I can't help you over the phone AND ring up people at the same time...

[Android Kaeli]

I work in at Random Craft Store and have been for a number of years. We've been busy the last two weeks with Christmas stuff and people coming in with receipt coupons to use. No big deal.

Last week I was at the register with two older ladies -- probably in their late fifties, early sixties -- when the phone rings. Now anyone who is running register also needs to pick up the phone, ask where they need to direct their questions to, and then page the right department/person to help the customer on the phone. Eight out of ten times the cashier can't just drop what they are doing and check on something, unless the product is right there in front of them and they just can't keep letting the phone ring over and over again -- we've been told to don't do that.

Anyways, I picked up the phone and said the usual greeting. I had the first lady's money in my hand and was about to punch it in when I picked up the call. The customer on the other end of the phone wanted to know if there were frames on sale this week, and I said I'd send her call over to the frame shop. I must have said that six times because the lady couldn't understand the simple fact that I couldn't just run back over there to see if there was anything on sale.

When she asked me if I could look up at the ad, I point blankly told her that I had a line, we were busy, and that I'd HAVE to send her call over to the frame shop. She got all huffy and said fine, send her to the frame shop.

The two ladies in my line actually LAUGHED at the lady on the phone, saying that they'd do the same thing as I did. I laughed with them and got them on their way.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Well, at least the customers you were helping were nice about it. Some people would yell at you for answering the phone at all...(been there...bleh...and where I worked the cashiers were the last people who were supposed to answer the phone so if we did it was because it had been ringing for a bit.)

[looney_librarian]

Or you could get the customers that got mad because you let the phone ring and ring and it was anooying them. Just like used to happen when I worked at MP.

[RetailSlave]

The other day I was Service Coordinator and was also covering Service Desk, since there was only one person there and they were on a break. My SC phone rang with an outside call and I was talking to the customer on there when two of the SD phones started ringing...since I couldn't take two or three calls at once I let the SD phones ring. About a minute later Bridgette, the Store Director in Charge came up on her phone saying that Karen, the Store Director, wanted to know why the SerVice Desk wasn't answering their phone. I told Bridgette that I was up there by myself and was on my SC phone with a customer. Turns out one of the calls to the SD was Karen, but she was on the phone with Bridgette and heard me say that I was on the SC phone with a customer.

We are supposed to answer the phone within 3 rings but if I am with a customer I don't always pick up right away...I think it is really rude to walk away from a customer who is already there to answer a phone call. It really gets bad when the departments aren't staffed, because then calls to their phones get forwarded to the Service Desk so we can be inundated with ringing phones.

[mattm04]

Thankfully our stor has a auto-attendant that routs calls the the most commn depts. But sometimes if the SD onlu has one person and is helping a customer and they get a call it my have top ring a few times.

We used to be allowed to answer the call, say pleas hold and get someone to take it. One Old lady complained that se was in lied and the clerk answered it, told the caller to hold and went back to the customer.

Not they say it is best to let the phone ring, until all customers are gone (by which point the caller has hung up assuming we are ignoring calls to be lazy, etc.).

Not decision corp.