And I don't wanna hear it!
Long-winder CS's are a real pet peeve with me. People who feel they have to tell me their situation, before they get to their request.
A few days ago, I got a customer who started telling me about something he saw on Opra Whifrey. I transfered him before he got too far with his tale!
Also, I can't stand SC's who can't get their thoughs together to quickly tell me their request. If it take you two minute to say something that can be said in a few seconds, I don't want to deal with you!

[technical.angel]

I actually somewhat enjoy those calls. Gives me a chance to open the program that I'm going to need to answer their question when they get around to asking it. I enjoy just vegging, waiting to hear a keyword that lets me know they finally asked the question.

Of course, I don't have to worry about call times or anything like that.

[Triscuitty]

I've never understood why complete strangers will tell me their life stories while they're at the register. I mean, they'll stand there holding up the line so they can tell me how their dog just got ran over or whatever. One guy told me how he lost his wife and his sister right before Christmas. I mean that's awful and I feel really bad for you, but...I don't know you, and now I'm gonna be depressed for the rest of the day! Thanks for sharing your misery!

[jaya9581]

I have to deal with this too... except with my husband! Lol He can't just ask a question, he has to either tell a story or add unnecessary words... "do you have any more X?" will be come "excuse me? Hi, yes, I was just wondering, I need some x for a project I'm working on, and I don't see it on the floor... would it be possible for you to check if you have any X out back?"

I'm gonna be in trouble when my board-trolling husband reads this... love you honey! <3

[ShinyGreenApple]

It can be annoying, but we do have to keep in mind, particularly with the older folks, that their cashiers/customer service reps/doctors, etc, are often their only form of human contact. Once you shoot the breeze with people who become regulars, you often find that they live alone; most of their relatives have either passed on, live too far away, or don't care to stop in and check on them.

Maybe I go against the grain here, but having my line held up for a few minutes and knowing that it brightened someone's day makes it all worth it.

On the other hand, I do get what some of you are talking about. Instead of simply saying they've been mis-charged for something, or need a specific product, they give you a 3 minute spiel that has absolutely next to nothing to do with their overall question.

[Stryker One]

Well, is it ok to hold up the line if the checker is really, really hot?

[myswtghst]

I'm of a mixed mind on this. To some extent, it's nice when a customer realizes that I, too, am a person, and appreciate friendly conversation. I appreciate a quick chat about sports, the weather, or current events, especially when my computer is being slow, as usual, and there's dead air to fill. I've got a few techs who I speak to on a daily basis, and I like to know how they're doing, and sometimes how the family/dog/truck is doing as well.

However, when a customer goes off on an incredibly long, completely unrelated tangent, especially if it is done in attempt to garner sympathy, or feels the need to explain the same darn thing to me 6-8 times, I'm going to get a tad annoyed. We actually have one tech who is KNOWN for doing this - he'll give you his ticket number, tell you what he did....then after you tell him "alright Elmer, got it in the notes *read back notes* and I will do *this* to follow up," he'll then repeat, at least two more times, exactly what he just told you. Almost verbatim. And at night, when we've only got two of us on the phones and potential emergency calls coming in, I do not have time for that.

[Boochan]

It can be annoying, but we do have to keep in mind, particularly with the older folks, that their cashiers/customer service reps/doctors, etc, are often their only form of human contact. Once you shoot the breeze with people who become regulars, you often find that they live alone; most of their relatives have either passed on, live too far away, or don't care to stop in and check on them.

The exact perils of my mall been across the road from a Nursing Home. Though its reasonably easy to tell which ones you talk to and chat to (even if its tedious and their is a line forming behind them) and which ones just want to waffle on about random crap. I get a lot of both, and I think I'm rather professional in handling them, and identifying which ones to chat to and which ones to just try and move them away from the counter. I haven't had to specifically ask anyone "people are waiting behind you, can you please stand to the side?", for instance.

[smileyeagle1021]

I must say I've been pretty lucky with this... I have had some customers who will get long winded on the phone because they can't see the line behind them, usually a polite "we should keep on topic, there is a que right now, and as much as I enjoy talking about (insert topic they are trying to go onto) I'm kinda on the clock right now, next time if it's slower we can talk about that"... and 99.9% of people are understanding.
Now when I worked for Longs in Reno, we had the coolest guy, he would come in every day around 3 in the afternoon (which on weekdays was the slowest part of the day), buy a beer and sit in the slots area right next to the register, play pennies on and off (mostly off) and talking with the employees between customers in our lines... kinda miss that guy, always had great stories about his youth in Eastern Germany before the collapse of the wall...

[StevieJD]

Well, is it ok to hold up the line if the checker is really, really hot?

Damn right.


And I will got back to the same checker just to get a second look.


Sorry, I am old, my wife is ugly, and there are no beautiful girls in my neighborhood. I will look all I want.

Of course touching will get me slapped and most likely shot by the sharpshooting wife, so I just look.