Friday, October 22, 2010

Question.

Could someone please tell me why telecommunications companies, banks and other such organisations say to you at the end of a call, 'Is there anything else I can help you with?'

I know that they're supposed to be asking in goodwill but it always seems to me to be the most pointless question they could ask. And I'm sure all the people who ask that question get really sick of all the smarty pants who say things like:

'Yes, I'm having trouble finding the lever to open my bonnet on my car, you wouldn't know where it is, would you?'

'The winning lotto numbers would be a start'.

'You don't happen to know a good mechanic, do you ?'

Also it's not like they're trying to upsell, 'Would you like fries like that?'

So if someone could explain the logic behind why hundreds of support staff are forced to endure the daily torture of having to ask that question, that would be peachy.

And is it just a New Zealand thing, or is this an international problem?

Sigh.

(Small font means I'm whispering).

Some people try and rid the world of famine and poverty and then there's shallow and flippant types like me who go on crusades to rid the world pointless questions.

Bloody lucky I'm not an animal cause Noah would have never let me on the Arc.

3 comments:

Janie Jones said...

No. It's not a NZ thing, they do that in the States too. Well, they do that in the US held companies that outsource their customer service centers to India and other foreign countries. So you get "Mike Smith" who you swear is probably Rajnesh Patel and is just reading a script, no matter how inane the responses.

I suppose the polite, yet rhetorical, inquiry is designed to make us feel like our call received caring and personal attention, when really I think they are not allowed to end the call so they are trained to annoy us with politeness to get us off the phone.

Just my theory.

Holemaster said...

I've developed a new strategy for dealing with sales calls. I just leave the phone on the table and ignore it.

laughykate said...

'they are trained to annoy us with politeness to get us off the phone.'

Annoying with politeness, perfectly put!

I suppose leaving the phone on the table does have the added bonus that you don't shout at the poor person whose paid to make said call, Holemaster.