Annoying callers at work..

[Jikininki]

THis one lady has been calling our office NONSTOP for the past hour...looking for someone here.

This person keeps caling back saying "so and so isn't answering..i need to speak with her". So *I* say (as I was trained to): "ok m'am, I'm not sure if she's away from her desk or on another phone call but I can transfer you to her voicemail and she will call you back".

She then proceeds to call back OVER AND OVER again. I mean...what else can I do? I don't work for so and so..I answer calls for the COMPANY...I can't just ignore all the other phone calls just to locate one person. I'm not a babysitter, I'm not a search and rescue team...it's not part of my job to FIND people to get them on the phone.

What would you do if someone won't stop calling...and there's nothing you can do in terms of getting the person they need on the phone??? I've even asked if she might want to speak with another coordinator who could probably help her more than I'd be able to and she refuses. I'm about to go crazy and break my phone!


Cliffs:

1. customer calls looking for so and so
2. customer can't reach so and so
3. customer won't stop calling back asking for so and so
4. i tried being polite and courteous and even offered to find someone else to talk to her
5. i'm about to break my phone
6. what would you do if this happened to you? what could you do?

7. i'm kinda just ranting..cause this is really stressing me out so please don't write mean things.

 

[DaShen]

Do you have caller id? You can screen the call and keep switching her to the person's voicemail before you answer the phone.

 

[DaiShan]

Set the dial plan on the phone server to forward all calls from that number to the person's voicemail. At least that's what I would do heh.

 

[j00fek]

i would just xfer them to my boss and have them get the wrath

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Jikininki
She then proceeds to call back OVER AND OVER again. I mean...what else can I do? I don't work for so and so..I answer calls for the COMPANY...I can't just ignore all the other phone calls just to locate one person. I'm not a babysitter, I'm not a search and rescue team...it's not part of my job to FIND people to get them on the phone.

Its part of being in business I guess. I work for a small company and we get ~80% of our calls from telemarketers. It is the same telemarketers that called yesterday, the day before, the day before that with the same product they pushed yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. Legally, we can't do anything to stop them. What else can you do? Do your job, answer the phone, and try not to let annoying people like that get to you.

 

[Jikininki]

no caller id.

all transfers have to be manual..unless I transfer ALL calls to her extension..and I don't want to do that.

For about 5 minutse tho..i did transfer all calls to an empty desk. but i felt guilty so I transferred them back. I think she's stopped calling....hopefully it's b/c she finally got through to the lady or she got a call back. I hope she doesn't call again. While she wasn't mean or bitchy or rude...she talked with that pretend "nice" voice that's actually more annoying than if she had been angry and yelling.

 

[QurazyQuisp]

Can you page her? I'm not sure how big the place is that you work for, but it might help.

 

[dainthomas]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Jikininki
She then proceeds to call back OVER AND OVER again. I mean...what else can I do? I don't work for so and so..I answer calls for the COMPANY...I can't just ignore all the other phone calls just to locate one person. I'm not a babysitter, I'm not a search and rescue team...it's not part of my job to FIND people to get them on the phone.

Its part of being in business I guess. I work for a small company and we get ~80% of our calls from telemarketers. It is the same telemarketers that called yesterday, the day before, the day before that with the same product they pushed yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. Legally, we can't do anything to stop them.

"Take me off your list" ftw. Then if they keep calling, you can sue them for a couple thousand per violation IIRC.

 

[darkamulets]

Transfer the caller to the ladies' cell phone?

 

[kranky]

I'm wondering if the caller is a bill collector, and the callee is using voicemail to screen all calls to avoid said bill collector.

 

[Jzero]

I have had sales people do this. In fact one just pulled it on me last week. I

honestly would have taken her call, but I was already on another call. No sooner do I hang up from that call, the operator rings me and says "I have so-and-so on the line."
"Well her options are to leave a voice mail or nothing."

I guess she chose "nothing."

You are a SALESPERSON. Whatever you have to say is not important enough wasting our operator's time searching for me. That's why we have VOICE MAIL :|

 

[eakers]

ask if it is an emergency
if so, I would page them to pick up the phone.

if not, tell them to leave a voice mail.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: dainthomas
"Take me off your list" ftw. Then if they keep calling, you can sue them for a couple thousand per violation IIRC.

Ha. Um, you know those laws only apply to residential phone lines right? Every time I ask them to take off their list, and everytime they call tomorrow. There is no law protecting businesses from relentless telemarketing.

 

[FoBoT]

i use the caller ID and only answer the phone if it is my boss or a co-worker on my team

 

[zanieladie]

Place on her hold for 5 minutes...maybe she will simply hang up. I knw...mean...but better than driving you crazy!

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: dainthomas
"Take me off your list" ftw. Then if they keep calling, you can sue them for a couple thousand per violation IIRC.

Ha. Um, you know those laws only apply to residential phone lines right? Every time I ask them to take off their list, and everytime they call tomorrow. There is no law protecting businesses from relentless telemarketing.

I'm pretty sure telling someone to never call you again means they are harassing you if they call you again regardless of whether "you" refers to a business or an individual.

Now of course actually forcing them to comply...that's a different story.

 

[piasabird]

Forward the calls to your boss every time.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Jzero
I'm pretty sure telling someone to never call you again means they are harassing you if they call you again regardless of whether "you" refers to a business or an individual.

Now of course actually forcing them to comply...that's a different story.

Possibly there is some harrassment law, but there is no specific telemarketer law. Plus, since most of them are computers asking you to call a number, and then hang up, how do you ask a computer to take you off the list?

One time, I did get a computer that asked me to press a number to be taken off the list. That was nice, I did it and was never called again. But what about the rest of these computers?

 

[CKent]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Jikininki
She then proceeds to call back OVER AND OVER again. I mean...what else can I do? I don't work for so and so..I answer calls for the COMPANY...I can't just ignore all the other phone calls just to locate one person. I'm not a babysitter, I'm not a search and rescue team...it's not part of my job to FIND people to get them on the phone.

Its part of being in business I guess. I work for a small company and we get ~80% of our calls from telemarketers. It is the same telemarketers that called yesterday, the day before, the day before that with the same product they pushed yesterday, the day before, and the day before that. Legally, we can't do anything to stop them. What else can you do? Do your job, answer the phone, and try not to let annoying people like that get to you.

Are you in the US? Register the number at www.donotcall.gov

Edit: Nevermind, read the thread. I'd try politely telling them that I would never buy their product, and due to their marketing method, if I were in the market for it I'd buy from their competitor. Then ask politely to be removed from their list.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: RBachman
Are you in the US? Register the number at www.donotcall.gov

Again, that only applies to residential numbers.

 

[Phoenix86]

Speak with your supervisor on how to handle this.

 

[Jikininki]

it wasn't a telemarketer. it was a customer or an agent calling in regards to a customer.

I understand sometimes things are urgent (ie: moving van is in front of your house and you need the documents from us to give them so they can start working, etc etc). But if the person you're looking for is ON THE PHONE...there's nothing I can do to make them get off the phone. I mean...we're good about checking our voicemails and calling people back. But people are so afraid to leave messages.

What I really hate is when a customer calls in thinking they're the ONLY customer we have and we have to drop everything for them. It's not like she was some vice president of some huge corporation or some shipping line we have to give special attention to. She was just an average jane who was moving some stuff who needed to speak with her coordinator. Nothing is THAT urgent that you can't wait 10-15 minutes for someone to call you back.

blah..it really sucks for her cause her coordinator is one of the busiest in the entire office. She's constantly on the phone or running down to the warehouse or faxing things or whatever. You're lucky if you can reach Rosemary. LoL.

 

[ryan256]

Hehe.. reminds me of when I would deal with customers over the phone when I worked for a mortgage company.
This one guy called in all pissed off and cussing up a storm. After 10 minutes of trying to talk with the guy I still couldn't get out of him what the problem was. All he would say was "Fix it!" Fix what?? his toilet? So I told him, "Hold on sir, let me transfer you to an extension that could better help you" ..... I transfered him to the fax machine

 

[altonb1]

Blow a whistle in her ear FTW!

Nothing you can do except transfer her or put her on hold.

 

[datalink7]

For some reason this reminds me of the time one of my friends played a prank (sort of ) on another friend.

Friend 1 was at Friennd 2's house about to leave. The phone rings and he answers it (Friend 2 was in the bathroom).

Woman: Hello, is Jimmy there? *No one named Jimmy lived there... wrong number
Friend 1: Uh...
Woman: I know he's there, put him on.
Friend 1: Yeah, he's here, but he doesn't want to talk to you *click*.

Friend 1 then proceeds to leave. Friend 2 later stated that the woman called repeatedly over the next few hours insisting to talk to Jimmy. When Friend 2 said she had the wrong number, she told him to stop covering for Jimmy and that she knew he was there.