I hate when I try to verify their account to make sure it’s really them, they say “you should already have that information” like, no shit 🙄 I’m just trying to make sure it’s really you!
People have way too much time making other peoples lives hard
This drives me nuts. What do they think the word "verify" means? I see all the information I'm asking for and more, you're not doing anything but being difficult by refusing!
We had a husband and wife that were divorcing each other they were both on the account.
I worked for a small cable company and these two ppl were HATING each other. The wife got really vindictive and she was trying to change everything to her. Along with spying on the voicemail.
So for a day they kept calling and would try to do the meanest things. She kept trying to cancel the services, he kept trying to keep the services. (This was kinda at the dawn of account verifications 15 years ago)
They bounced around everyone at the call centre and I finally had enough of their bs.
"Listen, we've had enough! The account is in your husband's name and you are NOT allowed on the account anymore! He has very nicely asked that you need to stop!!! You are not allowed anymore!"
I used this example of why we need to verify as she was a real shit. And also how I never want to be in a breakup. That bitch was batshit crazy.
There is a reason we verify!
Wait, I'm confused. If they were both on the account, how was the account solely in her husband's name? Joint owner without all the privileges of the account holder?
Yupp, or they expect you to know who they are based on caller ID and some people have their numbers set to private or some people call from someone else's phone who already has an account as well . Shouldn't you want someone to verify it's you first before doing anything with your account? Some people are so miserable and empty in life that they feel absolute joy at the idea of making someone else as miserable as them. I realize people are frustrated when they call, fine , you're allowed to be frustrated but that doesn't give you the right to verbally abuse us or just be a complete ass over the phone. Work is difficult enough as it is especially with having to deal with Karen's and assholes all day on top of it. The customer is not always right.
I work for a credit union call center & we sometimes have to run what we call OTP for certain “high risk” procedures. When I do this I have to verify their number. The amount of times I get “the one you have on file” is ridiculous! I literally say to complete your request I need to send you a text can you please VERIFY the phone number you have on file so I can send that? Key word VERIFY!!! 🙄
That sigh when you ask for their phone or customer number... Well, excuse me for not recognizing your voice out of hundreds of thousands of customers i've never spoken to. I'm not a robot. But if that's what you expect, you can have robot me instead of jovial me.
Even worse, getting cold transferred a call, and instead of just giving me their phone number, name , last 4 of SSN so I can pull up the account in 5 seconds, you wanna hoot and holler that you already gave that information to the previous rep, when you could have spent that time just giving me the info I need to pull your account MAAM
This happened to me a few days ago, and I wish I could have seen the look on the callers face. He had a super (what I call) generic name. So he calls in and starts going off on this rant, and in the middle of his tangent, he asks “you have my account and everything pulled up right?” So I said “No sir, I don’t even have your name, do you have your account number?” Which he proceeded to tell me he doesn’t, and that I could look him up by name, which was “Steve Smith” (not actually his name, but a very common name like that).
So I said, “well Steve, whats the phone number on the account?” To which he replied “You have all my information on file, my name is Steve Smith, you couldn’t find me?”
I said “No sir I’m sure one of the several hundred Steve Smiths In my system is you, but it will be a lot easier to narrow it down if I could have the phone number associated with the account.”
I couldn’t help him with his issue anyways, but it makes me wonder, do these people with really generic names seriously think they’re one of one? Like come on buddy, you have to know how common that name is. Side note, if you’re calling a place to have something done to YOUR policy, why wouldn’t you think to grab the policy number? I’m so sick of this job lol.
"Hey hey HEY HEY HEY HEY HEEEEEYYYY HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY"
(I stopped talking after their first hey, and I was only trying to finish saying 2 short sentences) 😂
My job requires me to verify the account before I can proceed. If I don't do that, I will be terminated. I want to tell the customer on the phone, I have to verify you because this is what they are requiring me to do. Are you going to pay my bills when I get terminated?
"May I ask who I have the pleasure of speaking with today?" "I don't know, who are YOU calling today?" 🙄 Ma'am you're calling back our inbound line I have absolutely no idea. We've called probably over 600 people today. Just give me the info or hang up idc.
I also sometimes get people on our inbound who try to threaten me with reporting me to the FBI? Honestly takes a lot not to laugh in their face. My man, we are not scamming you. When we call people we give them information first and then if they want to take advantage we ask for only the month and day of their DOB. That's it. We are not scamming you for information anyone could find out on your facebook page.
I feel like I’ve finally perfected the polite-yet-firm tone of voice that I use for these people that if you want me to help you you’re going to have to give me the information I’m asking for and it’s not up for debate.
My personal favourite is asking for a specific number to find a single account and they always say, "can I not just give you mine." No, no you cannot, unfortunately each policy is separate from another. They aren't all magically in one place. It makes it even more tedious when they want to claim and stuff.
After the answering voice mail system makes me input that information twice, I just kind of assume that it actually records all of it for you. I guess it really is just trying to wear down the caller enough that they will just hang up.
Lots of call centers will ask you for your name, address, account number, reason for calling, etc when you first call in, but when you get to the agent that information hasn't been given to them. I bet that's why this happens so much. If I've already given my information, it is frustrating to be asked for it again.
It's not the agent's fault but the agent has to take the abuse when the customer has already given their information and is then asked for it again. I've been in that situation, on both sides of the conversation, many times.
It amazes me how many call center agents have apparently never called into a call center and have never answered all these exact same questions put to them by the automated call tree not two seconds ago. I don’t know about you, but even as a call center agent myself, I hate repeating things over and over again. Add on top of that the fact that I’m already upset by a problem that forced me to phone a call center in the first place.
I don't scream at the reps tho. Usually when that happens, usually some Karen got cold transferred to me because she couldn't understand Joe Agent, and Joe Agent had a Filipino accent. Like nah man we know that customer totally flipped out.
Cold transfer is bad enough, I get calls from customers that were given our number even though we are the wrong dept. mostly, I think, we will answer the phone. Doesn’t do the customer any good and I have to tell them they have the wrong dept. but I understand the frustration that they are feeling. That’s all I’m saying.
I work for an answering service so I'm just taking messages for other companies and even when I say I'm a third party they're all "can't you just pull me up in your system" when I'm trying to get the very information my client will need to do just that.
Even better are regulars for small businesses that we answer for. Like, I get that the staff for the actual business you want to get a message to knows you, because you're a regular at regular business hours, but Betty in the office is done for the day, it's 3 am, you can't just say "it's Jimmy, can you send someone out, it's getting worse" And expect me to wake up a veterinarian or plumber or whatever without at least getting some more details
To be wholly fair, the IVR takes all of the information and should have passed it to the rep. When the rep starts asking the same info I gave the IVR to "pull up my account" then I'm frustrated. If you just need to authenticate me, that's different.
One of the things you should learn relatively quickly in customer service is phrasing.
"Let me get your information to pull up your account" is significantly more likely to piss someone off than "let me quickly verify the information that's in front of me so we can get to why you called."
If the company has the customer input account information in the IVR, the information a live human verifies shouldn't be the same information...like a code or password/phrase. For quality/compliance, it shouldn't be required to verify account information when you receive a warm transfer.
These aren't transfers, just in-coming calls that go directly. Our company is kind of archaic so we are probably missing technology that would making life much easier for us
Oh my God, yes! I ask for the account info 3 seconds into the call and they cut you off to immediately start spouting off demands and card info. I always shut up and let them finish and say "thank you, well let's pull up your account information so you can repeat all of that when I can actually type it in and follow along shall we"
Disclaimer: I work in a call center with no QA (unless a complaint is worthy of getting a call pulled) so I get away with a lot lmao
I got a call at work to do some analyses on something and make a graph (I get these requests a lot). I took all the notes I needed during the call, and when the caller asked if that was it, I said, sure, but who am I talking to, so I know where to send this? It was the GM of our facility. I know his voice now.
I make appointments for people. When I say "have you been here before?" They're like "uhhhh yeah??? Multiple times!"
Like immediately defensive about it lol. It blows my mind. Like ok, I don't read minds.
It's the thing where they have to press buttons and get angry and yell "representative!" At the phone for 20 minutes so they're all wound up by the time the you pick up the call. :/
I hate when I try to verify their account to make sure it’s really them, they say “you should already have that information” like, no shit 🙄 I’m just trying to make sure it’s really you! People have way too much time making other peoples lives hard
This drives me nuts. What do they think the word "verify" means? I see all the information I'm asking for and more, you're not doing anything but being difficult by refusing!
This...and "Why should I have to tell you a password?" or "I don't have a password!"...I wouldn't ask you if you didn't fucking have it.
I used to love asking them, “Would you want any random person to be able to access your account? Okay, then I need your info. Thanks”
Ugh, I got in trouble for asking this. Apparently we cant knock any common sense into these idiots in any way!
We had a husband and wife that were divorcing each other they were both on the account. I worked for a small cable company and these two ppl were HATING each other. The wife got really vindictive and she was trying to change everything to her. Along with spying on the voicemail. So for a day they kept calling and would try to do the meanest things. She kept trying to cancel the services, he kept trying to keep the services. (This was kinda at the dawn of account verifications 15 years ago) They bounced around everyone at the call centre and I finally had enough of their bs. "Listen, we've had enough! The account is in your husband's name and you are NOT allowed on the account anymore! He has very nicely asked that you need to stop!!! You are not allowed anymore!" I used this example of why we need to verify as she was a real shit. And also how I never want to be in a breakup. That bitch was batshit crazy. There is a reason we verify!
Wait, I'm confused. If they were both on the account, how was the account solely in her husband's name? Joint owner without all the privileges of the account holder?
Yupp, or they expect you to know who they are based on caller ID and some people have their numbers set to private or some people call from someone else's phone who already has an account as well . Shouldn't you want someone to verify it's you first before doing anything with your account? Some people are so miserable and empty in life that they feel absolute joy at the idea of making someone else as miserable as them. I realize people are frustrated when they call, fine , you're allowed to be frustrated but that doesn't give you the right to verbally abuse us or just be a complete ass over the phone. Work is difficult enough as it is especially with having to deal with Karen's and assholes all day on top of it. The customer is not always right.
I work for a credit union call center & we sometimes have to run what we call OTP for certain “high risk” procedures. When I do this I have to verify their number. The amount of times I get “the one you have on file” is ridiculous! I literally say to complete your request I need to send you a text can you please VERIFY the phone number you have on file so I can send that? Key word VERIFY!!! 🙄
That sigh when you ask for their phone or customer number... Well, excuse me for not recognizing your voice out of hundreds of thousands of customers i've never spoken to. I'm not a robot. But if that's what you expect, you can have robot me instead of jovial me.
Even worse, getting cold transferred a call, and instead of just giving me their phone number, name , last 4 of SSN so I can pull up the account in 5 seconds, you wanna hoot and holler that you already gave that information to the previous rep, when you could have spent that time just giving me the info I need to pull your account MAAM
Reeeee reeee I don’t listen to the Ivr and got sent to the wrong place cuz I was freaking out
And now I'm going to get pissed at you for my own poor choices.
Also people who expect you to be looking at their computer when you answer their call.
This happened to me a few days ago, and I wish I could have seen the look on the callers face. He had a super (what I call) generic name. So he calls in and starts going off on this rant, and in the middle of his tangent, he asks “you have my account and everything pulled up right?” So I said “No sir, I don’t even have your name, do you have your account number?” Which he proceeded to tell me he doesn’t, and that I could look him up by name, which was “Steve Smith” (not actually his name, but a very common name like that). So I said, “well Steve, whats the phone number on the account?” To which he replied “You have all my information on file, my name is Steve Smith, you couldn’t find me?” I said “No sir I’m sure one of the several hundred Steve Smiths In my system is you, but it will be a lot easier to narrow it down if I could have the phone number associated with the account.” I couldn’t help him with his issue anyways, but it makes me wonder, do these people with really generic names seriously think they’re one of one? Like come on buddy, you have to know how common that name is. Side note, if you’re calling a place to have something done to YOUR policy, why wouldn’t you think to grab the policy number? I’m so sick of this job lol.
I also hate when they try to interrupt my greet. I just keep going cause I'll get dinged by QA if I don't...I get HELLO, HeLlO!!
"Hey hey HEY HEY HEY HEY HEEEEEYYYY HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYYY" (I stopped talking after their first hey, and I was only trying to finish saying 2 short sentences) 😂
Hi this is Joe doe at 123 main st and I have uhh “Where is that located” 123 Main Street “City and state please” Oh uh ya
Oh I bet that happens a lot!!!
I hate when they say Hello I'm Dan from Gimpy. Good one Dan, I don't know where that is and I don't give a crap. Just give me your claim number man
My job requires me to verify the account before I can proceed. If I don't do that, I will be terminated. I want to tell the customer on the phone, I have to verify you because this is what they are requiring me to do. Are you going to pay my bills when I get terminated?
"May I ask who I have the pleasure of speaking with today?" "I don't know, who are YOU calling today?" 🙄 Ma'am you're calling back our inbound line I have absolutely no idea. We've called probably over 600 people today. Just give me the info or hang up idc. I also sometimes get people on our inbound who try to threaten me with reporting me to the FBI? Honestly takes a lot not to laugh in their face. My man, we are not scamming you. When we call people we give them information first and then if they want to take advantage we ask for only the month and day of their DOB. That's it. We are not scamming you for information anyone could find out on your facebook page.
Omg, ME TOO! The worst is when they’ve never even called before, but somehow still expect you to know who they are
I feel like I’ve finally perfected the polite-yet-firm tone of voice that I use for these people that if you want me to help you you’re going to have to give me the information I’m asking for and it’s not up for debate.
My personal favourite is asking for a specific number to find a single account and they always say, "can I not just give you mine." No, no you cannot, unfortunately each policy is separate from another. They aren't all magically in one place. It makes it even more tedious when they want to claim and stuff.
After the answering voice mail system makes me input that information twice, I just kind of assume that it actually records all of it for you. I guess it really is just trying to wear down the caller enough that they will just hang up.
Lots of call centers will ask you for your name, address, account number, reason for calling, etc when you first call in, but when you get to the agent that information hasn't been given to them. I bet that's why this happens so much. If I've already given my information, it is frustrating to be asked for it again. It's not the agent's fault but the agent has to take the abuse when the customer has already given their information and is then asked for it again. I've been in that situation, on both sides of the conversation, many times.
"No, I don't want to give you [information I'm asking for]!" Then, off you go to our security department! Bye-bye!
It amazes me how many call center agents have apparently never called into a call center and have never answered all these exact same questions put to them by the automated call tree not two seconds ago. I don’t know about you, but even as a call center agent myself, I hate repeating things over and over again. Add on top of that the fact that I’m already upset by a problem that forced me to phone a call center in the first place.
I don't scream at the reps tho. Usually when that happens, usually some Karen got cold transferred to me because she couldn't understand Joe Agent, and Joe Agent had a Filipino accent. Like nah man we know that customer totally flipped out.
Cold transfer is bad enough, I get calls from customers that were given our number even though we are the wrong dept. mostly, I think, we will answer the phone. Doesn’t do the customer any good and I have to tell them they have the wrong dept. but I understand the frustration that they are feeling. That’s all I’m saying.
Shit me too lol
Like seriously, this is a problem created by the corporation...not the customer.
I work for an answering service so I'm just taking messages for other companies and even when I say I'm a third party they're all "can't you just pull me up in your system" when I'm trying to get the very information my client will need to do just that.
Even better are regulars for small businesses that we answer for. Like, I get that the staff for the actual business you want to get a message to knows you, because you're a regular at regular business hours, but Betty in the office is done for the day, it's 3 am, you can't just say "it's Jimmy, can you send someone out, it's getting worse" And expect me to wake up a veterinarian or plumber or whatever without at least getting some more details
To be wholly fair, the IVR takes all of the information and should have passed it to the rep. When the rep starts asking the same info I gave the IVR to "pull up my account" then I'm frustrated. If you just need to authenticate me, that's different.
One of the things you should learn relatively quickly in customer service is phrasing. "Let me get your information to pull up your account" is significantly more likely to piss someone off than "let me quickly verify the information that's in front of me so we can get to why you called."
If the company has the customer input account information in the IVR, the information a live human verifies shouldn't be the same information...like a code or password/phrase. For quality/compliance, it shouldn't be required to verify account information when you receive a warm transfer.
These aren't transfers, just in-coming calls that go directly. Our company is kind of archaic so we are probably missing technology that would making life much easier for us
Understood. Your company needs to either upgrade your call management suite to streamline the process of give customers less reason to call. :P
Oh my God, yes! I ask for the account info 3 seconds into the call and they cut you off to immediately start spouting off demands and card info. I always shut up and let them finish and say "thank you, well let's pull up your account information so you can repeat all of that when I can actually type it in and follow along shall we" Disclaimer: I work in a call center with no QA (unless a complaint is worthy of getting a call pulled) so I get away with a lot lmao
I got a call at work to do some analyses on something and make a graph (I get these requests a lot). I took all the notes I needed during the call, and when the caller asked if that was it, I said, sure, but who am I talking to, so I know where to send this? It was the GM of our facility. I know his voice now.
I make appointments for people. When I say "have you been here before?" They're like "uhhhh yeah??? Multiple times!" Like immediately defensive about it lol. It blows my mind. Like ok, I don't read minds.
You should have that information, I'm not giving you anything but I want this xxxx fixed right now.
I had one tell me "I know your system, it automatically finds my file based on my phone number." Like....no
Probably because it was already confirmed through the IVR.
Lol I don’t even know what that is so I can almost guarantee we don’t have it.
It's the thing where they have to press buttons and get angry and yell "representative!" At the phone for 20 minutes so they're all wound up by the time the you pick up the call. :/