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People really open up to you when you call them by name... I never realized it, but almost every conversation I have on the phone goes like this: ring
by blhack 17y ago
People really open up to you when you call them by name...
I never realized it, but almost every conversation I have on the phone goes like this:
ring
ring
"Thenks for calling hacker news, this is PG, how can I help you?"
"Hey, PG, whats up?"
This totally throws the customer service rep off. Most people just ignore the name and start screaming off their question. It makes you different and "fun" to them. Think about answering the phone all day. Suddenly somebody showing an interest in you goes a long way.
I never realized that I did this until a good friend of mine pointed it out to me. I now feel kindof bad about being manipulative :( (although unintentionally).
The same thing also works for most other service people. Be nice to them. Treat them like people and suddenly things happen for you :)
(there is a restaurant in Tempe, AZ that does not serve fried pickles. However, if you're nice enough to the server, they'll generally pull some strings for you and BAM! friend pickles. I emphasize that they don't serve them because, if you get a server who is in a particularly bad mood and you ask for them, they will get sortof angry at you. I think they're a pain in the ass for the cooks.)
- nazgulnarsil 17y agoI'm going to go ahead and be the counter point on this. I worked at a shitty service job for years and nothing pissed me off like people using my name and trying to get friendly.
- jlees 17y agoSame, though I think there's a slight difference. I used to just hate people reading my name off my badge and using it in a smarmy way (and it was always smarmy). But if you're answering the phone and volunteering your name as information, I think it's a little different. It depends on how you do it, really. I get fed up with callers who constantly interject my name or worse, "$TITLE $SURNAME". Especially when they get the title wrong - it feels like I'm eavesdropping on one of my parents' conversations. That stuff just stinks of "I've been trained to repeat your name and I'm reading it off a screen right now". Urgh.
- blhack 17y agoUmm...no offense, but how would you prefer that people be nice to you? Did you just hate your job? There is no sense getting mad at the people that were trying to treat you like a human being. I also spent many years working in service industry jobs. People talking to me like I was a person and not a piece of shit that was somehow below them made all the difference to me. To each their own, I guess.
- nazgulnarsil 17y agobecause it was fake. if they're not going to be sincere I would much prefer people just stick to business.
- blhack 17y agoIt sounds to me like you're assuming that everybody who tries to be nice to you is being fake. My being nice to people when I talk to them is a result of my mid-western upbringing, as well as my working the majority of the jobs I'm talking about here. It must suck seeing the world through your eyes.
- nazgulnarsil 17y agowell, I live in the 3rd richest county (used to be #1) in the united states. the people here are worse than you can possibly imagine (lots of inherited wealth).