How To Attack The Push-Back

(I work for a company that at one time had a posture of measuring employees’ performance by “productivity,” or how many customers they could process in a day. As a result, many people would look for ways to pass as many calls as they could off to another department to improve their throughput. Many of our customers use our equipment. If customer service sends equipment out the customer is billed for it, but if repair service sends out a repair replacement there is no charge. Repair is notorious for not wanting to handle repair replacements, so in customer service we get a lot of “pushback” from them trying to get us to do their job for them. One day I figure out a solution.)

Me: “Hello, [Repair], I have a customer needing a repair replacement for [equipment].”

Repair: “That’s your job; you can do it.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Could you give me a repair ticket number, please?”

Repair: “You don’t need a repair ticket number.”

Me: “Could I get you to pull up the equipment page and help me fill it out, please?”

Repair: “Why?”

Me: “I’m having a little trouble with the form.”

Repair: “Okay.”

Me: “On your screen, could you click the box that says, ‘repair replacement.’”

Repair: “Okay.”

Me: “Did you see the little box that says, ‘repair ticket number’?”

Repair: “Yes.”

Me: “The system won’t let me submit this form until I enter a repair ticket number, so could you give me one, please?”

Repair: “I can’t issue a repair ticket number unless I am talking to a customer.”

Me: “Would you like me to transfer the customer to you so you can do your job like you are supposed to?”

Repair: *resignation in voice* “Yes.”

(I passed this technique to everyone in customer service and it was the end of pushback from repair.)