RE: [cobalt-users] Watch out for Sun support

[Elmer Fuddpucker <elmer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 3 Aug 2001, Tony Loosle wrote:

} While I was fixing the error, rather than have him wait,
} I asked him if I could call him back.  He said ok, and
} gave me a ticket number to be able to call back.

Hi Tony,

	I see you point quite clearly and I don't disagree with your
thoughts. But, I do have a bit of applicable experience. I was a
supervisor for the support team on the roll-out of the MSN network -
Microsoft outsourced it to a call center I was working at at the
time.

	The agent, in this case, was probably stuck. The agent more
than likely is more than likely limited in what they can and cannot
say. One minor transgression and, in most call centers, the agent
who made the transgression is immediately escorted out the door.

	You asked if you could call back. A reasonable question to
be sure. But the agent more than likely couldn't do anything other
than say you can. Had they said you'll be billed for another call
they probably would have lost their job.

	More than likely the trouble ticket was closed by your
ending the call on a positive note. I can't say for certain this is
the case with Cobalt's support but we, for example, provided our
agents with an exit screen that gave them multiple choices to
indicate how the call was resolved. I never saw one that said
anything close to "the customer is going to call back for a chat
later". It's usually either "we fixed it", "we couldn't fix it",
"escalate it" or "the customer is a psycho...".  (not really but we
always hoped...).

	Again, I understand and agree with your position but you
bailed out of the first call - not Cobalt. You wouldn't even believe
how many times I was called to take a call over and even I had to
bite my tongue and not tell the caller what would happen if they did
what they were saying they were going to do.

	It's like any other job... unless you own the show, and
it's a sole proprietorship, there are limits on what you can or
cannot do.

	I can tell you about a trick that can help in this type of
situation. First off never disconnect until the problem is resolved
to your satisfaction. If it is not resolved, demand that it be
escalated right then and there by asking for a supervisor and
starting anew. As long as you don't get abuse, yell, scream or
threaten the odds are they won't disconnect on you. If the
supervisor can't handle it, ask (always be polite but stand firm on
your convictions) to speak to their supervisor.

	I once took a call for a Sear's home improvement client
whose house was then being flooded by a leak in a hot water heater
that was installed that very day. The call came in at something like
3:00 AM in the morning. We could hear the water sloshing as she
walked around the room. There was little we could do other than
promise to tell the appropriate people when their office opened the
following day. The caller was sharp. First she asked for the agents
supervisor - that was me. I couldn't help so she made me get her my
supervisor. To make a long story short, we were still on the phone
with her when the repair crew, which was called out of bed, arrived
and had completed the repairs. She just would not let us disconnect
and we couldn't disconnect unless she authorized us to do so or
abused us in some way. Every time we tried to end the call she
politely demanded to speak with a higher level supervisor. Before
all was said and done she was chatting with the facility manager -
the CEO and even he couldn't hang up on her.... and all the while he
had us trying to find a number for a big shot at Sears so he could
escalate and thereby bailout of the call. By the time she got to him
there was about 15 of us standing there on overtime. Trust me,
someone noticed as the next week we had emergency numbers we could
transfer these kind of calls to.

	The point is, they probably can't hang up on you unless you
mistreat them, or you a agree. They'll most certainly attempt to
talk you into agreeing on a disconnect but you don't have to. Thus,
keep them on the line until the job is done.

	brent

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