To wonder if any call centre is not "busier than normal at the moment"??

[CollieFIower]

Or "experiencing a higher number of calls" or whatever chirpy message they play on repeat. I actually cannot remember the last time I had to ring any customer helpline for any business or govt department and didn't get told some version of the above!

If you're always that busy then no you're not busier than fucking normal, this IS YOUR NORMAL and you might as well just stop trying to gaslight your customers into thinking otherwise.

And breeeeeeaaathe. May as well settle in for some yoga with Adrienne while I wait for Royal Mail to answer

And while people take that attitude - that the role of call centre workers is to take abuse - the turnover will continue to be high, call centres will be short-staffed and many of the staff they do have will be inexperienced because no few want to stay there long enough to gain experience , and the customer service will get worse.

DH reckons it’s why the UK has low productivity - because we are all spending our time in these telephone queues!

Your post is important to me. Please hold on while the next poster is available to help.

What an awful, ignorant, entitled post. Call handlers are not responsible for policy and they do their best.

I feel sorry for anyone who has to deal with that kind of customer attitude.

I suppose the trouble is you're going to have only two types of callers after a very long wait - the kind who think the staff member answering is a verbal punchbag and lets them have it with both barrels, and the kind who try to control their frustration but can't always manage it.

From the caller's side I do think it really helps to evaporate the rage if the person answering doesn't assume you are a complete idiot. I've only got seriously arsey twice with a call centre - both times it was because the person (after having asked the obvious questions like "have you turned it off and on again" type thing) just plain DIDN'T BELIEVE ME about the problem I was having. Once I was told quite confidently by this bloke that the problem wasn't with the machine, it was that I'd forgotten my passcode - even though I assured him that I'd used it several times an hour all week without bother until now. I do realise a lot of people make elementary mistakes but if you're speaking to someone who seems to have half a brain and give what you're suggesting a go and then tells you it's still not working - please give them some credit.

I’m usually an omg you’re there thank you please don’t cut me off now you’re transferring me to someone one else type

I contacted a public body by e-mail, and their automatic reply was that they were experiencing unprecedented number of enquiries and so would take longer than normal to respond. I know this wasn't true, so I sent a freedom of information request for the number of enquiries they received for the past few years, making reference to the automatic reply. Within a matter days they had changed their e-mail so that weren't lying to the public any more.

Could have been a co-incidence.

On minute 58 of holding to social security scotland right now and feel your pain!

There are only two possible solutions:

1. Call centre management need to pay their staff 'danger money' - make it financially worthwhile to endure being shouted at.
2. Customers need to stop treating call centre workers like verbal punchbags.

Sadly, I doubt either will happen, so people will just have to put up with long queues as staff leave and can't be replaced.

Or, all call centres will move overseas, at which point people will certainly regret treating the UK staff so poorly, when they are suddenly faced with 'no local knowledge' and dialect/accent barriers.

No. There's a third type: I know that I am dealing with a human being with feelings who is on the other side of the line - one who is doing their best and who deserves courtesy.

I'm fed up of not being able to do anything without going online, using an app or scanning a frigging QR code (one restaurant had their menu via a QR and looked at me like I was mad when I asked for an actual menu!). There are times when you need to speak to an actual human without spending hours in a queue. Surely if many queries could be dealt with effectively online, this would free up the phonelines for those that can't. Clearly not....

Current status: on hold to Sheila's Wheels.
They're experiencing a higher than usual number of calls. But they will be with me as soon as possible. They really appreciate my patience.

I'm just getting on with my housework.

They're working hard to get to me.

I have spent HOURS of my time on hold in the past 3 weeks.

Please continue to hold, we will answer your call as soon as possible.

21 mins so far....

35 mins......

Off topic but had no idea Sheila's Wheels was still a thing - haven't heard of them for donkey's years.

They're just another name for Esure.

41 mins. I'm losing my shit here.

Gave up.
Knew that if they did answer I would just burst into tears of frustration.
One hour gone and my query still not resolved.
Fucking brilliant.

My Mum died recently.
Ward told me to go to "bereavement services" in the hospital.
When I got there there was a notice which basically said "go away - we only deal with people by phone". Rang them, got answer machine, left a message, they didn't call back.

Rang the Register office to see about registering her death, got a recording "we are very busy - you can make an appointment online".

I had to lie and say I had medical cert or it wouldn't let me make appointment.

It always makes me wonder what's wrong with the services or products that the company is providing to provoke such a high number of calls.

In my case Sheila's Wheels have instructed me to do something which conflicts with what the DVLA require. It's a pretty simple question IMO, but I don't want to be send car documents to the wrong place.

I tried to call the direct line of my local Council SEN Team.
I got a message saying that they were adhering to current government guidelines on covid and all working from home, with very limited access to services and phone lines. They can't access voicemail so don't leave a message. I should instead e mail.

I did leave a message, and e mailed.
3 weeks later, no response.

I think they must believe its still March 2020!

That's truly awful. At a time when you're overwhelmed already
Fortunately (?) both my parents died at a time when real, trained people answered phones and offices were manned.

I spent the best part of an hour on hold for Aviva last week.

Other than the irritating chirpy messages it required you to press 2 to maintain your place in the queue every couple of minutes so you can't just leave it on speakerphone and go and do something useful whilst you're waiting.

So annoying

I had a minor car accident a few weeks ago. I had to call my roadside recovery from the side of a rural road in the middle of nowhere, in the pissing rain.
Their hold message suggested it would be more efficient if I downloaded their App. Errrr no. I was already standing as high as I could to get a single bar on my phone, never mind fannying about downloading an App.

I was also in the middle of nowhere and the breakdown service asked if I had the postcode of where I was....

She got really snippy when I couldn't give her the name of the town (wasn't one) nor the name of the lane although I said if she'd just put me through to the local agents they would know exactly where I was!