Why do people ask me how long it will be before they get a call back?
OffLiCute asked:
I hate it when customers say, “When will he call me back?” when my boss is on the other line or has a customer. It really backs me into a corner because I can’t say he’ll call them back within the hour or sometime today because maybe he won’t. Why do they expect me to know when someone else is going to do something? I’m not his secretary or his day-planner.
I hate it when customers say, “When will he call me back?” when my boss is on the other line or has a customer. It really backs me into a corner because I can’t say he’ll call them back within the hour or sometime today because maybe he won’t. Why do they expect me to know when someone else is going to do something? I’m not his secretary or his day-planner.
I want to just say, “Your guess is as good as mine” but that isn’t very professional. Any ideas on a good response…?
My boss is not forthcoming with his schedule, so answering for him at all just isn’t possible. We never know if it’ll be today, tomorrow, or next week… Isn’t it better to be honest than to just guess?
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I’m not sure but I will tell him as soon as possible . Thanks for your time and patience
they asked because they know they are being fobbed off. also they also need to plan their own day – so if some was due to call them back within the hour, then they could wait, but if they weren’t planning a call back until four or five hours later, then they could go out or do something else. there is nothing worse than waiting for the phone to ring and it doesnt.
Therefore to keep everyone happy, i would suggest you advise the customer that you will ask your boss to back as soon as he is able. If he is not able to do so, then promise to call them back yourself at a given point so that they know they have not been forgotten. It reassures the customer that you are taking their call serious.
Quite often i would call people back, just to let them know that i was still dealing with the problem, even if i had not been able to find a solution. then when you do pass it over to someone else, give that persons name and number so there is no comeback on you.
I ‘m not sure what would be a good response. I do understand why people ask that question, though. It seems like returning phone calls has gotten pretty lax lately. Some companies never call you back. there are other places that I have called for information that only call back after I leave 3 messages. It’s not like I’m harassing them or anything since I usually wait a few days between calls.
They’re most likely just asking for a general time frame so they know not to be out of the house. I usually don’t ask, but rather, in this situation, tell the person I’m talking to that I have to leave at a certain time, and ask if they will tell him/her this so they know that I can’t be reached after that. I think the best way to handle the situation is to remember that everyone values their time, and to think about how angry you’d get to sit around waiting all day for a phone call that might not even come.
Try saying, “I’ll let him know that you called, and I’m sure he’ll call you at his earliest convenience.” If that isn’t enough for them, apologize and say that you are not sure when he will call back. It’s honest and polite, so even if they throw a tantrum and call back to complain about you, you don’t have to worry about repercussions or sounding unprofessional.
Ask your boss what he would like you to say. Some have a policy to get back to people within a certain time frame of by end of day. I do ask that question, but most of the time I just want to know if it will be that same day or if the issue will take some research.
I would ask your boss what he would like you to say.
I always ask when someone will call back, I have better things to do with myself than sit and wait for someone to return a call and if I know I have to go out I will tell people to ring before X time or after Y.
It is good customer service to at least be able to say, this afternoon or tomorrow etc.
Just say that you will give your boss the message asap and that you are sure he will call them back asap.
Be honest. Don’t guess. Even a flimsy estimation is going to come back and haunt you if the boss is too busy to return his calls.
When I was an admin my boss was forever asking me to contact people and arrange meetings. Without indicating what the subject of the meeting was, even when I asked him. Of course the attendees (all co workers) always asked me, and I could count on calls all day wanting to know what the meeting was about, and I had no answer.
Finally, I sent out a meeting invitation which indicated that I had no idea what the subject was and inviting them to ask my boss directly. Mind you this was internal only. I would never do this with clients.
He stopped issuing his power trippy summonings after that and always gave me a subject for the invitations.
With customers, its different – Tell them you don’t know what his schedule is, but that you will give him the message immediately.
If the same customer keeps calling and asking, it’s time to ask the boss what he’d like you to say to the person when they call again. That puts what to tell the customer on him.