Do you like to close your calls properly?

[Jack]

If you work in a call center you probably have some spiel, whether vague or strictly scripted, that you should try to rattle off at the end of a call. Mine is something along the lines of: Blah blah we did this to solve this and you're good to go now, is there anything else I can do for you? Thanks for calling company, have a great day.

Most times it doesn't happen this way. Most times, once customer decides they're done, they're suddenly very busy and will say "Yeah, yeah, uh-huh" impatiently, if they allow me to close at all. For some reason I find this irritating. They can call, wait on hold through our currently horrible queue, and talk to me for a good while, but can't bear a few seconds of call-closing script? I always wonder what QA will think. Is it good that I try to close anyway or bad that I close even when customer seems impatient? I haven't got any bad reviews on that so I guess I'm doing it right.

I like to let reps I've called close properly while not lingering (the other irritating extreme). Do you prefer this? Does this preference, if so, outweigh the metrics advantage of customers who skip the closing bit by saying goodbye and hanging up themselves before you get to it?

[50 mission cap]

mine is along the lines of.... thank you for your time and for choosing XX company,

then we have four specific things to mention about our website and also have to gave our contact phone number.

if we miss anything we lose on quality

some customers listen but also many just hang up after you have answered there question, we also get dinged for our sales component if they hang up.

[TelephoneAngel]

yes it is irritating if they don't wait for the closing script, my closing script states that I must check if they were satisfied that i handled their call correctly and if they need any other service from our company.

It doesnt make much sense because if i could help them of course they were satisfied and if i couldn't help them or refused them authorisation money they are likely not to be satisfied.

When i have helped them and been polite i feel angry when they hang up as i'm giving them the closing speech and feel like calling back and saying "do you know how impolite it is to hang up on someone when they are in they middle of talking when I've just spent twenty minutes helping you?"

I feel nobody really listens to the closing speech as they got what they wanted and dont need anything else.

However there is always one who hears "is there anything other service you need from our company today", and despite the fact that this is a TIMED call, will ask something either stupid like

"yes can you come and clean my house"

or else will say "was there was this one problem that i needed to ask about..........."

generally this has nothing to do with the reason they phoned in the first place and keeps me on the phone a further ten minutes trying to sort it out...........

[Geek King]

They can call, wait on hold through our currently horrible queue, and talk to me for a good while, but can't bear a few seconds of call-closing script?

Actually, all the waiting is why they don't want to wait longer on the script being read. From the consumer point of view, I can completly understand it, as most closing scripts can go on and on for no useful purpose. The best ending script I've run accross is the one my company's cell technical support provider uses*:

Tech: Is there anything else I can help you with today?
Me: No, looks like that will do it.
Tech: Great! Thank you for calling <Cell Phone Provider>, have a great day!
Me: You too! Good Bye.
[end call]

Its quick and doesn't waste anyone's time without feeling like I'm being rushed along.


*One of my duties is taking care of our cell phone fleet, so I talk to the support line every time there is a technical issue or a phone gets swapped.

[Jack]

That's all our ending spiel is and some people can't be bothered with that. It's that I don't understand. I can dig not wanting to sit around for a full formal speech and sales pitch after a call though.

[crashhelmet]

When I worked for Big Brown Delivery Company, I got docked on a QA score for not saying the closing. i didn't say the closing because the caller hung up on me before I had the chance. Tried to fight it and still lost. Gawd I hated working for them.

CH

[Ironclad Alibi]

So you're supposed to say the closing into a dead line?

[Midorikawa]

So you're supposed to say the closing into a dead line?

Yes. <Cable company> I used to work for wrote me up for not giving the closing to a dead line once - Not giving the closing is an automatic fail on quality. A 0 on quality == a writeup. even though there was noone to give the closing to, I still failed. Have I ever said I hated that job? :-P

[42_42_42]

The Logic...it is non-existent....

[Ironclad Alibi]

It's not only the customers that think we should be good little robots.

[Magpie]

I've been known to speak over the representative's closing. It's generally "No, thank you for your help", forgetting that they're obligated to follow "is there anything else" with "I can help you with today" and possibly some other filler words too.

[arminius58]

I have to admit I'm kinda guilty of this, and as someone said earlier, its because we usually had to wait half an hour or longer to get to someone, by the time the problem is fixed we're ready to get off the phone. Especially someone like me who doesn't really like the phone anyway, it probably does sound like I'm rushing them, well mainly cause I am.

[Damien]

Guilty also - and it is definitely because I am in a hurry.

[Jack]

Thanks for the responses and perspective, all.

[Damien]

i got to sy after reading the posts in this thread, I am now quite willing to hear out the closing lines so that the rep does not get into trouble.