call centers 101
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- OSFA
Ok, somebody mentioned today there are ways to bypass all the hassle when dealing with call centers. I don't know about that.... but I'm sure I am not alone when it comes to the famous responses:
'there are no supervisors available', 'my supervisor is in a meeting', 'theres nothing we can do',
'I'll have them call you - duh, you just told me you guys can't dial out-'
and the typical,
'sorry, i didn't hang up while you were on hold or being transferred, our system went down...'So, if you have any tips or experiences that might help please share them, I am trying to fix a $1000+ bill that I was charged incorrectly and I am about to lose it....
Are there really any tricks?
- JSK0
which company is it?
- OSFA0
United - health insurance...
- Momentum20
what you need to do is fly to their freaking country... usually india or philippines and beat them down! ;)
- JSK0
just as a basic
if the company is a national company, they usually have two customer response departments
front line is consumer service are trained to avoid calls at all times. they are measured by how long you stay on the phone. less time the better performance.
other consumer relations, they are smaller group who mainly deal with customer who they view as valued clients and dont want to lose their business. case in point, for cell phone, when you want to cancel your service, you get directed to these folks who has more authority.
also, all managers / supervisor has to be present on floor at all time at any shift. so if they say, they are in meeting, say you will wait for them, (mind you they are measured by short call length, longer you wait, longer their call is). if they are not there or unavilable, ask for their name and extension. unable to dial out is normal for most cases but asking for extension works. also ask for ID for this call. so you can track the calls you have made. they log every call you make in to the customer file. more call you make and hassel them, more you have it on record. once you reach the manager, tell him/her how many times you have called etc.
overseas call center. ask them to transfer you to regional. if they say they are regional than ask them a regional question.
call center "my name is bob (with indian accent)"
you "can i get a US call center"
call center "this is us call center"
you "where are you located"
call center "we are in california"
you "where in california"
call center "LA"
you "where in LA"
call center "just in LA"
you "what county?"
call center "LA is LA"
9 out 10 they dont know what county means.
they go by call center something called decision tree. they enter what you say on the call (key word) and they spit out a predetermined answer. the trick is to get a keyword or question that is not in their status.also, if you are dealing with regional US call center, dont be rude to them. I made few call center girls cry on the phone. it feels bad and they are more willing not to help you. always ask politely.
If you get a chance and try to get a same call center, and if you have resolved your issues, remember the name of the person who you talked to, than ask for supervisor, tell them how so and so did such a great job. this will go on your record. good call centers have behavior tracking log on the calls and customers. more you are polite and willing to resolve rather than bitch, you will get better service cause you will be labled as "friendly"
- JSK0
btw, my longest phone call with call center...
4 hours
with amazon
i got about $300 in credit for my time
:-)
- xenicon0
roger that
- madirish0
what you are asking for is called 'turboing' in the biz....take this all in:
http://www.macwhiz.com/articles/…you will get very far if you follow that. seriously.
- JSK0
health care is different
they are mainly trained for defensive response.
they are not measured on how long you stay on the phone but how they have resolved issue that does not cost anything to the company.
they are not mainly retail so they do not need to have good customer service.
always ask for call ID every time you call. also ask for transript of the call if you can.
dont threaten with law suits and stuff, they are trained to immediately hang up if you say lawyers / law suits.
try to find a compassionate work who is willing to help you. keep calling and poke around.
get to know them and get friendly, then get their name and direct line.
this also helps
- letters20
write a letter to file a formal complaint. even in these days of call-centers and computers, I find it tends to illicit the most response and get you sorted out.
Plus you won't have to pay anything extra (interest, fees, etc) if you have a good paper trail with your complaint.
and in addition – you dont have to speak with anyone!
- OSFA0
thanks jsk, but there has to be more than just that... I've asked for supervisors and after I mention I would hold until they get out of their meeting I'm told they will disconnect the call because they have to keep the lines open. And I am not just talking about health insurance now...
How do you reach a supervisor or manager directly? Most of the times they are the ones that will take care of the issue in 2 minutes, but you never get to talk to them...
- M0NEYCIDE0
no 'supervisor' or 'manager' i ever had were actually supervisors or managers they were just in another department with certain abilities i didn't have so don't look for authority in them. they'll act like it because that's what they tell everyone but they're not supervisors. the real supervisors don't take calls they supervise the floor. 'case managers' are good usually they are who call you back and with a 1000 bill you might have to wait for a call back. case managers specifically deal with individual cases and attempt resolve problems one on one so you won't get the run around around, you'll get their number and name
- JSK0
every call center agent is different.
call again and ask for same thing and do the same thing.
you will see a pattern, and find a hole and exploite it
- M0NEYCIDE0
yeah that too, it's tottally inconsistent. don't tell them you called before and what the other person did because word will get around to not do those things or worse they'll spread your name around and your issue so they know what to say. we used to send mass emails around like "if Joe Dickhead calls irrate refer him to escalations AND DON"T OFFER CREDIT" sort of thing...'escalations' was 'supervisors' but basically the same as me just someone who worked there longer
- tkmeister0
use this line.
"This is chris hanson from dateline NBC."
- skt0
everything in NY seems to be voice recognition. being scottish the machine has no fucking clue what i'm saying.
I just end up swearing at it repeatedly until it gives up and gives me an operator. then i repeat the process because they can't understand me either.
- spendogg0
sorry to hear, I also am dealing with United Health Care - they have been nothing short of impossible to work with - I even have an outside consultant that has been helping weed through our mess and once you think you get things taken care of, the automatic billing will fuck it up and you have to start all over again - uuuugh - send it out in writing - then good luck
- OSFA0
what if I record the calls. you know I would say
' Ms. Asswipe, for documentation purposes, please be aware this call is being recorded'.
Is this legal if I let them know before the conversation starts? They do it, why not me...?
- mg330
Back in college, we had tons of problems with our cable modem at one particular apartment in Texas.
Tons of calls to customer service, no help from those morons, and one day I just lost it, and told this guy:
"Listen to me. Right now I have this vision in my mind that next to you on the floor is a large cardboard box that a microwave may have been shipped in, and inside that box are 10 million pieces of paper with 10 million different answers on it. And each time I call you just reach in and grab a piece of paper, and that's the answer you read to me, because I KNOW what my modem problem is, and every time I call you give me a different answer."
And the guy was basically just like, "Uh, uh, ummmm, well sir, ummmmm..."
Threw that dimwit for a royal loop - that stuff aint in the script book!
- OSFA0
I'm seriously thinking of doing this, does anyone know if I can pull it off?
- Gucci0
read that turboing post. good advice in there.