Recently I've had my own annoyances with customer help centers, but because of my past experience, I've gotten much better at being a call center caller. By better I don't necessarily mean being more polite; I mean getting what I want. My months in a the cube farm paid off and I thought I'd share some tips in case you're one of those forlorn souls whose tired of verifying the last four digits of your Social Security number only to be transferred to a dial tone.
DON'T THINK THAT BECAUSE SOMEONE PICKS UP THE PHONE THEY WANT TO HELP YOU.
The biggest mistake most people make when calling a call center is assuming that once they tell the rep what's wrong, the rep is going to try and solve their problem. Someone who sits in a cube eight hours of the day listening to irate people yammer on over the phone all for very little pay could really care less about some stranger's problem. The rep has his own problem to solve, mainly how to get you off the phone in as little time as possible.
IF YOU WANT SOMETHING SPECIFIC, DON'T WASTE TIME RAMBLING ON ABOUT HOW YOU DESPISE THE COMPANY.
This does not endear you to the rep or the company. Many people think that because an automated voice tells them the call may be monitored for quality assurance that the CEO is listening in. The vast majority of calls are not recorded, and the only person who hears your tale of woe is someone who has heard the same story over and over all day long to the point of anesthetism. Be calm and be brief.
Furthermore some reps will, after taking a disliking to you, add notes to your profile screen to dissuade any future reps from helping you. Your profile screen is like your permanent record. It follows you wherever you go in the cube farm.
DON'T ALLOW A REP TO REDIRECT YOU FROM THE ISSUE AT HAND.
I was very good at this, and you might be surprised to learn what percentage of angry callers hang up empty handed but happy simply because a rep could steer them away from the reason they called. In my case, I would use the tactic because their problem was not one my company could solve. So rather than simply say I can't do anything for you (because people will talk your ear off after you say something like that), I would find something in their account that I could tweak or change. Some reps will plant a hint of doubt or fear in the caller about something not related to their original concern and then magically come up with the solution to this newly invented problem. Et voila. Another happy customer.
DON'T ASK FOR A SUPERVISOR.
Doing so will almost certainly result in nothing other than you being passed over to the customer service rep's next-cube neighbor. My neighbor and I had an agreement. I was her supervisor and she was mine. If you're not getting the result you want, you'd be better off asking the rep to pass you on to another representative. Tell them their phone is cutting in and out and ask if you can be passed on to someone else. If you really think your problem merits a supervisor, it's time to write a letter.
FOR FUTURE REFERENCE GET THE NAME AND ID OF THE PERSON YOU'RE SPEAKING TO.
This one is tricky because if you ask for a rep's employee ID flat out, they'll assume you want to tattle on them. Try this route instead: Midway in the conversation say in a soothing voice, "You know, So-and-So, you are the first person I've spoken to at your company who understands and is actually trying to help. If I write a letter commending you for good service, do you have a last name or a number or something I can identify you with?
Most reps have some sort of incentive program where they get extra shekels when a customer pays them a compliment. You don't care about a compliment; you just want to be able to say John with employee i.d. 247356 said I should have a credit as opposed to I thought you said I was getting a credit. Notice one has more clout.
DON'T AUTOMATICALLY DISCOUNT THE OVERSEAS CUSTOMER SERVICE REP.
I have found that these people are often far more willing to do something than the stateside crew is. You just have to know how to talk to them. Many people make the mistake of thinking the overseas rep doesn't understand English. They likely do understand English provided it's not too colloquial. If your rampage is fast and heated with run-on sentences and incomplete thoughts, the rep will have difficulty understanding what you want. If you find yourself on the phone with someone who lives in a country where they celebrate Force your Daughter to Work Day, be succinct and use simple sentences.
NO WHEN TO CALL IT QUITS.
I recently had an issue with Vonage phone service where they failed to close my account on time as instructed and billed me for an additional month of service. At first I thought it might be a mistake, so I called their customer support line. After I spoke with the third rep and had waited on hold for north of forty minutes, I realized I was the fool. This was no mistake; it was a shady business practice on their part and no one I spoke with would have the power to help solve my problem. Their call center was designed to frustrate callers to the point of hanging up prematurely and not cancelling the service as a result.
I did finally get the credit back to my account, but it was only after writing a few emails and digging up the phone number of someone who had the authority to make changes. If you're getting the runaround, it's up to you to stop running. There's no point in rushing through a rat race if you're never going to get any cheese.
Before I wrap up, I want to make a request. Some of the favorite comments left on entries I wrote about my horrible experiences with Charter Communications came from people who identified themselves as former Charter employees. If you work in a call center, I want to hear from you. What are some ways callers can make your job easier and still get what they want?
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