OK. I have a bit of a dilema. I know this may seem insignificant, but.... I work part-time at a car dealership as a receptionist. I've only been there for 4 weeks, and I notice that a lot of calls that come in are from people who say that they saw our number on their phone, and wanted to know who called. K, there is, like, 40 people working there. How the hell am I supposed to know who called them?! It's really beginning to drive me nuts! There really is no way of me knowing who called them either. When I tell them I'm not sure, they ask me to find out! I usually tell them that the person will call them back if it's important, but they don't seem to think that's enough! What would you do in my situation? Serious answers only, please...
2007-04-26 15:27:39 · 13 answers · asked by chicyuna 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Etiquette
Ask your supervisor how they'd like you to handle the situation.
Those calls could be important to the salespeople, service dept., etc.
2007-04-26 15:33:18 · answer #1 · answered by flankerji 4 · 3⤊ 1⤋
First, I would tell them what business you are...the dealership name, etc....because, they may not have anything on their cell phone except for the number...they may seriously have NO idea who it is calling them. If they don't know anyone working there, like family that may have called, then you go from there.
Next, I would ask them if they came in to look at any cars recently, turned in a credit application, etc...and if so, what date and approximate time...and if they remember who they spoke to....if they can't remember who they spoke to, ask them if they remember what the sales person looked like...
If the salesperson didnt leave their name, then I wouldnt refer it to the manager, they have way more to deal with than these type calls everyday. I would just thank them for returning the call, and that you look forward to doing business with them, than forward them to a free sales associate :)
2007-04-27 08:57:22 · answer #2 · answered by Cinna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to work at a dealerhip also. I too received many of those calls. I started to get really frustrated so, I called around and I found out that one of the ladies upstairs would call people at random to find out how their service was. So I would just direct all the call to her. 9 out of ten were for her. If you have no one at your dealership that does this then plan b is this.
caller: can you find out?
you: Okay, is your car in our service department?
caller: no
you: have you recieved your lic plates yet?
caller: yes
you: Okay sir/or mam, without any of that information will not be able to direct your call perhaps they left a message.
caller: no they didn't
you: okay I'm very sorry for the inconvience, but there really is nothing I can do. Have a good day bye!
What sucks is while you trying to satisfy that one customer you just lost like 10 other calls, so you have to talk fast. Make sure they know that your busy but at the same time would love to help them but really cant! OR I also say something like," you know what it might have been "janice" in our service department, but she just stepped out to lunch, let me get you her voicemail, one moment!" Of course you really don't know who called but it works and it gets them off the the phone fast. so basiclly just send them to anyones voicemail it works every time! hope that helped
2007-04-27 01:08:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ask your boss what you should do if you haven't already. See if there's some kind of procedure. I'm sure the previous receptionist had this problem too.
Alternatively tell the person, quite sweetly, that you would be happy to, but you'd have to put them on hold while you asked around because there are approximately 40 people who work here.
2007-04-26 23:38:33 · answer #4 · answered by LX V 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
tell them that if they did not leave a message it could be any one of the dealers that work there.
ask them if they would like to speak to someone anyway (they will say yes, they man even btch alittle) then say okay, thank you, I hope you find what you are looking for and transfer them to any of the dealers. You may want to heads up the dealer about the call so he can work his magic.
you can also ask a few of the dealers on how and why they call and how can you get them their customers.
they may have some clues since they want their commision.
2007-04-27 12:30:45 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You should talk to your supervisor and find a way that allows you to connect those incoming calls from customers to the sales or customer service departament. If there is not a procedure preventing to lose the chance to contact a client you could make a difference in your job by creating it.
2007-04-26 22:42:01 · answer #6 · answered by melissa986 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Explain the situation to your manager. Your manager needs to have a staff meeting and tell workers not to just hang up if no one answers. They should be required to leave a voicemail at ALL times - then the customer wouldn't just have a myterious number on their phone . They'd know who called and what it was about.
2007-04-27 00:28:34 · answer #7 · answered by Alex M 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Explain that you are only the switchboard/receptionist and that you are not given a list of clients that were called by the staff. Then ask them if they have a car in for service, if so, then that is half of the phone calls.
2007-04-26 22:36:50 · answer #8 · answered by kny390 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Remember, the customer is always right.
So you have to play 20 Questions.
Ask if they already have a car purchased at your store, and if so, transfer them to the service department.
If not, tell them that it was sales and transfer them there.
Good luck.
2007-04-26 22:41:52 · answer #9 · answered by nora22000 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Doesn't sound like you can do much about it. I would talk to your manager/boss about the problem, that's what there there for. Many companies have a phone number for each employee which obviously solves the problem.
2007-04-26 22:40:52 · answer #10 · answered by abram_27 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am sorry however we have over 40 employees, if they did not leave an message I have no way of knowing you called you. Sorry. Have a great day. bye. God bless****
2007-04-26 22:42:16 · answer #11 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋