Be on the line when you call in!

[MrSunshineState]

So I was monitoring a call on one of my Team Members, we will just call him "R". This is of course a recorded call that I have to score (any call center employee knows what I mean) not a live call.


R: R (lol)
SC: of course

R: Thank you for calling ____ _______ this is R may I ask your name please?
*5 second pause*
R: Thank you for calling ____ _______ this is R may I ask your name please?
*5 second pause*
R: Thank you for calling ____ _______ this is R may I ask your name please?
*5 second pause*
R: Thank you for calling ____ _______ this is R may I ask your name please?
*5 second pause*
R: I am unable to establish contact, please call back anytime 24/7 at 1-888-XXX-XXXX, that number again is 1-888-XXX-XXXX
SC: Hello?
Me:

[myswtghst]

I get this ALL the time at work. I pick up, spit out my greeting, only to be met with crappy hold music. If you put me on hold, I'm hanging up. That's it. Especially if we have calls in queue. I know you didn't want to wait, but someone else was willing to not put the line on hold while they waited, I'd rather deal with them.

[MrSunshineState]

I am the same way. R really went above and beyond there, because you are only required to state the greeting twice. Of course that call got ALOT better (sarcasm on 'better'). Basically it was a simple call. One that could have been handled in 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. But because of SC's stupidity, the call lasted 11:29.

[Simply Amazed]

I get this ALL the time at work. I pick up, spit out my greeting, only to be met with crappy hold music. If you put me on hold, I'm hanging up. That's it. Especially if we have calls in queue. I know you didn't want to wait, but someone else was willing to not put the line on hold while they waited, I'd rather deal with them.

I generally go one better. I'll wait till I hear them picking up the phone then finish the ghost call script and hang up on them before they can talk. Haven't gotten in trouble for this one ever and I've been a call center guy practically forever.

Sometimes you have to train your customers.

[NightAngel]

That's annoying. I get that at work sometimes- we aren't scripted so I simply state, "I don't know if you can hear me but I cannot hear you, goodbye." and hang-up. Most of the time it's someone on a cel phone and they call back immediately.

On the flip side:
I hate when businesses call me and when I answer it's a recorded message to, "Stay on the line- this is an important call." I just hang-up. My theory is that if you actually had something important to say there would be a real live person already on the line when I answer.

[myswtghst]

As an addendum, the people who do this to me are usually the ones who call back, in a snit because "someone" hung up on them. They then proceed to want to open an emergency ticket at 10pm and pull an on call tech for some miniscule problem. (We have an ALI/ANI caller ID system similar to 911 call centers, so I know where the hold callers are calling from)

[ominousoat]

We get three turns and then hang up. I should come up with something to say though, since we don't have a ghost call script...

[BookstoreEscapee]

This was my favorite kind of call:

Me: Thank you for calling BN Mytown, Me speaking, how may I help you?
Them: Hi I need to know if you have a book. Wait, can I just put you on hold for one minute?
Me: Uh...

On the bright side, sometimes they had better hold music than us.

[myswtghst]

Wait, can I just put you on hold for one minute?

At least they asked before they did it. Seriously.

[BookstoreEscapee]

At least they asked before they did it. Seriously.

True...I've had people put me on hold, then end up having to put them on hold, then picked them back up and was still on hold... We'd get our share of ghost callers too. Luckily we just do our spiel, give an extra "Hello?" and if there's still no one there we just hang up.

[Sonoma]

If you put me on hold, I'm hanging up. That's it. Especially if we have calls in queue. I know you didn't want to wait, but someone else was willing to not put the line on hold while they waited, I'd rather deal with them.

I get this at work too, but I'll usually give them 20-30 seconds before I hang up. Where I work, we're required to give a hold time 'window', and if it's been pushing that window, you have to go back to the first line & let them know that you're still waiting. Usually I just pop back to their line, apologize for the wait, and let them know that I'm on hold as well. Doesn't take 30 seconds, but that way they don't think you've forgotten them.

If there's no one there after 30 seconds, bye bye, thanks for calling.

[Pinkie]

Where I work, we pre-record our greeting..."Thank you for calling Blaa Blaa Energy, this is Mrs. Pinkie, How may I help you?" If I get silence on the other end, I'll say "Hello" three times, pausing for 5 seconds between each one....if I don't hear anything I hang up. Heck...you called me, don't put me on hold. Also, if I hear awful hold music or worse, hold commercials, I don't even give them the standard Hello's...I just hit the disconnect button.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

This was my favorite kind of call:

Me: Thank you for calling BN Mytown, Me speaking, how may I help you?
Them: Hi I need to know if you have a book. Wait, can I just put you on hold for one minute?
Me: Uh...

You: (when the caller comes back on the line) Yes, we have a book. Many, in fact.

[KatL]

I HATE when I answer and find I'm on hold. Hang up every time.

[Kara]

SC: Hello?
Me:

Oh, I hate when that happens. We say our greeting, repeat the greeting, then read a script stating that we are unable to hear you, blah blah, call back at blah blah. Then we wait 5 seconds, repeat the script, then hang up. It always sucks when you get that last-second response, cause then you have to talk to them.