Timed calls...

[JoY]

I have had quite a few timed calls in my diary lately, which are difficult to keep.

I contacted the service centre and was told that the call centre staff have instructions not to book any timed calls, and that if I get any more to report them to her. So if they are a problem to you... the email address is
[e-mail]

Joanne was very helpful when I contacted her...

[BlindWizard]

I was told the same thing, management have instructed that no timed calls, not befores or not after instructions. She said they should start to disappear, I wait to see.

Give them their due she called me as a customer phoned to confirm that I wouldn't be there before 5.30 (a LPM call ;D) and she saw I had EVE calls so it wasn't possible.

Had a good LPM the other week - 3 calls of which 2 were after 5pm please and the 3rd after 4.30

[JoY]

I have 2 timed calls for tomorrow a.m. again.... both between 10-12, at opposite ends of my area. There's no way I can get to both, and still attend the rest of my booked appointments.

I have just emailed [e-mail] to ask for one of them to be rebooked and also removed from tomorrows diary so that it doesn't go down as an unconverted call! Still annoying though......

[phugly]

I wont do timed calls. Customer makes an appointment within a 3 hour window and I will be there within that 3 hours. If the customer feels that the timing is not right in that time they should rebook to a time when they will be there during that 3 hours

[JoY]

It's more a case of CAN'T do timed calls, than won't!

[phugly]

I think that Hillarys should stick to giving customers a 3 hour window with no guarantee that we will arrive at a specicific time, other companies dont do it. For example, NTL have just given me a 5 hour window between 8am and 1pm for an engineer to call. They would not commit to any window of time within that period, just that he would arrive between 8 & 1

[gloryboy]

if i'm honest i really don't mind vague timed calls.
i'd rather know a customers preference and try to accomodate it than miss them.
Most of the time when these notes appear beside an appt. i can arrange my calls to suit me and the customer.
i try to give an accurate time for fitting appt as well.
the more info central leads can provide the better really.

[JoY]

That might work if you cover a fairly small area, but with 6 post code areas I would spend all day in the car dodging back and forth with no time left to actually sell....

Just back now to an answerphone message from Hillarys asking why I didn't attend the timed call today! This despite me sending messages on both SAM and by email last night explaining that I would not be able to get to both the timed calls they had given me, and asking them to re-book one of them. Oh dear.... another unhappy customer.

[hereticus]

There are some valid points being made on this subject.

I am somewhere in the middle in that I often don't mind timed calls if they fit into my route for the day, or if I can plan accordingly, but I don't like being made to feel that it is my fault if it doesn't work out that way. Central Leads should not be allowed to promise timed calls without checking with the agent first, but if a customer chooses to indicate a time preference without any guarantees then that is fine by me.

The sort of occasion when it is a good idea is when booking an LPM appointment but requesting after 4.00 (i.e collect the kids from school first) - I would rather this than have to make it an evening appointment. The situation I don't appreciate is when there is more than one appointment in the same time slot, often many miles apart.

This also raises another issue, which is our ability to communicate with the customer regarding appointment times. Central Leads should ensure that when they take a customer's phone number they stress that it should be the number on which the customer can be contacted during the time slot in which the appointment is booked. How often have you needed to advise a customer that you're running late, or had to request directions when trying to find a house name after dark, only to find that their mobile phone is switched off, or the house phone is switched to answer machine, or they had left a work number ?

We can't always blame Central Leads for this as it is often the customer being thoughtless but the situation might improve if Central Leads were to explain why a phone number is required.

[niceday4selinblind]

I cover 13 postcodes mostly remote 30 miles any direction
from home
call centre usually ring me if customer is requesting fixed time appt
but often not possible as try to see 5 customers in 6pm to 9pm slot
only wish the notes on SAM where on the first page so that a brief
look would give a better idea of who to go to first or last

[gloryboy]

5 calls in an evening??
wow.

[madman]

Sorry folks but I have to ak the question whether we are in the of selling blinds or telling the customer we are going to call when we want not when the customer wants. I have no problem with timed calls any that I usualy get its in the notes and if thats what the customer wants thats what the customer gets. I think we have to remember that we are punters too how many times have we asked some one to be at our house at a specific time! and got very angry when they dont arrive. I am a full time agent who depends on the custommer for my livelihood and as far as i am concerned the customer gets what they want when they want and if it means I have to put myself out a bit so be it!

[JoY]

It's not that I don't want to do timed calls..... it's a case of I can't be in 2 places at the same time that are 30 miles apart! Sometimes you can work round the timed calls...sometimes not. If we were asked first (as sometimes I am), then its ok.
I'm not trying to be difficult. I want to attend all the calls and get as much commission as possible..... that's why we're all here!

[madman]

I appreciate the difficlties of a large area I have an area 45miles in diameter If I get 2 calls and I can't make it 1 of them gets re-arranged by me ringing the customer in advance. sorry if u think I am being awkward but I do think if we keep blaming clg and everyone else for all the problems we are becoming like the fsm ......... perfect and patronising in every way ! the clg will make mistakes but we have to adapt as its our business and we have to make it work for us. Sorry in relation to hillarys I use the term "our business" extremely loosely in fact unpaid employees would be more appropriate

[hereticus]

Surely there is a very simple answer to this problem.

At present SAM only gives us customer details (i.e address, phone number, and special instructions) for one day ahead so doesn't leave much time to fit the schedule around special requirements, or to phone the customer to re-arrange, or to get CLG to re-arrange for us.

If this detail information was more transparent - available right from the time of booking, or at least three days ahead - then we would have longer to plan, to avoid any conflicts, or to re-arrange with plenty of notice. This would make it much easier to accomodate timed calls.

Why do Hillarys feel that they can only trust us with the next day's information anyway - this stinks of the 'mushroom principle' of management (for those of you not familiar with the expression, the mushroom principle is to keep employees in the dark and throw sh*t over them twice a day).

Timed calls, or at least some contraction of the time slot (i.e after 10.00, or after 4.00, to accomodate school times) can be very helpful to the customer and can even be helpful to us (fewer evening calls, more certainty that the customer will actually be there, etc) - the problems arise because we don't get enough notice to be able to plan ahead.

Another idea would be for CLG, when booking an appointment, to view any special instructions against other appointments already booked in that slot so that they cannot, for example, book three LPM appointments all requesting calls after 5.00 pm.