Hello

[chelle0]

I work in a call centre and for the most part, I love my job. I enjoying helping people when they need me most. But. A lot of people don't even say hello. I don't expect how are you etc, but a simple hello is nice! Most people are relatively polite but a lot don't say please or thank you either and it really pisses me off at times. I would never dream of not saying please or thank you. Do you say please and thank you etc and if not, why not?

Yabu - get on with it and do your job.
Yanbu - people are pricks and have no manners.

when you answer, is it “how can I help you?” Or “can I take your reference number?” Because the first I would start with a hello, the second I would start by answering the questions.

This

I always start with good morning/afternoon/evening. I have no problem with hi, this is what's happened etc. just when they rocket launch into whatever they want to say without the decency to even say hi.

I think part of it is they might think you're under time pressure? It also depends on the nature of your call.

But yeah I always say hello

In always polite and friendly as I have worked in this environment too. What I find ia bit odd though is the palava for saying goodbye, takes forever, "is there anything else? " No fair enough, "ok then you have a good day, " ok cheers, "bye, " bye, see you later, "ok bye", it goes on and on

I have had such bad and frustrating experiences with call centre staff though. It is very very hard to be polite and patient when it is the tenth time you have had to call about something that is affecting your life and no one will give you any answers or find a way to help. Sorry, reading that someone on this thread works their local authority repairs help line has triggered me! This service has caused me so much stress recently. Obviously if I am phoning someone for the first, second or third time I am very polite and friendly in the hope that we can establish a rapport.

I do try and be polite but it is so difficult. Firstly there is the fact that you have been hanging on for over 30 minutes waiting to the same inane music over and over again.

Then there is the message saying your call is important to us, so why not employ more staff then?

The next bit of the message refers you to the website for answers. Yes I know this don’t you think I have already looked here?

You have to pass security when you ring but if you finally get through to an operator you have to go through it all again.

Finally when you actually speak to someone they generally can’t do anything anyway. They don’t have the authority to put things right and don’t ever appear to have a supervisor I can speak to or any way of providing feedback.

They then ask if they can help with anything else when they have been useless with your initial enquiry.

Sorry op but the last few weeks I have spent hours trying to speak to ‘helpline’ and they are all useless. They appear to have been set up so organisations can shut branches/offices and save money.

You must say something else. You can't just answer the phone with 'good morning'

I am always a stickler for manners. They cost nothing. I've been a childminder for over 22 years & in the last 10 years I've noticed a very big lack of manners being taught by parents. It's very noticeable. When I collect children from preschool I insist they say goodbye & thank you to their teacher. And if I drop them off I make sure they say good morning. Of the children I mind only one parent has their child thank me when they're going home. And this particular child is only 2 and has the most impeccable manners.
What I'm trying to say is, it starts young.

Have they already spent 5 to 10 minutes of their time answering endless security questions? It can get a bit frustrating. There's one company that isn't even that significant I deal with which is so obsessed with political correctness and data protection that they ask questions my bank doesn't even ask and it drives me mad. Then when you get through they start asking all the same questions again. I'm afraid in a call centre you're probably not going to get polite chit chat from people if they are having to navigate ridiculous security questions over something which to them may be quite trivial. Maybe call centres are not for you because most people would just switch off to this sort of thing from once customer to the next.

I'll raise your dicks to massive arseholes. Some of us are ok (very few it seems).

Hello OP, I hope you have a nice day today.
I always thank call handlers and leave 10/10 feedback since they are always polite, I never have issues.
Only problem is, I might fall into the massive arsehole category because my toddler tends to get involved in the conversation (even though I try to set him up with a book/TV). He's clearly a people person and always has them giggling followed by a quick ahem and throat clear. He tends to ask them if it's daddy and if he's getting some grapes at the supermarket 🙈

I too have worked in a call centre. For the most part, people are lovely. I particularly loved helping older people who were scared and confused (I was fortunate that although there were time pressures, it was worked out as an average not per actual call and the company actively encouraged us to stay on a call until such callers were happy).

Other callers however…. bloody hell.

Shouting at people because we won’t allow you access to your account because you’ve failed security is not going to magically make us let you in. It’s to protect you, your money and your personal details, you dick! Not my fault you can’t remember your child’s middle name!

And agree with the ‘please focus on the call’ point above. Since doing that job, I no longer clatter about in the kitchen whilst calling a contact centre. The caller may be able to multi-task but putting your pans away is noisy and we can’t hear you properly. Focus on the call, help the call handler, get off the call more quickly.

I very quickly learn to mimic behaviour. So I will stop saying please and thank you. Usually they have no idea about your game but it keeps me entertained.

I don't so much mimic behaviour but if someone is rude to me I will go completely by the book on what I can do to help them. If computer says no then so do I. If you treat me like an actual human being I will do everything in my power to help you.

Sometimes I've been on hold for two hours. Thank goodness for speaker phone. I can just keep it near me, get on with things, and stop when I finally get through. Always polite though. But I might feel annoyed if I don't get thoroughly helped after waiting that long.

See - i'm going to say it - half the time when you've waded through pressing all the options, listening to music, typing in details, listening to more music ....

the bloody call handler doesn't speak English well, can't understand you, you can't understand them and, worst of all, keeps giving stock answers to questions you haven't asked!

Apart from that scenario - i think it matters exactly what you're saying at first contact OP.
Are you saying ''Good morning what's your account number please?'' because if so i might or might not say ''Hi'' before launching into the number.

I'm very polite and chatty, but will respond to the last bit of a sentence rather than the first.

If you said ''Good morning, this is XYZ customer services ....'' i'd probably say good morning straight back.

Re: focusing on the call: i'll start out sitting down to make the call but after 10 mins on hold i'll start to wander about the place getting on with life with the phone on loudspeaker in my bra on the side waiting for someone to answer.

When you've got a few calls to make it's easy to forget what the hell it is you're actually ringing about by the time you get through 😂

or is that just me?

I hear what people are saying about wait times and system messages. Our wait time target is 60 seconds and there are 2 buttons to press before you speak to a UK based call centre. People are still unpleasant.