I totally agree with you. The way questions are asked can be the difference between an automatic "yes" or "no" from the caller and an actual investigation from his/her side. This works better with noobs of course, since they don't really know what the answer should be, so they have to do some work to provide one.
Q: Is the cable plugged in? A: Yes (of course)
vs
Q: Where is the blue/yellow cable going to/coming from? A: Let's see...
Q: Have you rebooted the computer/modem? A: Yes (or course)
vs
Q: What have you tried in order to resolve the problem before calling? A: Nothing, I just assumed it was a problem with "the system"
Q: Do you see "control panel" on your start menu? A: No
vs
Q: What items do you see in your start menu? A: My Computer, My..., Control Panel, ah, there it is!
Of course you have to adapt the questioning method to the actual caller, just like you have to adapt the way you give instructions:
noob: right/left-click level instructions
some exposure: open/close level instructions (open , type this,...)
knows the basics: end result level instructions (what is your IP/MAC?,...)
higher: probably already has all the information you will need at hand
I have the same problem, my mom and dad don't notice the sound the TV makes when it's turned on even though it's pretty obvious for me (I'm on my 20s). One time I went to another room and had them turn the TV on/off and then change the channels with the remote (volume muted), I detected each time they turned the TV off/on and each channel change just based on the sound, they were shocked. Then my sister (even younger) did the same thing and we figured it hould be a hearing/age problem.
Well, I don't know how many offices is adCenter using in total, but there's one at a big call centre where I'm working now, those guys have the biggest room after XBox, the whole room is an expansion to the call centre, and it was built a few months ago, now it's full with small HP computers and brand new no-name monitors. Since it's a new project, operators don't know each other so well, so station has a name tag on top of it, decorated by the operator himself, you know, colours, cartoons, etc, oh, and they have a phone too, but they don't use it. Recently (I assume it's because of the official launch) they decorated the room with coloured ribbons, balloons, banners, and all sorts of encouraging phrases in the walls. The place is located in Canada, and by looking at these guys faces and accents one can tell right away that they come from all over the world. They have been here for a couple of months now, I never knew exactly what they did, I mean, I knew it was the adCenter, but those guys didn't seem to be doing anything. Now they look busy, but still relaxed, no pressure like the XBox phone guys. I say relaxed because I usually see them browsing non-job-related websites and using MSN Messenger, they also pull up some Microsoft tool(s) and do their thing, approve/disapprove ads and a lot more I have no clue about. Phone agents and supervisors from other projects have been trained in adCenter and are currently working there. And that's adCenter how it looks from the inside of the same call centre, unfortunately I don't have details on what they do and how they do it.
Last week, when talking to a rep from my bank, the first thing he said before asking anything important was "oh, wait, are you using a cell phone? because those are not secure and...", so I had to call from my regular land line. It was my first call to the bank's number, so maybe it's something everyone is supposed to know, but still, it surprised me.
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I totally agree with you. The way questions are asked can be the difference between an automatic "yes" or "no" from the caller and an actual investigation from his/her side. This works better with noobs of course, since they don't really know what the answer should be, so they have to do some work to provide one.
...) ...)
Q: Is the cable plugged in? A: Yes (of course)
vs
Q: Where is the blue/yellow cable going to/coming from? A: Let's see...
Q: Have you rebooted the computer/modem? A: Yes (or course)
vs
Q: What have you tried in order to resolve the problem before calling? A: Nothing, I just assumed it was a problem with "the system"
Q: Do you see "control panel" on your start menu? A: No
vs
Q: What items do you see in your start menu? A: My Computer, My..., Control Panel, ah, there it is!
Of course you have to adapt the questioning method to the actual caller, just like you have to adapt the way you give instructions:
noob: right/left-click level instructions
some exposure: open/close level instructions (open , type this,
knows the basics: end result level instructions (what is your IP/MAC?,
higher: probably already has all the information you will need at hand
I have the same problem, my mom and dad don't notice the sound the TV makes when it's turned on even though it's pretty obvious for me (I'm on my 20s). One time I went to another room and had them turn the TV on/off and then change the channels with the remote (volume muted), I detected each time they turned the TV off/on and each channel change just based on the sound, they were shocked. Then my sister (even younger) did the same thing and we figured it hould be a hearing/age problem.
Well, I don't know how many offices is adCenter using in total, but there's one at a big call centre where I'm working now, those guys have the biggest room after XBox, the whole room is an expansion to the call centre, and it was built a few months ago, now it's full with small HP computers and brand new no-name monitors. Since it's a new project, operators don't know each other so well, so station has a name tag on top of it, decorated by the operator himself, you know, colours, cartoons, etc, oh, and they have a phone too, but they don't use it. Recently (I assume it's because of the official launch) they decorated the room with coloured ribbons, balloons, banners, and all sorts of encouraging phrases in the walls. The place is located in Canada, and by looking at these guys faces and accents one can tell right away that they come from all over the world. They have been here for a couple of months now, I never knew exactly what they did, I mean, I knew it was the adCenter, but those guys didn't seem to be doing anything. Now they look busy, but still relaxed, no pressure like the XBox phone guys. I say relaxed because I usually see them browsing non-job-related websites and using MSN Messenger, they also pull up some Microsoft tool(s) and do their thing, approve/disapprove ads and a lot more I have no clue about. Phone agents and supervisors from other projects have been trained in adCenter and are currently working there. And that's adCenter how it looks from the inside of the same call centre, unfortunately I don't have details on what they do and how they do it.
Last week, when talking to a rep from my bank, the first thing he said before asking anything important was "oh, wait, are you using a cell phone? because those are not secure and...", so I had to call from my regular land line. It was my first call to the bank's number, so maybe it's something everyone is supposed to know, but still, it surprised me.