Calling after hours; DOs and DON'Ts of dealing with an answering service by PhoenixRose

TALK STORY

Calling after hours; DOs and DON'Ts of dealing with an answering service

POSTED BY: PHOENIXROSE
UPDATED: Monday, January 29, 2007 18:34
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Monday, January 29, 2007 6:34 PM

You think you know--what's to come, what you are. You haven't even begun.

This is partly me venting a little, and partly a public service. I'd like my Browncoats to get the best service possible, which is much more likely when the person answering the phone is happy with you.
Rule #1: Listen.
Basic, right? So many people don't, though. But when someone tells you something, or asks you for information, and you ignore them, it's irritating. This will not make an answering service drone (such as myself) the happiest person in the world.
Rule #2: Don't waste time.
Seriously. I'm sorry, but I, and most people working at any kind of call center, are getting paid by the call. Mumbling, stuttering, giving unnecessary details, repeating yourself, etc, is all just a huge waste of time. It's annoying just because it is, but also because it prevents us from moving to the next call (and no, you're not the only one calling). So know what you need, try to be concise, and do not repeat yourself just because you're frustrated (i.e. "Someone needs to get out here to fix this! I need it fixed! It needs to be fixed now!" Seriously, that gets old. We know you need it fixed.)
Rule #3: Don't be an unbearable jackass if nothing can be done.
If there's nothing we can do, then there's nothing we can do. We're given rules by the companies we answer for; take it up with them.
Rule #4: No, we are not the company.
Answering services are not the company. We take their calls when they're closed in case of emergency but that's really it. We can't make them do anything, we can't fix something ourselves, we can't do anything except page/call someone (and sometimes we're told to not even do that, especially after a certain time). If we're irritated at a caller, we don't give them first priority, and stop trying after a period of time. If we're not, we keep calling or we try to find other number; basically go above and beyond. So be nice, but don't expect us to fix everything.
Rule #5: Don't call multiple times.
This only takes up valuable time we could be using to get ahold of someone; it does you no good and it's irritating. We're here to do a job and we'll do it. How quickly it gets done is partly up to whoever is on call, and partly up to you.
Rule #6: Don't swear or yell or call us names. We have no problem with hanging up on abusive callers, and then you get no help at all.
Rule #7: Don't expect us to have numbers for you if you called the wrong one. Also don't expect us to make any calls for you. That's not our job. If someone is nice about it, I'll sometimes try to find a number for them, but only if I have time.
Rule #8: Do NOT. EVER. ASK. IF. WE. ARE. STILL. THERE.
This is the MOST annoying thing you can do! We are typing what you say and we can't all type as fast as you talk! If we don't say anything, it's because we are listening and typing and NOT BECAUSE WE HUNG UP ON YOU. We only hang up on people who yell at us.
And along the same vein, don't start saying "Hello? Hello is anyone there?" into the phone before it's even answered. That's just whiny, impatient, and rude.
Rule #9: Give us the information we ask for when we ask for it. Don't second-guess or ask "Well don't you need to know...?" We'll ask for what we need when we need it.
Rule #10: PLEASE spell your name, especially if it's a long or unusual name. You probably don't need to spell the basics, but when in doubt, spell it out. It's best if we have the absolute correct... well, everything, but especially name spellings.

Be nice to us. We've probably had a long day.

There, rant over. For now. But like I said, it's not just a rant, it's the truth. So anyone calling a company after hours, or anyone calling to place an order over the phone, please keep these in mind. You'll make all those working at answering services/customer service/call centers very happy. And that, I assure you, will get you the best possible service you can get.

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