Escalation Circulation
Me: “Thank you for calling—”
Caller: “—Supervisor. Now. I’m not talking to the lowest rung call center worker. I need specialist help.”
Me: “Well, actually, you’re—”
Caller: “—Supervisor. Now. I won’t ask again.”
Me: “Certainly.”
I transfer him to one of the supervisors, who gladly takes the call. I don’t think much of it until an hour later, when the supervisor comes over to me looking flustered.
Me: “How did that call go?”
Supervisor: “What a jerk. I spent ten minutes trying to explain to him that I was a supervisor, but he insisted on talking to the ‘guy above me, ‘ and wouldn’t let me get a word in, so I ended up transferring him to [Manager].”
Ten minutes later, [Manager] walks past, also looking flustered.
Manager: “I just had to transfer a jerk over to [General Manager] because he insisted on talking to the guy above me. Wouldn’t even tell me what the issue was.”
Me: “Did [Supervisor] transfer him to you?”
Manager: “Yeah! How did you know?”
I explain how I got him first, causing a bit of a chuckle and an eye roll. Five minutes later, [General Manager] walks over to my desk with the same issue; the caller wants the “top dog” and refuses to accept anyone lower.
Me: “Okay, pass him over to me.”
[General Manager] does so.
Me: “Hello again, sir, I believe we spoke at the beginning of the call.”
Caller: “You again?! You’re the girl I got when I first called! This is ridiculous! They’ve sent me back to you when I demanded to talk to the person at the very top!”
Me: “You’re talking to her! I’m the regional manager for all of [Company]’s call centers.”
Caller: “But… but, why are you taking calls?”
Me: “I spend a day a month in the trenches to keep myself grounded.”
Caller: “Why didn’t you help me before?!”
Me: “I believe your exact words were “Supervisor Now. I won’t ask again.” Do I remember it right?”
Caller: “…”
Me: “I’ll take that as a yes. How can I help you today?”
The query ended up being something very simple, but because he was a ‘super platinum member,’ he expected that he should only talk to the ‘top dogs’ every time he called in. Also, he wasted half an hour just to get back to me.
