Customer Call Centre Tips

Calling Customer Call Centres can be stressful - pressing various numbers to get connected, waiting on hold for someone, being passed from department to department and then action you thought had been agreed not happening. So here are some tips to help you through the process.

•  First make sure you have all necessary paperwork to hand - e.g. invoices, receipts, order forms, bills, statements, etc.
• Beat the automated phone menu system by using www.pleasepress1.com - just look up the company you want to contact and you'll get a sequence of numbers you need to press to get you to your chosen department.
• Get an app to queue for you as you wait 'for an advisor to be free'. Try using WeQ4U free app for iPhone and Android phones which will stay on hold for you. Dial with the app(skip through the menu with shortcuts as above, then when you are in a queue, press 9* - the app will phone you back and reconnect you the moment an advisor answers.
• Once the matter has been sorted out, ask them to read back their notes and also to make a note on the system of what has been siad and agreed, then get them to read back that note to you.
• If they are sending written confirmation (e.g. an engineer appointment) as for it as an email and get them to wait on the phone till it arrives. Always open the email and check the details before ending the phone call.
• The first advisor you speak to may not be able to deal with the issue, and when they transfer you to another advisor may not fill them in on the issue, or even be the right person to deal with it. If you have to be transferred to someone else, ask the first advisor to stay on the line when they connect your call and to explain your issue to their colleague to avoid the pass-the-parcel saga.

Mostly from a feature in Glamour, February 2015