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Pointlessly Continuing the Call

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  • Pointlessly Continuing the Call

    I work for a company that believes in specialization. This means I cannot help you unless you fall within a specific category of caller and are calling for a certain set of reasons.

    Inevitably, I get someone who is bound and determined that I help them no matter who they are or what they need.

    Understand, if they are not the callers I speak with or are calling about something other than what my department handles, I CANNOT help them. I do not have access to the information they need.

    Yet, even after determining that they are not someone I can help, I offer to transfer them to the right place and then they go back to the Garden of Eden and tell their whole story in the hopes that, somewhere in there, is the part where I can help them.

    Folks, if I tell you I cannot help you, let me get you to someone who can. Do not try to convince me that I can help you when I can't!

    Also, if I tell you, "Sorry, I can only speak with [insert category] here", do not respond, "Okay, we'll just say I am [appropriate category here]" to try to get around it. If you're not in the right department, you're not in the right department. Pretending you are doesn't change that!

  • #2
    Today:

    Me: What is the name of your client?
    Caller: Let me stop you right there (at this point, I know he's in the wrong place). Goes into a spiel about what he needs.
    Me: Ok, well we don't handle that here, we only handle [this specific situation]. Let me get you to where you need to be.
    Caller: I have another question. Goes into a long detailed story about something else that he needs that is obviously not related to what I told him this department handles.
    Me: Ok, well like I said, we only handle [this specific situation] here, so let me get you to someone who can help you.
    Caller: This is why I don't do business with this company....

    He doesn't do business with this company because, when he hits the wrong prompt, we send him to the right department? Is that what he's saying?

    Once again, after I've told you that this department cannot assist you, do not try to get me to help you with other things that are also not related to my department!

    Why do people do that?

    Comment


    • #3
      Hell, we get that all the time!

      "I want to stop my paper."
      "OK, this is advertising, I need to transfer you to circulation."
      "No! Don't transfer me! I was on hold forever! You take care of it!"
      "Ma'am, I cannot take care of it, as not only do I not have your account information, I don't have the computer system that handles delivery."
      "I don't care! Don't transfer me!"
      I transfer the call. Whereupon idiot calls our dept. back and goes through the whole thing again.

      And by the way, our dept's "hold" message gives the circulation dept's phone number twice.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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      • #4
        Exactly! Our phone tree lists the right prompts...they just hit any old button they want.

        No matter how many times you've been transferred; no matter how long you've been hold, I cannot help you!

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        • #5
          When calls like this occur on a regular basis with the same customers, you need to present it to the highest up with the following:

          If they're failing to follow directions time after time, thus making our job harder and wasting their time; is it worth even continuing business with them? If an employee continued to not follow any directions given to them, would you withhold their paycheck for the time and money wasted? No! You would fire them. Customers that abuse the system and harass employees get banned from stores, so the same should apply to clients.

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          • #6
            Got this a lot at the cell phone call center too.

            Normally these calls would fall under two types.

            The warranty call and warranty isnt open and they wanted us to do an excahnge.. which of course we couldnt,

            Or they had huge overages or were really really late (like three months) and wanted us to waive charges or turn thier service back on without them paying.

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            • #7
              All the time! Ugh.

              Even worse is when the customer already has an account with us and has been dealing with a very specific sale/issue with a specific rep. Their rep may be at lunch/in the bathroom/wherever... and the customer always asks if I can "just look it up." No... I don't have access to other reps' emails or phone logs. I don't know what he/she has told you. "Oh... well is there anyone else who can help?"

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              • #8
                Someone did that to my husband. His company operates that way. He refused to be transfered to the right place, and kept saying how mad that must make my husband. Finally the guy relents and says to transfer him. The department had closed five mins ago. It took a lot for my husband to ask him how mad that must make him.
                The angels have the phone box.

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