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Tennis Ball posted:I am an on site technician as well as a call center person. Walked into an apartment the other day and dealt with the same thing. "Well my laptop worked a few months ago." Ah yes, the "I DO NOT UNDERSTAND TECHNICAL THINGS THEREFORE THEY ARE UNIMPORTANT MAKE COMPUTER GO NOW TECHNICAL MINION" people. If you rely on a piece of equipment so much then it's probably a good idea to either a) know something about it or b) accept what the knowledgeable people are telling you and (where necessary) fork over the cash for their time. Most people, sadly, appear to opt for c) imply that knowing how it works makes you a nerdy shut in and question why they should have to pay for you to fix the problem when it didn't take you that much effort.
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Sep 10, 2011 21:37
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Anyone here do QA/QTM/QC for their CC? I just got re-assigned to it and my training has consisted of "this is how you listen to the calls". I'm trying to make our CC suck a bit less - some of our agents are absolute garbage and it's really hard to get fired from this place because our attrition rate is higher than most centres. Anyone have any experience / tips / insight as to how your call centre does it?
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Sep 11, 2011 02:42
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Science posted:Anyone here do QA/QTM/QC for their CC? I have done it in the passed but got moved off due to some higher priority stuff. We just had a form to fill out when listening to calls. Did the agent do x? Yes, ok. Then at the end you could throw in additional comments for things that didn't fit the usual listed metrics, like, "Agent seemed to be in a bad mood that day. He is normally pretty good." or "Caller was very very rude." or something.
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Sep 11, 2011 03:29
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Fil5000 posted:Made it worse when I had to read their notes - every note had a three character code indicating what sort of call it was. So they'd pick the one for "Customer call" and begin the note "Customer called..." That got right on my wick. God, the notes some people make about calls are just mind-boggling. I work at an outbound call centre doing surveys, so there's usually no need for notes, but in certain situations they can be really handy, but there are people who seem to feel that because you can include notes, obviously you must. They'll make an appointment to call back and write "OK to call back." as the note. Presumably if it were not OK to call back you wouldn't have made an appointment to call back. What possible value can this note have? And yet a lot of people seem to do it. Or they'll write things like "Respondent was driving, call back later." OK, what am I expected to do with that information? How will the fact that they were driving last time we called affect this call I'm about to make? Why would you write that? And very few people seem to be able to master the simple art of formatting comments correctly. It's really easy, you write the date, the comment, then your initials, so that whoever reads the comment knows when it was written and who to talk to if they need clarification. Very few people actually write them that way.
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Sep 11, 2011 05:52
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BlackIronHeart posted:Yeah, "Things work until they break" is something I say at least once every day and it's rapidly becoming one of my biggest pet peeves to hear 'It was working fine yesterday!'. Of course it was. If it broke yesterday, your dumb rear end would've called us yesterday. I had a guy who refused to do the troubleshooting because he was certain it was nothing on his end. Except instead of testing it, he just surmised that because it had all worked previously, it couldn't be broken now. After a bit of a battle in attempting to get him to do some troubleshooting we told him we'd send a tech only if he'd confirm he'd pay up if it turned out to be him. He agreed, and the tech found:
Then his wife called disputing the technician fee despite us making it clear we would charge him if it turns out he didn't do the troubleshooting. Fun times!
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Sep 11, 2011 07:54
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Tiggum posted:God, the notes some people make about calls are just mind-boggling. I work at an outbound call centre doing surveys, so there's usually no need for notes, but in certain situations they can be really handy, but there are people who seem to feel that because you can include notes, obviously you must. Sometimes I'll leave seemingly useless notes like that in the event I have to pull up the contact at a later date so I'll have a better recognition of that particular call. Also I occasionally just like leaving joke notes for no particular reason.
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Sep 11, 2011 14:11
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Tiggum posted:God, the notes some people make about calls are just mind-boggling. I work at an outbound call centre doing surveys, so there's usually no need for notes, but in certain situations they can be really handy, but there are people who seem to feel that because you can include notes, obviously you must. I'd rather this than no notes at all, even when needed. I do months of phone banking at election time, and all of our call sheets are print outs that we mark by hand. We usually have the person's name, address, and registered party, so it's not cold calling, but similar. We always mark down if they answered/not home/deceased/etc., and then depending on the script that day what their opinions are. Last year a woman came in to volunteer and did seemingly random X marks all over the drat sheets that she was given, completely ignoring the multiple times she was given instructions. None of us could figure out what she meant, so I got to call back the people on her sheet. Some were annoyed at getting a second call for the same thing, some never got the first call, and some had been given the wrong information. People, don't volunteer if you actually don't give a poo poo.
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Sep 11, 2011 15:20
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g0lbez posted:Sometimes I'll leave seemingly useless notes like that in the event I have to pull up the contact at a later date so I'll have a better recognition of that particular call. Also I occasionally just like leaving joke notes for no particular reason. Joke notes are fine by me, although they're actually not allowed where I work because technically speaking the respondent can request any information we have about them, which includes the notes, and they may not appreciate it. It's the ones where I waste time reading them and get absolutely nothing of value from it that annoy me. Particularly when the notes only appear as you're actually dialling, so you have to be alert and quickly read and understand what's there and why before the phone is picked up.
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Sep 11, 2011 17:23
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I will admit to having left notes in Haiku. But that's on slow days and they always have relevant information.
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Sep 11, 2011 19:13
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We don't really leave any notes that aren't part of a process. I love when people ask me to put notes in their account that they're going to pay X day, when paying on X day is fine and doesn't matter at all. "Sure!" *hammers keys at random for a few seconds*
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Sep 11, 2011 19:32
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Tiggum posted:Stuff
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Sep 11, 2011 21:53
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I worked for a canadian telecom company and it was compulsory to leave notes, to the point you could not leave a customers account until you had filled out notes. I worked for an Ontario HVAC company and it was required to leave notes but the only way it was really tracked was through QA evaluations. People rarely left notes. to the point it was apparently costing the company thousands of dollars a week because techs didnt know what they were doing due to no documentation. Science: when i did QA I listened to the first call I found within the time requirement (5-10 min). If it was terrible it was your own fault. I rarely listened to a second call unless the first was really, really bad. If a call was really bad generally the operations manager and the agents supervisor got an email from me telling them to coach their retards. At the end of the day QA does coaching on processess and tricks to make calls easier, its operations job to break bad habits or stop them before they start. A call 'is what it is', whether it be terrible or good.
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Sep 12, 2011 01:44
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My notes tend to be very concise. Brevity is a virtue, especially in my particular area of call-taking, technical support. I simply convey what the problem was and what the plan of action to fix the problem is, as well as what parts are being sent to the customer. I'm in a rather interesting situation in some ways because my manager is legally blind and is unable to interact with the ticketing software to read our notes (he uses screen reading for most stuff but apparently it doesn't work with the Citrix-based CRM application). This can lead to some annoying situations where he asks questions about a case that was brought to his attention some other way, and you know that the questions are clearly answered in the case notes, but you have to remind yourself he can't see them. Sometimes this involves copying and pasting the notes into an email. Surprisingly for such a large computer manufacturer, we don't really have specific standards for the format of our notes or even the flow of our calls and our greetings. This is however I think a departmental thing...my section of the company probably has more freedom in this regard than, say, the consumer support division in India and the server support in Costa Rica. We do have documents called "Work Instructions" that tell us what to do in certain situations and set some standards.
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Sep 12, 2011 13:45
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Notes are just awesome, I like going back through notes and seeing that the customer is just as much a dick to everyone else as they are to me. Also I sometimes get a kick out of my own notes when I'm not really paying attention to what I put in and look at the finished product: "Scheduled appointment. Customer not happy with appointment process" "Doesn't want appointment. Scheduled appointment" "Cannot understand customer. Customer belligerent. Customer hung up." It's really satisfying how simply the notes on an account will illustrate what a goddamn jackass that person is, and it's too bad we can't just print them out and mail them to them so they can feel stupid for calling in 20 times in the course of 3 months to be verbally abusive. Usually people will want me to notate certain things on their account, which in all reality does nothing, so it's fun to do it anyway knowing it does jack poo poo. "I want it notated that I'm not happy at all with the way you guys do X", and that's exactly how it goes in the notes, that no one reads. Sorry customer.
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Sep 12, 2011 14:52
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fret logic posted:Notes are just awesome, I like going back through notes and seeing that the customer is just as much a dick to everyone else as they are to me. Yeah, this is great. "cx says he's going to drive down and shoot us. offered GPS nav. cx declined."
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Sep 12, 2011 15:04
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less than three posted:Yeah, this is great. Hahah yes, I had one of the strangest calls and the notes were perfect. "tech: customer smashed box to pieces in front of me" is the really short version of this. I guess the thing about notes is, their brief and often heavily acronymed and to-the-point style makes them seem very professional and no nonsense, and when you see things described in them it gets quite hilarious. I can't help but giggle at some of the descriptions people use in notes. fret logic fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Sep 12, 2011 |
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Sep 12, 2011 15:18
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We had someone put in a note "customer called me a oval office and hung up". I had to explain that while this is a factually accurate report of the conclusion of the call, it might be best to consider your co-workers that might take offence at that sort of language. I think we settled on "customer was verbally abusive".
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Sep 12, 2011 15:27
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Fil5000 posted:We had someone put in a note "customer called me a oval office and hung up". You would be amazed at what people put into claim notes with no thought that they could be subpoenaed for a court case. "Insured stated she was mad at claimant for stealing her boyfriend, so she keyed her car, slashed her tires. Stated that afterwards she waited for her in the parking garage at work and beat her with a tire iron."
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Sep 12, 2011 15:30
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One of these days when someone asks to speak to my manager, I'm just going to snap and say something like, "My manager doesn't have time for your loving bullshit."
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Sep 12, 2011 17:20
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We have several note systems for various things, because hey, who needs one bit of software when you can have 12. Anyway, a word I type a lot is discount. When you type really quickly its easy to miss spell words. I re-read my notes from a year or so ago on an account. "12% Discocunt"
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Sep 14, 2011 19:10
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Cast_No_Shadow posted:who needs one bit of software when you can have 12. Oh gently caress. Don't even get me started. I have about 8 different things I have to login to with different names/passwords. And now that I am on tier 2, when I complete training, it will be like 15 different programs.
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Sep 14, 2011 23:43
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I like having to log into 3 times to punch my time card.
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Sep 15, 2011 02:23
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I work for Yell in the UK. Our entire department is being outsourced to India. Two more weeks. Just two more weeks and I am free. 
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Sep 18, 2011 14:17
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Sodomy Non Sapiens posted:I work for Yell in the UK. Our entire department is being outsourced to India. It says something when you're viewing unemployment as freedom. What did they do to you, man.
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Sep 18, 2011 15:02
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Powdered Toast Man posted:One of these days when someone asks to speak to my manager, I'm just going to snap and say something like, "My manager doesn't have time for your loving bullshit." So your center actually gives you a manager, and not just a tier-2 agent posing as one? My new supervisor is gonna drive me nuts. I mean, not that she's really nasty or whatever, but please, I don't sound "cheerful" to a guy cursing me out? More "energy?" I didn't bend over backwards to get a guy's service restored when he was way past-due and didn't want to pay, based on his completely unsubstantiated assertion that he had a payment arrangement? Who cares? I followed all the rules, but apparently that still merited a "0" evaluation. RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 05:29 on Sep 19, 2011 |
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Sep 19, 2011 05:25
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Sodomy Non Sapiens posted:I work for Yell in the UK. Our entire department is being outsourced to India. Glasgow? edit: Thinking back, I very much doubt it! Wootcannon fucked around with this message at 13:28 on Sep 19, 2011 |
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Sep 19, 2011 09:18
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RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:So your center actually gives you a manager, and not just a tier-2 agent posing as one? Our hierarchy at my center goes I - Frontline II - Quasi Front line, tackles harder accounts/loans/IT support III - Handles our top customers, the ones bringing millions into our company IV/ Work Director - The support system of tiers 1-3, also will take angry customer calls. V/ Manager - Will occasionally take over the support line of the W/D if its super busy so W/D can take customer calls only. Will also talk and resolve angry customer situations. Only W/D's and Managers can take angry customer calls
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Sep 19, 2011 14:48
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Wootcannon posted:Glasgow? I would have said yes, because I worked there (Glasgow) and the department was indeed outsourced to India. The only thing incongruous to Sodomy Non Sapiens's post is that it should have already happened, so perhaps elsewhere was being outsourced too.
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Sep 19, 2011 20:39
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Crap, this thread is still around? I've been looking in the wrong subforum for a year!  I've been working as in-house ISP tech support for a little over 3 years now and it's been going through a whole series of organizational changes. First we lost some important employees, then we got bought out, then [major new project] happened and undid the positive effect of hiring new people. I've felt the burnout so much, not even just due to customers. I just handed in my notice and will be leaving in October. Regardless of what comes afterwards, I can now look to move on to other things (hopefully not involving computers... but who am I kidding?).
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Sep 19, 2011 23:48
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Wootcannon posted:Glasgow? Reading. You in Telesales? I'll hold off saying too much more about my experiences until after I've left completely. Edit: Glasgow departments have been outsourced too? Can't remember if we were ever told that was occuring, but I can't say I'm surprised. Mode 7 fucked around with this message at 08:37 on Sep 20, 2011 |
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Sep 20, 2011 08:34
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Sodomy Non Sapiens posted:Reading. You in Telesales? No idea, I haven't worked there for a few months, but didn't think it could possibly be Glasgow given they were outbound sales, and outsourcing that to India esp. now that wage demands are rising is literally the biggest shot in the foot ever. And no, I was one of those bastards in processing! (adworks) Wootcannon fucked around with this message at 11:04 on Sep 20, 2011 |
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Sep 20, 2011 11:01
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My call center decided today that they're going to take away our ability to mute our phones, advising us to instead put the customer on hold (and use proper hold procedures such as asking for their permission) if we need to mute the phone for any reason. I'm sure this'll improve our customer experience. 
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Sep 20, 2011 13:52
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BlackIronHeart posted:My call center decided today that they're going to take away our ability to mute our phones, advising us to instead put the customer on hold (and use proper hold procedures such as asking for their permission) if we need to mute the phone for any reason. I'm sure this'll improve our customer experience. In my previous job, the mute buttons didn't always work. Cue the glorious phone call where someone has her child crying and shouting in the background, guy hits mute and says "she needs to gie they weans a fuckin rattle""WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!?!"
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Sep 20, 2011 15:54
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Wootcannon posted:No idea, I haven't worked there for a few months, but didn't think it could possibly be Glasgow given they were outbound sales, and outsourcing that to India esp. now that wage demands are rising is literally the biggest shot in the foot ever. And no, I was one of those bastards in processing! (adworks) Glasgow processing has been outsourced to India, Glasgow telesales is staying put (they at least have that much sense). Basically, anything that doesn't involve direct contact with customers is being outsourced to India (which includes resolutions, since they're dealing with sales reps, not customers). /Yell derail
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Sep 20, 2011 16:17
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BlackIronHeart posted:My call center decided today that they're going to take away our ability to mute our phones, advising us to instead put the customer on hold (and use proper hold procedures such as asking for their permission) if we need to mute the phone for any reason. I'm sure this'll improve our customer experience. See, that's interesting - our place used to look at hold time a lot, and if people were regularly using large amounts of hold (as a percentage of call time rather than just a flat figure) the. They'd get pulled up on it. So people started to use mute (or as they'd describe it to the customer 'silent hold') but still leave them on hold for as long. I once sat and watched someone stick a customer on mute for a really simple task, then watched them catch up on a previous call, have a chat with the person next to them, have half a bag of crisps, etc, etc. After the call I made her sit and listen back to it in real time, and refused to skip any of the silence, then showed her the two line note she'd written and asked her to explain why it took her five solid minutes to write it. I can see why mute would get removed if that sort of poo poo is happening. It's a pain for the rest of you but it makes spotting the cheating wankers a lot easier.
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Sep 20, 2011 16:35
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ZeroDays posted:Glasgow processing has been outsourced to India, Glasgow telesales is staying put (they at least have that much sense). Basically, anything that doesn't involve direct contact with customers is being outsourced to India (which includes resolutions, since they're dealing with sales reps, not customers). But who will phone the ads suspected of being hookers?!
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Sep 20, 2011 16:57
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BlackIronHeart posted:My call center decided today that they're going to take away our ability to mute our phones, advising us to instead put the customer on hold (and use proper hold procedures such as asking for their permission) if we need to mute the phone for any reason. I'm sure this'll improve our customer experience. That's loving retarded. What if you have to cough, or sneeze, or say what a loving idiot your caller is to your cubicle neighbor?
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Sep 20, 2011 17:23
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Fil5000 posted:
They want to remove this at our place, but we are pushing to keep it for the sole purpose of being able to cover coughs, sneezes, sips of waters, and throat clearing. If you can hit mute for ~5 seconds and sneeze or cough, that means you didn't just cough or sneeze in the customers ear. Speaking of sips of water, how many of you started to drink a lot more water since becoming a call center rep? Before working at the call center, I might have one or two glasses a water a day. Now I drink probably drink 60-80 ounces of water while at work (8 hour shift) and another 20-30 oz at home.
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Sep 20, 2011 17:38
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That's really the crux of the matter for me. I'm surprised, since I've been doing this for 8 years, that I can still be offended by our policies but it's pretty offensive that we're no longer regarded as living things that perform biological functions, like sneezing/coughing/burping/blowing your nose. But I guess if it helps management not have to work harder, it's worth it.
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Sep 20, 2011 17:44
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Oh yeah, wasn't arguing that it wasn't lovely. I wish there was a way to track how much mute had been used on each call, to be honest, because then you could track the douchenozzles without pissing off people that use it properly.
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Sep 20, 2011 17:46
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