Unless you happen to be a telemarketer, you’ll probably agree with me on this … I hate telemarketing calls. I must get several a week at the office, selling printing, electric power, copier service, moving services – you name it.
What really bugs me is when the caller realizes he or she isn’t going to make a sale, and click, they just hang up. No parting words like, “ok, thanks” or “sorry we can’t help you now, but please keep us in mind” or even a simple “Thanks for your time, Goodbye.” Just Click! Like their time is more valuable than mine and they’re onto the next call rather than an extra two seconds to say “Ok, thank you.”
It burns me up.
So just imagine how furious I was the other day. I had received a call from a woman from an office supply company, saying she had good prices on toner. I told her I didn’t buy much, but if she wanted to send an email with her prices on the cartridges I use, I’d consider it. She thanked me so much, saying she’d had a tough day and my willingness to consider her offer made her afternoon.
Sure enough, I got an email from her, but the prices were just about the same as what I pay at the Staples down the street. And with Staples, I get points toward money-back coupons. So I deleted the email.
A few days later, Eleni (that’s her name) called to follow-up. She was very nice on the phone until I told her that her prices were no better than Staples’ prices. Then, with no further words from her, the phone went dead -- Click.
I can’t begin to tell you how mad I was. I went down the hall to tell my co-worker Jeanne, who writes a blog about customer service, and as I told the story I got more and more pissed off. This was someone who I had spoken with for a few minutes, and then we had further interaction when she sent her prices. But as soon as she saw I was not going to buy, she hung up. How dare she! I even looked for her email to send a nasty note, but I had already deleted it.
Grrr.
About ten minutes later the phone rang. I recognized the voice. It was Eleni. Before I could rip into her, she began to apologize, saying she didn’t know what happened, but the phone had gone dead. She was calling to tell me she had not rudely hung up on me, and that even if I didn’t buy now, she hoped I’d keep her info on hand for the future. But mainly, she said, she wanted to apologize for hanging up on me, even though it had been an accident.
I was so stunned and pleasantly surprised that I placed an order with Eleni for a couple of ink cartridges. And I sat there at my desk, slowly shook my head and smiled.
. . . .
P.S. If you're looking for office supplies and furnishings, Eleni can help and get you a good price. She's at 718-392-0615 or by email at [email protected]. She promises she won't hang up on you.