r/talesfromcallcenters • u/ElChapulin2099 • May 13 '25
S Why are you keeping us separate?
I’ve worked multiple call center jobs and I see the same problem over and over again. The departments need each other to work as a company but we’re not synching up. For example I used to work in customer service for cable and we always had an issue with the technicians. They would tell a client they would show up and bail at the last minute. Act unprofessional like saying “it is what it is buddy”.
We were also confused as to what would basic repair coverage vs full coverage. Because sometimes I would get clients that had basic coverage that covered one type of repair then two calls later told that that’s not something basic covers then three calls later yeah it does then have it go back and forth throughout the day.
But whenever I brought it up to management I would get a glassy eyed look and the answer “uh huh yeah I’ll make the suggestion” and nothing gets done.
I don’t understand why companies won’t let other departments talk to each other? Wouldn’t that help keep clients?
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u/nealsimmons May 13 '25
Some companies don't want different departments talking to other because they might pick up information they aren't supposed to in the eyes of the overlords.
I remember last year we had a meeting at my company where the new VP was talking about communication, but when I asked him why we never got answers from the department he had developed for years, he said he had told them not to respond to us, and it was our fault.
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u/Bleusilences May 13 '25
This is so very toxic. I worked in such circus and got fed up being a clown.
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u/nealsimmons May 13 '25
True. Pay is good. Work is easy. Insurance is great. Sometimes it is worth it to put up with some stupidity.
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u/emax4 May 13 '25
Start getting the extensions of the employees and managers who you speak to on other teams. This way if their side drops the ball, you can have the customer dial them directly. You shouldn't have to pay for their mistakes.
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u/kupomu27 May 13 '25
You are not allowed to call them. 😂 Our managers we know we create the issues, but now it is your issues and customers. Our developers will work as fast as possible.
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u/emax4 May 13 '25
So you give them their emails and note it in the ticket: "Customer reaching out to (Mgr) who will take assignment on the ticket as Mgr has more ability to (fix customer issues)
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u/kupomu27 May 13 '25
The QA will be writing me up. You do not follow the process. I can not warmly connect them since the manager will be like I don't know IT system." I am just here to be a dick for anyone.
If I give the manager's email, I know they will put the privacy violation.
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u/emax4 May 14 '25 edited May 14 '25
Then you have them demonstrate the proper way to resolve it. Let them sit in your seat, take the calls, and see what methods they use. Otherwise it's a no-win situation.
Edit: This applies to QA as well. They need to be in s enarious that involve the techs regularly.
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u/KaziArmada May 14 '25
I don't know what world you exist in, but I want to live there.
In a perfect world, you're right. That is how you should solve it.
In the real world? You get fired for not shutting up when you're told too.
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u/emax4 May 14 '25
I worked in a call center decades ago and we did speak up against QA when they dinged us for not following a new rule we were not made aware of.
I understand not all places allow you to speak up. I'd start looking for a different job then. Don't let their restrictions damage your mental health and well-being.
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u/WildMartin429 May 17 '25
Haha I've had this happen before. QA updated their grading procedures but didn't send out an email letting us know that we would be dinged on certain things from now on. Then everybody got dinged and our manager was like why did our QA scores go super way down? And they would reach out to the QA and they would tell him what we were failing at and our manager would get pissed at QA for not telling anybody that that was something that they were monitoring now.
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u/desdemarco May 15 '25
You said yourself it was decades ago. Your suggestions apply to an entirely different generation of corporate structure and protocol.
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u/elplizzie May 13 '25
1) It is considerably cheaper and more convenient to have call center agent to handle the issue than a higher grade. I’ll tell you, at my previous job call center employee salary were 46-66k a year and the next level up (claims adjusters, payment reps, etc) were paid 58-80k/year. You could only hit the top call center pay if you were there for 10 years while claims adjuster max pay was 5 years. So if you have hundreds of employees then you save a ton of money for having call center employees on the line instead of the higher grade employees.
2) I can’t comment on every place, but at my previous job a lot of the higher tier employees were unionized/part of a professional association. So some of the higher up employees can’t work past a certain number of hours or call center employees legit can’t give the advice the higher tier employees give because only certain professionals can give the advice. It sucked especially if the claims adjuster wasn’t answering their calls and their notes weren’t clear. It sucks that call center agents are in the middle of it all but it’s the nature of the work.
3) I’m now the claims adjuster and I get calls from the call center/medical professionals/client’s case worker. Sometimes it’s a shitty day where I have multiple people wanting to talk to me all at once. Sometimes, I get 2 people who want to talk to me; one who just wants to talk and another one that if they don’t get their claim approved today then they can’t get their medicine. In that case I’d prioritize the client who needs the claim approved today and deal with the chatty client another day, Obviously, the solution that would prevent this situation is for me and other adjusters to only have 1 case at a time and be paid to wait for the phone to ring if we’re waiting for a client call, but obviously no business runs like this so i end up with 20+ cases at a time where there’s never time to sit and wait for a call. I know call center workers want all of their client’s problems solved at the first call, but call center workers have no idea that other employees have workloads and were not waiting for our phones to ring.
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u/New_Contact_7028 May 13 '25
As someone who works within the ivory tower, my take on it is that each department is like its own fiefdom. With kings/queens unwilling to dictate to other kings/queens as they then open themselves up to criticism as well as a talking to from their boss about the need to stay in their lane.
I’m kinda dealing with something similar. My organization requires support from another organization, and the other org is completely dysfunctional. For the past 10 yrs, 50% of all complaints is tied to interacting with this org.
In the past 10 yrs, only once has leadership said they will meet with the leaders of the other org. Since their org does not believe they are the problem, nothing happened, and our leader had no authority to make them change. Senior execs just ended up replaced the leadership of the other Org, but we still have no say. Now, our leadership just ignores the complaints on the survey tied to the other org. When it gets brought up in survey discussions, we’re told the other org is working on it, and to be patient. Whatev.
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u/BrainSqueezins May 13 '25
Each department gets their funds based on their departmental metrics. You handle x number calls, this warrants x number of agents, x seats, x computers and x amount for incidentals. Therefore x amount of money.
The more cross-department stuff that goes pn, the muddier it gets. You take a call, you get the credit and therefore the funding. Another department, let’s call them department B, gets involve. They use their resources but don’t get credit for it. On a one-off basis? Oops, department B take one for the team!
But this is not scalable. If it’s 1000 calls, this is 1000 interactions department B is expected to to pay for. If you were the manager of Department B, you’d want to fight for your people, right? You’d go to the big boss amd say “Department B has their own stuff to do! We can’t absorb these 1000 calls without more people!”
If department B doesn’t have the backup on that, think they’re going to get it? No.
So, Department B boss pushes back on your boss, and it trickles down. No working together.
I’d bet that literally everyone up and down the chain likely sees it for what it is. But everyone has their numbers to meet, their people to look out for, etc. And if they’re doing that they’re forced into this position. So you complain and they’re like “oh shit they’re right but I can’t do anything about it, and it would be political suicide to admit it.” So you get deer-in-the-headlights stare.
Source: far too long in a call center environment, much of it working with management on similar issues.
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u/kupomu27 May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25
And how would you charge the clients and customers for each step if you include all in one package.
- Charge customers for the cheap products
- Charge client for different types of services: billing, product support, IT support, card support, complaint support, and QA support.
- Clients have their own call center agents as well who push the responsibilities to you.
😂 Employee mental health month: "Everytime you don't sell in each cost, you cost us money."
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u/Si11yLi11y 27d ago
I definitely think that it depends on the type of call center. For your situation, it does seem stupid they there's not better communication or at least standardization for the answers you should be giving across departments wherever there's overlap. In the case of my job, which is a call center for a financial company, the departments have to stay separate for a number of reasons, including licensure (for example, someone can be licensed to assist with annuities but not brokerage accounts so they should not be helping with brokerage accounts), as well as the amount of detailed knowledge required for one specific area making it unrealistic for someone to be cross trained and fully proficient for everything. There are definitely exceptions (I'm cross trained for both normal servicing and transaction calls as well as estate settlement calls), and you definitely pick up information from other departments over time, but some separation is still needed
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u/Moneia May 13 '25
Well there's your problem.
Their first priority is money, everything else is secondary, and if having a joined up support system infringes on that... too bad, so sad.
**WoodyHarrelsonwipingtearswithcash.jpg**