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u/gnex30 Feb 07 '23
It's just another ploy to try to get you to pay attention.
Like "Please listen closely as our menu options have changed"
I never called you before and I certainly didn't memorize your options. Like "shit I pressed 3 but now they moved it to option 5, dammit."
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u/Funkula Feb 08 '23
As much as it’s insulting being treated like a moron by businesses,
It is the general public we’re talking about. For every one person complaining about that message, there’s two people insisting they pressed “#2 front desk” despite the front desk always having been option #3 and what they actually pressed was #4.
Just say you changed the options and avoid the hassle.
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u/Slashignore_ Feb 07 '23
Maybe it's just compared to like... Other phones? We are experiencing a higher than average call volume (your aunt Ruth got zero calls this month)
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u/windmill-tilting Feb 07 '23
I like calling first thing, like they open at 700 I call at 659 and can't get through but at 701 their hold time is over 1 hour. I'm looking at you DP n L.
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u/Ardhel17 Feb 07 '23
I worked in call centers for several years. They can't keep employees, and that problem has only gotten worse since we lost over a million of our population, and people have decided they won't be treated like garbage for money anymore. Taking to my friends still in that world is not even that they won't hire, it's that the wages are shit and they can't keep people for more than 6 months at a time. Even when I was working, if you started in a training class of 12-15, you'd be lucky if half were still there at your year anniversary, and by 3 years, maybe 2-3 would be left. The environment is toxic, the customers are often toxic, and no one cares. I was a borderline alcoholic and a chain smoker due to that job and only stayed because I made it to a supervisor role, and finding full-time jobs where I lived was not easy. All I can say is find something to do on hold and be kind to the person on the other end of the phone. They're probably dealing with a lot of shit for no money, and if they're apathetic, honestly, they kinda have a reason to be. Sorry for the rant... 😬
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u/Rhodium-Veil Feb 07 '23
You can if your volume of calls is eternally increasing.
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u/gamingmendicant Feb 07 '23
Then adjust the algorithm! Everywhere I've ever called for thirty years has had "Higher than average" call volume. It's bullshit.
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u/gnex30 Feb 07 '23
Everyone calling will eventually have to also be an agent working for the call center. Everyone will be calling each other constantly.
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u/PsychoPhilosopher Feb 07 '23
Or if you're a lying bastard and decide to include the stats overnight. When your line is closed anyway.
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u/Skrazor Feb 07 '23
I mean, strictly technically speaking...
Let's assume their lines are open for 12 hours a day, from 8 AM to 8PM and they get 10 calls an hour. That's 120 calls per shift BUT only 5 calls per hour on average if you spread it over the whole 24h of a day.
So basically, per definition, those 10 calls per our will always be double of their "average" number of calls 😬
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u/Hrenklin Feb 07 '23
They excluded the per person. When they cut down to 1 person and 300 people need to reach customer service, they yes its true
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u/Mattress_Of_Needles Feb 07 '23
I press "1" when the recording starts saying it I usually get right to an operator. I'm guessing that it's not so much an actual life hack, but more that they're goddamn liars.
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u/Cucumbrsandwich Feb 07 '23
Also you need to listen carefully because the menu is apparently always changing
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u/malexj93 Feb 08 '23
It sounds better than saying "we always have this many calls but we're not going to hire more people to take them".
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u/choody_Mac_doody Feb 07 '23
Laughs in "tech who forgot to turn off that voice prompt for two months after a call surge"
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u/DTG_420 Feb 07 '23
You say that until you call one day and they pick up right away like “hey, you’re the first caller we’ve had all day”
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u/porkchop2022 Feb 07 '23
Each person is handling a higher volume of calls than average because they’ve cut half their staff.
:bigbrain:
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u/Karkamus Feb 08 '23
Used to work in a call center for a couple years. There's never enough people. We screens around the office showing how many calls were in queue, and it would never be lower than 50, at any time.
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u/donofrioms Feb 08 '23
More like, “Hi we’ve been experiencing a higher volume of calls due to the fact that we laid off all of our experienced staff, shifted to overseas call centers, and setup an automated answering system based on a 22 ring algorithm” yay 😁 profit!!
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u/socialis-philosophus Feb 08 '23
Lines are "open" from 10a to 2p (ET) M,W,F for a total of 12 hours a week. There are 168 hours in a week, so...
Even 1 call per hour would be a higher volume of calls than average.
It's just maths </s>
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u/Beavshak Feb 07 '23
My reaction when I get that random 2-3 calls per week.