And if the situation were reversed...

[Syndrn]

Had a rude guy call in today with a question.

RG - I need a price on an aerator installed

Me - Hold on.

Me - I'm sorry K is with a customer can I have him call you back?

RG - Don't you know the price?

Me - No, I'm sorry I don't

RG - Why do they change every day?

Me - No, however, I don't have anything to do with equipment pricing.

RG - Why can't he pick up the phone?

Me - He's with a customer. But I can have him call you back.

RG - Why can't he pick up for a few seconds?

Me - Because it's rude to interrupt the customer he's helping for a phone call.

RG - I do it all the time.

Me - Well, I don't

RG - That's how you make money.

Me - Not if the customer in the store leaves due to our rudeness.

RG - I guess I'll have to come in if I want any help.

Me - No, once again, I can have him call you back.

Click!

And if he were the customer in the store?

[MrSunshineState]

And if he were the customer in the store?

He could complain and demand the aerator be installed free as compensation?

[Shironu-Akaineko]

I'd excuse myself for a phone call every time he'd open his mouth.

[auntiem]

Sorry, person that got off their butt and comes in trumps phone everytime (unless it is a long distance emergency and most people at my desk understand that).
I'm always amazed that right after I say "I have someone at my desk, I'll have to call you back" - they proceed to launch into what all they want anyways and I have to interupt them and repeat myself. Guess who goes to the back of the call back list

[allniter]

Just say he's with your biggest client who always gets first priority.

[Sliceanddice]

Reminds me of drive thru.
People come in while im say elbow deep in mixing up 5 shakes for the car at the window and everyone else is busy. I quickly hit the button and say "Welcome to JIB, i will be with you in a second ok." Hit my button again, and go back to my shake making or what ever. And in my ear i have them rambling off their order, and then them saying it again then them saying "Hello? are you there" once i just hit my button again and said "Ma'am/Sir i am currently unable to take your order, and if you continue to try to order i will be forced to put in the prder as i heard and i will refuse to change any errors made because you couldn't wait." another time when i this happened they just drove through and got pissed when their food took 3 minutes on top of the 5 they waited in the drive thru, because they couldnt wait 30 seconds for me to finish what i was doing and take their order.

[BusyBee]

The job I'm at now is the first where they've had multiple phone lines... It's a lot to get used to.
But so far, every time I've answered the phone with the usual greeting followed by "can I just put you on hold for a minute?" I've immediately been pleasantly answered with "Yes/Sure." It was a bit of a shock actually
What I hate is when I answer it, and after however long talking to them I ask to put them on hold, they say fine/sure, I go back to their line less than 30 seconds later to find they're gone! I mean dude, you said you'd be happy to hold, I wasn't even half a minute off the line with you... Then you just hang up and I end up feeling like I musta pressed the wrong button, which I *know* I didn't! Bah!

[Brynhild]

I quickly hit the button and say "Welcome to JIB, i will be with you in a second ok." Hit my button again, and go back to my shake making or what ever. And in my ear i have them rambling off their order, and then them saying it again then them saying "Hello? are you there"

That happens to me all the time! *sigh* I'm the only front employee until 6am, and people just don't understand that I can't keep track of five different orders in my head, press the button on my headset, and prepare all the orders at the same time. I had one woman come through in the middle of the night and order three sandwiches, and then the guy right behind her just wanted one 75 cent item, and when I told him that it would be a few minutes, he demanded to know how much longer it would take. I tried to explain that I was in the middle of the previous car's order and it would probably take about five minutes. His response? "That's too long!" and he backed out of the drive-thru lane and then sped out of the parking lot, pressing hard on his horn as he left to emphasize his displeasure. *shrug*

[tollbaby]

What I hate is when I answer it, and after however long talking to them I ask to put them on hold, they say fine/sure, I go back to their line less than 30 seconds later to find they're gone!

My theory is that there is a rare species of customer who has never learned how to end a conversation. They'll go on and on, asking useless questions and wasting your time and his.... simply because he hasn't got the slightest clue hot to put a stop to it. Then you, purveyor of miracles, ask if you can put him on hold. He is saved! Now he can hang up the phone and be freed without having to figure out how to end the tedious conversation! You, my friend, are a hero!

[Andara Bledin]

My theory is that there is a rare species of customer who has never learned how to end a conversation. They'll go on and on, asking useless questions and wasting your time and his.... simply because he hasn't got the slightest clue hot to put a stop to it. Then you, purveyor of miracles, ask if you can put him on hold. He is saved! Now he can hang up the phone and be freed without having to figure out how to end the tedious conversation! You, my friend, are a hero!

Heh. We call those the "life story" people. They seem to be unable to actually get to the point of the conversation and you have to prompt and prod at every pause before you figure out what in tarnation they really want. And it's usually something that could have been asked for with three words and no exposition.

The job I'm at now is the first where they've had multiple phone lines... It's a lot to get used to.
But so far, every time I've answered the phone with the usual greeting followed by "can I just put you on hold for a minute?" I've immediately been pleasantly answered with "Yes/Sure." It was a bit of a shock actually

Just a bit of advice, but when doing phones, it's generally better if you avoid the word "hold" whenever possible. I just tell people, "One moment" and give them a chance to object before parking the call. I can't remember anyone that ever has. Well, except for the lying SC's who claim that they were on hold for an impossible length of time and hung up to call again, that is.

^-.-^

[PizzaBoy]

The job I'm at now is the first where they've had multiple phone lines... It's a lot to get used to.
But so far, every time I've answered the phone with the usual greeting followed by "can I just put you on hold for a minute?" I've immediately been pleasantly answered with "Yes/Sure." It was a bit of a shock actually
What I hate is when I answer it, and after however long talking to them I ask to put them on hold, they say fine/sure, I go back to their line less than 30 seconds later to find they're gone! I mean dude, you said you'd be happy to hold, I wasn't even half a minute off the line with you... Then you just hang up and I end up feeling like I musta pressed the wrong button, which I *know* I didn't! Bah!

Just be happy that they did say yes. I used to ask permission to put them on hold because it was the polite thing to do. Later on, I've gotten a few rude people saying "NO. I WILL NOT HOLD!!" In this case, I have no idea what to do, since I am already dealing with another customer. In that case, I usually just put them on hold anyway (I once tricked a co-worker into taking care of them ). It's so rude to say no when asked that question because it's just like cutting in line. I now say "Domino's pizza, hold one moment please" and if they don't like it, they don't have to order here. My paycheck is the same regardless of how much business we bring in, so I'm not losing any sleep over the fact that we lost some stupid customers.