Phone problems at work

[Twik]

Yesterday, I got a call from a customer. Finding my phone was at an awkward distance, I picked it up to move it ... and somehow dislodged the cord, cutting off the call.

I hoped the customer would call back, but he never did.

I was wondering, if you were talking to a business, and heard, "Just a second, and I'll ....", would you assume you had been hung up on? Or would you think it was most likely a malfunction, and call back? I hate feeling that he thought I was rude, but these things happen, and there is no way I can contact him back from my end.

[RingTailedLemur]

I'd assume to cord broke or fell out, then call back.

[Yvaine]

I would assume it was a malfunction.

That said, there may be reasons he didn't call back. Could he have solved the problem himself based on the info you'd already given him? Does your workplace have an arduous phone tree before a caller can even reach you? Does he have your actual direct number, or did he get transferred to you from a central line, and maybe when he called back they sent him to someone else?

It may be that he just doesn't need help anymore or that he's been unable to reconnect with you through your workplace's phone system or that he decided it wasn't worth the bother.

[MamaMootz]

I would assume malfunction and call back "somehow we got disconnected" and go from there. Perhaps customer was able to solve the issue themselves or talked to someone else?

[Twik]

Unfortunately, he was asking about purchasing something, so its not like he could have simply answered his own question.

I hope he called back and, however he got to me, took a different route and got someone else. Because although I don't normally deal with purchasing, I could have found the right person for him to talk to, if I'd had long enough.

I guess its one of those things where you feel rude, but can't do anything about it. 

[azleaneo]

I used to think it was tedious to deal with at first, but every time I called a specific business, they would have early in their greeting "In the case we get disconnected, do you have a contact number I can reach you at?" It was annoying until the time the phone service in the building I work at dropped all the calls briefly, and the representative called me back and we continued on.

If you don't take purchasing calls, or calls where you have to transfer, often perhaps you can work that saying into your conversation on the very rare chance it happens again?

[Virg]

Unless the person on the other end of a phone call makes it VERY clear that they're disconnecting abruptly, I'd never assume that being cut off abruptly is anything more than a phone system malfunction, and if I needed to continue speaking to the other party I'd call back.  I certainly can't consider such a malfunction rude, so you're off the hook (heh heh).

Virg

[LilacRosey]

I would think something happened., LilacRosey

[Twik]

You know, I've been cut off, and simply called back. That's what gets me - this customer, and others when it happens, never call me back! I don't know if they just give up, or if they might get someone else next time, but it makes me feel embarrassed, even though I can't see what I can do if they don't call me back.

[BeagleMommy]

Twik, you shouldn't feel bad about losing a call through no fault of your own (or accidentally disconnecting).

If this were to happen to me (and it has) I would always assume a phone malfunction and call back.  If the caller didn't get you, there's the possibility he was connected to a different person.  If he were to get you again, you would only need to say "I apologize for the disconnect.".

[MissRose]

It depends on your work place.  If your work involves a lot of outbound calling as part of your job duties, then call back and apologize for what happened.  If not, ask if it is okay to place the call back to the customer.

[Twik]

It depends on your work place.  If your work involves a lot of outbound calling as part of your job duties, then call back and apologize for what happened.  If not, ask if it is okay to place the call back to the customer.

Trouble is, I have no idea who it was, or how to reach them.

It sort of went like this,

Customer: Hi, I'd like to order some widgets.

Me: Well, I'm not in the order department, but I'll see what I can (click)

The big problem was that I think he heard a negative (I'm not the right person to talk to), and got cut off as I was saying how I'd solve his problem. So, maybe he just heard "No, I won't do this," not "I'll put you in touch with the right person, or else get you the information myself.

[BeagleMommy]

It depends on your work place.  If your work involves a lot of outbound calling as part of your job duties, then call back and apologize for what happened.  If not, ask if it is okay to place the call back to the customer.

Trouble is, I have no idea who it was, or how to reach them.

It sort of went like this,

Customer: Hi, I'd like to order some widgets.

Me: Well, I'm not in the order department, but I'll see what I can (click)

The big problem was that I think he heard a negative (I'm not the right person to talk to), and got cut off as I was saying how I'd solve his problem. So, maybe he just heard "No, I won't do this," not "I'll put you in touch with the right person, or else get you the information myself.

Yikes, that's awkward.  I still don't think you were rude or did anything wrong.  Accidents happen.

[Lynda_34]

However when the customer called back he may have been routed to the correct department.

[Virg]

Twik wrote:

"The big problem was that I think he heard a negative (I'm not the right person to talk to), and got cut off as I was saying how I'd solve his problem. So, maybe he just heard "No, I won't do this," not "I'll put you in touch with the right person, or else get you the information myself."

The details of what you were saying don't change the etiquette of it, though.  It's not rude to cut off a call accidentally no matter what you were saying when it happened, so you don't have to sweat being rude. 

Virg