A customer service expert has revealed her top hacks for beating the pesky call centre queue and being put through to a real person as quickly as possible.
Lady Janey – real name Jane Hawkes – has shared handy tips to help Brits get around the seemingly endless waits, automated voices and unhelpful advisors.
Nearly two thirds of Brits have spent up to 45 minutes listening to hold music or hearing repeated assurances their call is important before eventually hanging up, according to new research from Talkmobile.
Meanwhile more than a third of Brits said they have waited at least an hour for help with an inquiry, while over one in ten have waited a staggering 60 minutes or more.
Lady Janey’s top tip is when calling a company about a query – however big or small – the first action a caller must attempt is to ignore all options provided by the operator and simply wait to be transferred when no response is detected.
The so-called Queen of Customer Service has teamed up with Talkmobile to empower customers across the UK to confront the firms who fall short.
Lady Janey said: ‘Companies that keep you on hold are relying on you giving up, I really believe that. They are relying on you falling at the first hurdle.
‘But if you’re prepared to wait on the call for 40 minutes it shows it’s important – but we don’t have time to do that.
She added: ‘Once you get through, there’s nothing worse than being passed from pillar to post and having to repeat the same information again and again.’
More than a third of Brits said they have waited at least an hour on hold for help with an inquiry, while over one in ten have waited a staggering 60 minutes or more (stock image)
Lady Janey’s second tip is to reply yes or no to every question, while the third requires callers to dial zero, multiple zeros or multiple hashtags at the beginning of the call.
Next, if callers wish to speak to a human rather than a bot, Lady Janey advises to say: ‘Speak to a real person’ or ‘Speak to agent.’
The expert’s fifth tip is to make note of the order of options during the call so you can fire through them and press ahead on future calls.
Another hack is to choose the option for ‘thinking of leaving,’ as it will put you through to a dedicated retention team designed to offer you incentives and deals.
Lady Janey added: ‘They may also be able to connect you directly to the most appropriate department for refunds and redress if applicable. Equally choose the ’sales’ option and ask to be transferred.’
She also says you should provide ‘nonsensical voice recognition answers’ when presented with a series of options to be connected quicker as the system will struggle to understand your responses.
Lady Janey – real name Jane Hawkes (pictured) – has shared handy tips to help Brits get around the seemingly endless waits, automated voices and unhelpful advisors
She advises to use the ‘ring back’ option – if available – to avoid having to wait on hold.
Additionally, the expert insists you can reduce your wait time by making smart calls.
She said: ‘Ring at optimum times. Call off peak during the working day if you can and avoid weekends.’
Finally, Lady Janey stresses it’s important to save yourself the hassle where you can and don’t call unless you need to.
She added: ‘Recording complaints in particular through online webchat or email creates a record of evidence should you need it. You also will not need to repeatedly explain the same issue to different people every time you call.’
Referring to the results from the study, Lady Janey warned: ‘If people are prepared to wait on hold for nearly 40 minutes to speak to someone then that should be a clear message to any call centre operator that their customers’ calls are important.
Lady Janey stresses it’s important to save yourself the hassle where you can and don’t call unless you need to
‘A long wait on the line, then being passed from pillar to post can turn a loyal customer into an angry one who is ready to take their business elsewhere.
‘A dissatisfied customer tends to tell nine to 15 people about their experience, most satisfied ones tell around six others. Companies would do well to remember that.’
Sarah Boyle, Head of Operations at Talkmobile said ‘We’re delighted to echo Lady Janey’s thoughts about what really matters to customers when they call organisations. 93 per cent of calls to Talkmobile are answered by a real person in 20 seconds.
‘But, that is not to say we are not determined to make calling us even better for our customers – and give them a positive and rewarding experience that is worth sharing with others.’