Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Lying to me will not engender sympathy

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
Collapse
 
  • Page of 1
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
Previous template Next
  • #1

    Lying to me will not engender sympathy

    Among the many things we do in the call center, we take calls for various tech support groups, get the basic information, then either get someone from TS on the line, or have them call the customer back. Today has been exceedingly busy for all the groups, including mine (dispatch), so we've mostly been having call backs, as opposed to trying to hold for someone, unless the issue was a priority 1/emergency. Given that every group has had calls in queue, this is understandable.

    In the story below, I'm mostly paraphrasing. The caller I shall dub Raging Loon was very yell-y, and had a very thick accent which made him nearly unintelligible. Plus, he had a tendency to simply repeat what you said without understanding it, or to answer questions with completely unrelated answers. All of which was very frustrating, as his call was a low priority issue with a printer, and not an emergency. And for the duration of the story, multiple queue lights were on and flashing, reminding me of other, saner customers who needed my help.

    RL - Raging Loon
    Me -
    S - Supervisor-y type
    TS - Poor TS lady

    Me: Answers phone in typical fashion.
    RL: Mumbles about lots of things in loud but very unclear voice, making it hard to understand what he's getting at. Eventually gets around to mentiong case number.
    Me: Thank you sir, let me just pull that case up. Alright, I see this was for your suchandsuch equipment and...
    RL: Yes, TS was working on it and hasn't gotten back to me. I need to speak to her.
    Me: Alright, hold on just a moment. IM's TS, who is on a call I'm sorry, TS is on a call at this time, would you like me to have her call you back?
    RL: No.
    Me: ....Ok, well, if you'd like, I can try to get someone else from support on the line for you...
    RL: Well, see, I got this error message when I set up the new printer and blahblahblah....
    Me: I'm sorry sir, I'm not tech support. I can either have TS call you back, or put you on hold and try to get someone from support on the line for you.
    RL: Fine. Get someone for me.
    Me: Thank you, please hold. Puts RL on hold for about 5 minutes - at that point, as I go back to see if he'd like to continue holding, his call drops
    *Note: Our procedure is to put them on hold no longer than 5 minutes, checking back occasionally to let them know we're still holding*

    I go about my work, take a few of the calls in queue, and then....

    Me: Usual greeting schpiel
    RL: Hi, this is Raging Loon again. You put me on hold for over 15 minutes so I had to hang up. I need to talk to TS!
    Me: Sir, I had you on hold for no more than 5 minutes, which I have a call log and notes to verify. Tech support is very busy at this time, and TS is still on a call (IMed her as soon as his call came through) If you like, I can put you on hold for someone in tech support, but it may take some time to get someone.
    RL: Fine.
    Me: Puts RL on hold for about 2 minutes, then returns to his call I'm sorry, I'm still unable to get anyone on the line. Is there any way I can have someone call you back, since this is a low priority issue?
    RL: Do you have any idea how long that will take?
    Me: I'm sorry sir, I don't. As I said, tech support is very busy at this time, and is handling issues based on their severity. I have let TS know that you need her to follow up, and she will when she has time.
    RL: That is not good enough! My printer is down! I want to speak to a manager!

    Around this time, S has heard me dealing with this guy, and has seen my gesturing and heard my "do not lie to me!" comments during the hold time, and as such, has wandered over. He offers to take the call, but tells me if it happens again, just hang up on the guy, as we don't have time for this.

    Me: Please hold RL, and I'll get a supervisor on the phone for you. Transfers RL to S, who takes it from there.

    I continue taking calls, and all is quiet.....until....
    Me: Gives the schpiel
    RL: I was on the phone with Steve and the call dropped! Put him back on the line!
    Me: Please hold....calls S Dude, I'm really sorry. RL is calling back...
    S: Put him through.

    Thankfully, I have not heard from RL since, though TS let me know that he is always worked up and not to take it personally. S also wandered back over to let me know that he understood my frustration, as he had trouble understanding RL and could tell that RL wasn't really listening to anything he said.

    I think the thing that really got me peeved here was that he flat out lied to me. Did he really think lying to me about something I knew was untrue would get him sympathy? It only made me want to help him less, and want to hang up more.
    "In the end I was the mean girl/or somebody's in between girl"~Neko Case

    “You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” ~William Stafford
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Quoth myswtghst View Post
    Me: Puts RL on hold for about 2 minutes, then returns to his call I'm sorry, I'm still unable to get anyone on the line. Is there any way I can have someone call you back, since this is a low priority issue?
    I have no sympathy for this guy, because I hate it when customers exaggerate, but did you really tell him his problem was low priority?

    Most workplaces will prioritize customer issues, as well we should, but I don't think I'd ever actually tell a customer that his problem was currently low on our list of things to do. I wouldn't lie and say "We're on it! Nothing is more important to us right now!", but I'd probably bullshit a bit, you know? Grease the wheels so they don't get so pissed off.

    If you have to ask, it's probably better posted at www.fratching.com

    Comment

    • #3
      I obviously can't speak for myswtghst, but I can speak for me: I will tell someone if their issue priority is low. Then again, I'm also not the person answering the phones normally. But the customer does need to know that I'm one person, my time is stretched tight, and their issue will not be done right now.

      So, I'd tell him it's low priority. But would phrase it more like "That's not an emergency situation, and right now I've got several emergencies going on simultaneously. I'll take care of your issue as soon as I can."

      Comment

      • #4
        Quoth Boozy View Post
        I have no sympathy for this guy, because I hate it when customers exaggerate, but did you really tell him his problem was low priority?
        When customers open cases, we have them tell us what priority it is - 1 is an emergency, 2 is medium, 3 is something like 1 printer down. They're completely aware that we do this and are informed when they sign the contract for support that priority 1 issues will always take precedence, to ensure that real emergencies are taken care of. Technically, we can even try to talk a customer down if they want a priority 1 for something that clearly isn't, though if they insist, we have to go with their decision.

        So yes, I did remind him it was a priority 3 issue and that it would be handled as such. But that's exactly what I'm supposed to do.
        "In the end I was the mean girl/or somebody's in between girl"~Neko Case

        “You don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.” ~William Stafford

        Comment

        • #5
          There are people who can't survive without a printer?

          I haven't had a printer for YEARS.
          Unseen but seeing
          oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane-KiaKat
          There isn't enough interpretive dance in the workplace these days-Irv
          3rd shift needs love, too
          RIP, mo bhrionglóid

          Comment

          • #6
            I was actually happier when my old printer broke than when I had it.

            Having your own printer in college=your room turning into a Kinko's annex when your roommates know you have it.

            After it broke I just took my disks down to the computer lab on campus to do my printing.
            Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

            "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

            Comment

            • #7
              I'm with IPF, if not for the issue of roommates and floormates using your room as Kinko's, then for the sheer volume of materials the school ( my school ) expects us to print out.

              Three of my classes that meet M W F have the class notes posted online, so we have to print them out before class, ~15 pages a pop. My T Th classes are the same deal, except ~10 pages each. My M F class has note packets ~20 pages each class, and the W F class is about the same.

              Basically, my printer would run dry every month at best if I used it to print all my materials for school. The ( free! ) computer labs on campus are lifesavers.

              And they gave me a job for about 4 months.

              Comment

              • #8
                Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
                I was actually happier when my old printer broke than when I had it.
                Mine didn't break, I just got rid of it. When you don't do enough printing in a school year to use an entire cartridge, and then don't print at all during the summer, causing the cartridge to dry out, and this happens two years in a row...

                It is actually cheaper for me to just print in the school library at 10 cents a page rather than paying $50+ for a cartridge. $5 on my card lasted me almost an entire school year. It would have lasted longer, but I buggered up on some photocopying.
                Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

                http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

                Comment

                • #9
                  Quoth Irving Patrick Freleigh View Post
                  I was actually happier when my old printer broke than when I had it.

                  Having your own printer in college=your room turning into a Kinko's annex when your roommates know you have it.
                  Charge them. Charge them more than Kinkos would. "Hey, guys, you want to use it, you gotta help pay for the ink and stuff..."

                  Comment

                  Previous template Next
                  Working...