Kill.....

[fuego.livejournal.com]

-Thanks for calling *Some Fruit Company* This is Fuego, may I have your first name?
-What?
-Thanks for calling *Some Fruit Company* This is Fuego, may I have your first name?
-I have a case number.
-Okay, just a moment, may I have your first name?
-1234....
-Hold on a moment, may I please have your first name?
-123...
-Okay, fine the number is 12345678, right? And what is your first name?
-(Takes a deep breath) AlexanderMichaelLevansk-
-Okay, so your first name is Alexander?
-No, my name is John. Alex is my dad.

May I just say how much I dislike...

1. People that don't listen
2. People that don't listen repeatedly
3. People who won't give a simple first name when asked for it.


See, I have this HUGE pet peeve...first thing I ask for is first name. Simple question, right? If nothing else so I know who I'm talking to. It's perfectly reasonable. I do not normally need people to spell their name...if I need it, I ASK. an I usually speak with emphasis on the word "first"
I truly loathe asking for a name and having someone do any of the following:
-Spell it instead. Thanks, I KNOW how to spell Bob, Tim Tom, John, Jane, Amy, Mark, Mary...And I Don't know how to pronounce "E-f-m-k-v-n-g-j-e-g-n-j-g-b-j-g-d"
-Say their entire name and spell it in one breath "MaryElizabethFosterJohansen M-a-r-y-e-l...."
-Ignore the question and give me something else alltogether- phone number, ave number "I'm calling on behalf of so and so..." I didn't ask that, I asked for the first name of the person i'm currently speaking to. Also, if you tell me that the computer belongs to someone else without giving me your name, DON'T get snippy with me when I ask if I will be speaking to the other person or to you.
-Talk over me- "May I have your first n-" "MaryElizabethFoster..."
-Worst of all...launching into their problem without regard to anyhting I've already said. 4 times.

Comments

[jecook]

I'll admit that I tend to be a bit verbose at the beginning of the call, and I do apologize.

I usually lead off with "Hi, my name is [full name] with [company ----]."

[celyste.livejournal.com]

I hate the name spellers. The only time that shoudl come in to play is if I can't find the account by anything else, and I'll then ask "Could I get the spelling of the last name on the account". Until that point I want people to tell me their names.

Why? Because,,,

a)I'm a university graduate. If I can spell latin drug names I can probably figure out a close proximity to your name.

b)One of the things our calls are graded on is whether or not we use the customer's name three times during the call. If your name is odd or pronounced differently than it's spelt, I'm sol on that grade for the call.

The first thing we have to ask for is the reason for the call. This gives our laggy systems time to realize there is a call going on and open the appropriate programs. When they start giving me things I haven't yet asked for, I get to hear them complain when I ask for them later. I feel your pain.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

take notes?

[celyste.livejournal.com]

We're ISO cert. If the computer is lagging I've only got my brain to take notes with. And when I'm on call #119 for the day, it's not always reliable.

[sean-langley.livejournal.com]

Do most customer service reps really get peeved if someone spells their name? Mine isn't difficult, but 90% of the time people spell it Shawn or Shaun, which drives me up the wall, so as a point I spell it for someone on the phone most of the time to avoid problems later.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

see...thing for me is this...

1. 90% or more of the time, the person is already in the database and it's more a question of "how am I to address you in speaking?" than "i need to put you in the system." It's pretty rare that I even need to ask for a last name. Unless they have a case or repair number, I look people up first by phone number, serial number if I can't find them by phone. I never look people up by their name- UNLESS everything else has been exhausted and they have a truly unique name.

Now, if I don't know how something is spelled, or if there are variants, I do ask for spelling. It's just a matter of, I might need to do that once, MAYBE twice a day. and people who insist on spelling names like "Bob" and "Mary" should just be flogged.

2. What's truy more the issue is I can be very easily distracted. I've been dong the job for over two years so I have my ca flow down to a science. i'm not much of a creature of habit...this is the BIG exception. If someone throws me off, it annoys me.

[sean-langley.livejournal.com]

Actually, there is one time here where spelling is a big deal: The postal service. I don't think it's the whole USPS, just our specific letter carrier. If your name isn't spelled identical on the mail as it is on the sticker on the mailbox, he'll reject it and won't deliver it. Doofus.

[silveryrose.livejournal.com]

It's not the entire USPS. We have 2 regular carriers on our route (one does Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the other does Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday). The MWF guy is really sweet and only refuses delivery if he can't reach the mailbox because a vehicle is blocking it. The TTS one on the other hand will refuse to deliver it if even one letter is wrong, which with my last name is very easy to do since it happens to sound like the name of a color, just has a different spelling.

[gilmoure.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I do know where you're coming for. What's wrong with a little politness? I was taught, as a kid, to identify myself on the phone and state why I'm calling. It's not that difficult. I was used to hearing that sorta' call above, when I worked at a computer repair shop but once I started working at a college and then a corporate environment, was amazed at how unprofessional people are.

[ravenshrinkery.livejournal.com]

We had to give case numbers to our customers after every call, but I found myself insisting on asking for serial numbers just because of how our system was structured. If we asked for a case number it took us right to the problem, which was all fine and dandy - except our call flow dictated that we had to verify exactly what system they had, the warranty they had on it, and offer upsells before we could troubleshoot. It made getting right to business pointless. Making sure they had the right computer and that it was under warranty makes sense. Trying to sell them shit they don't need before actually providing them the service they've paid for (sometimes additionally above and beyond their warranty) was, well, a crock of shit.

I do feel your pain though. I know I've slowed some customers down with the salient reminder that us technicians are NOT computers and that we work on a first name basis. All I've ever asked of any customer is to provide me with a detailed description of what the computer is doing, what has led up to the problem, and to follow my instructions precisely and provide me detailed feedback on how it responds and we will get through any problem they experience quickly and effectively. I've been on an awful lot of long calls...

[siobheanne.livejournal.com]

AMEN!!!!!

[siobheanne.livejournal.com]

Just to add... this morning's first call was a perfect example...
Cust: "My name is Parakjdsbfdflk. P-A-R-7-4-J-r-E". At mach speed.
Me: "I'm sorry Sir, could you repeat that?"
Cust: *SIGH* "P-A-H-8-R-D-A-0" (different every time!)
Me: "....Okaaaay sir. Do you have a case ID?"
Cust: "YES. (id)"
Me: ".... Alright. That brings up a case under Sue (Your Last Name). Do you know a Sue?" (Thinking the previous tech was like "Par5uhjkg, eh? Your name is now Sue.")
Cust: "That is my daughter. This is MY product. MY NAME."
Me: "Okay. You are now Sir for the remainder of the call, and the case remains as Sue."

It's hard when they go SO fast and get so frustrated when you can't catch it the third time, much less the first.

[fuego.livejournal.com]

or when they spel it and it"s "fdnfkwsndfdjfnfffffffff45%" and they JUST spell it. then you ask how to pronounce it and it's like "Tim"

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

There are some who call me... Tim?

[anamacha.livejournal.com]

you and me both, man. Same damn thing here.

[rileydag.livejournal.com]

I hate it when this happens. It's a simple bleeding question, "What's your first name?"

I started using this line, it seems to work well, "To whom am I speaking?" Kind of puts them on the spot, they have to tell you who they are.

Or they jsut keep repeating their ticket number.

:-(

[katyism.livejournal.com]

When they interrupt my greeting, I'll make them repeat it until they realize I won't really hear what they're saying unless they say it AFTER i'm finished talking. I've gone so far as to say (the 5th time around or so) "Sir, I might be able to understand better if we both weren't talking at the same time blah spiel again very slowly blah" and then they'll pause 5 full seconds, and I'll say "OK, go ahead now" and they feel peon'd!

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

One vocal skill that develops over time is the ability to repeat part or all of an opening spiel precisely - pauses, tones, everything. Eventually callers break down and give the information or hang up. Either way, we win!