How To Get What You Want From Call Centers

[Anonymous]

It's a dimension not of sight or sound per se, but of long hold times, anonymous representatives who sound like they would rather be undergoing root canals than talking to you, of saccharin-sounding people with counterfeit smiles informing you that your call is very important to them...for the fifteenth time...even as your phone emits that beep that says your battery is about to die.

You have entered...the call center zone.

But take heart! There IS a method to dealing with call centers and getting the results you want. I know, because I worked in call centers for six years. If you want to know more, read my blog, because this week is devoted to mastery of the call center.

[Anonymous]

Not if you know backdoor numbers. I know mine for BoA!!

[Anonymous]

I agree with you, NWM!!

Personally, I've NEVER been rude to a CSR, even if they were rude to me. My mama would fly the 1000+ miles down here to smack me upside the head if I were ever rude to ANYONE. And I'd get a smack on the head only because a hickory switch ain't considered "carry-on luggage!"

And I've found that fighting their rudeness with even MORE niceness usually results in an attitude change on their part. And I always make sure to say "Thank you," "Please," "Sir," "Ma'am," etc. It might help that I do have a southern accent (which I think makes the other person either pity me for being a hick -- I am!! -- or think I'm harmless!). And I always make a point to tell them that I really do appreciate their help, to ask them to please have a nice day, and so on.

So far, I've never had a person be rude to me for very long!

[Anonymous]

Generally, when a call center rep is rude, it's for one of a handful of reasons:

1) They're treated like peasants with dung on their shoes by their own management, and don't feel they have any stake in the success of the company anyway.

Your best response is, as Wonderin pointed out, to be nice to them. Win their sympathy, and give them a stake in helping YOU out with YOUR individual situation. Get a person-to-person rapport going.


2) They are just rude people on general principles. This is actually rare, if for no other reason than most customer contact centers don't tolerate rudeness on the part of their employees.

If this is the case, there's not much you can do except ask for a supervisor.


3) The last person (or several people) they spoke with was rude and insulting.

Wonderin had the right idea: be kind, and give the rep a reason to see YOU differently.

[Anonymous]

1) So true!  I worked in a call center for an insurance company for 6 years. 

2) Most rude people wouldn't want to work in a call center anyway, so that's usually not the problem.

3) Keep in mind how often the call center reps get yelled at in a day...either by their management or by callers.  And most of the time when they have a horrible call, they don't even get a chance to take a deep breath before the phone rings again.  A lot of call centers have auto answer set up too, so they can't even take 2 rings to calm down.  It's amazing how many people will just start screaming and swearing at a rep if they don't get the answer they want, and it's really hard not to take it personally sometimes. 

It's true that the reps can be penalized even for going to the bathroom...in my department we were scheduled for breaks and lunches and were considered out of compliance if we got stuck on a long call and had to leave late for lunch.  We weren't judged on average handle time, but other departments were.

We were treated as the replaceable peons that we were...before and after half of the department lost their jobs to overseas!  Then the callers were even worse to us after they'd gone through talking to an offshore rep before they got to us!

[haulingthescoreup]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I agree with you, NWM!!

Personally, I've NEVER been rude to a CSR, even if they were rude to me. My mama would fly the 1000+ miles down here to smack me upside the head if I were ever rude to ANYONE. And I'd get a smack on the head only because a hickory switch ain't considered "carry-on luggage!"

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Yay for your mama! I knew you were brought up right when I read "upside the head!" And Southern accents do work, even if it's because they think you're a freak.

Seriously though, everyone, remember the sh!tty jobs you had while growing up, or while pulling things back together again, and have mercy on the CSR's. And if they truly hate their management, they might be even more inspired to help you out.

[Anonymous]

TNWM - I enjoy reading your blog and you do provide useful information. I am a call center trainer and have concern regarding the following statement you posted:

If the rep says no, try some gentle but firm persuasion, but if you don't make headway within a few minutes, and you feel the rep's explanation for the denial was incorrect or insufficient, ask for a supervisor. Most call-center reps will actually be grateful for your request and accomodate it as quickly as possible. Here's why: time spent arguing with you just raises the rep's blood pressure and, more importantly, increases their handle time (time spent on the call). Long handle times are bad. Most reps would much rather escalate the call to second level or management after ten minutes or so than burn up a half-hour arguing back and forth. Remember also that first-level reps' authority is carefully circumscribed. If they keep denying your request, they're likely denying it because they've been trained--and are evaluated accordingly!--to remain within proscribed limits. In all likelihood, they're not trying to stymie you.

Depending on industry, some call center reps may not be able to give customers what they want. However, many have the authority to provide options. Many customers (and I include myself) feel we are entitled to whatever request we make. The reality is - that is not always the case. Advising people to always escalate a call when they do not get what they want encourages people to continue to try and circumvent the process just to get their way. What consumers should be looking for is if the company they are working with provides options. You may not always get what you want - and frankly you may not be entitled to it. We (company) appreciate your business and your loyality. That does not mean that everytime something happens to your your disadvange, the ball should swing in your favor.

We as consumers feel that we can threaten, yell, kick, scream, take out business elsewhere to get what we feel we deserve. If the issue wasn't due to company error there should be no sense of entitlement.  We train our representatives to be empowered and give options. The options may not always be what you want, however it is definitely is better than a flat no. Advising people to escalate their calls when they don't get the result they want is irresponsible.

Most representatives do not want their calls to escalate for several reasons: (1) if a rep continues to escalate calls, it gives the impression they do not know their job and/or are not able to work with customers effectively, It's an immediate coaching which is not positive and, (2) most representatives actually want  to work with you. They do not enjoy transferring callers to a supervisor just because the caller did not get what he/she wanted.

As I stated earlier, call centers representatives vary by industry and additional issues may arise if the company outsources.  Keep in mind not all outsourcing is international. Many companies enlist smaller companies to handle their overflow or after hours calls. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and opinions.

[Anonymous]

Oh, Hauling ... trust me, I WAS brought up right ... now whether I'd act like it if I didn't have the constant threat of a not-so-friendly meetin' with Mr. Hickory Switch to worry about if I failed to ACT like it is another thing!!

My Mama's a true Steel Magnolia ... and I'm lucky enough that nowadays, I not only see "her hand" popping out of my coat sleeve when I get dressed for cold weather, but I THINK like her, too. And ask my kids: I'm channeling her, too!!

Guess that's what happens when you realize you have to grow up! And that, of course, is why I'm here!!

And yep, I remember my crappy "Mall jobs" as a teenager ... and I remember dealing with jerks and how it made ME feel to be treated poorly and as though I wasn't a person (just a peon). I swore then that I would NEVER treat anyone that way. And I'm proud to say that in the 20 some years since then, I NEVER have!!

"If'n you can't say something nice, shut up!!" is my motto!

Message Edited by Wonderin on 06-12-2008 09:09 PM