Martin Lewis shares tip you should always do when speaking to call centre worker

03 December 2023 , 22:34

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Martin Lewis shares tip you should always do when speaking to call centre worker

That dreaded call to sort a problem where you often face a wait to speak to a human is no excuse for being rude when you finally get through.

It's something most folk will have faced, whether it's a phone company, an energy giant or an insurance firm, having to pick up the phone, listen to the robot voice read out the options and then select the correct number, only to then be put on hold for what seems like an eternity.

And also often, when you do get to talk to a real person, that much-needed resolution to your problem still proves to be elusive, But that is no excuse to be rude to the person on the other end of the line, according to consumer guru Martin Lewis, who was talking on the latest episode of his The Martin Lewis Podcast.

He warns people to treat call centre workers with respect and avoid a common mistake which will end up immediately turning them against you, while probably also making them less likely to help you out. A call centre worker called Nicola told Martin that one thing she hears on the phone a lot is "Martin Lewis told me" and added: "Well one thing Martin Lewis should also tell you is that we are human and don't like being spoken to like that."

Martin Lewis on The Martin Lewis Money Live show (ITV)

However, the famed fighter for consumer rights said: "I always do Nicola, I make a big point that you should be polite and charming. I know call centre operatives sometimes get very frustrated with people quoting my name and being angry with them, but I just wanna assure all of you who work in call centres, I don't believe getting angry with call centre operatives is productive, I don't think you should do it, I think it's rude.

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"And as I always say, polite, charming and maybe a bit of chutzpah is the right way to go forward." But another worker told Martin there is one phrase you should NEVER say to a call centre worker because it will drive them round the bend. A man called Hans wrote in to Martin and said: "When an operator asks you 'is there anything else I can do for you today', the worst thing you can say is 'have you got the winning lottery numbers?'

And Martin replied: "Yeah, I get the frustration. It's a bit like when people come up to me and say 'I'll tell you how to save money'. Don't spend any! Or, 'I'll tell you how you can save money. Get rid of the wife!'. Yeah okay, thank you."

Martin also explained that asking for a manager can work when talking to a call centre operative. He said that the best way to go about this is: "When you feel you have exhausted what the operative can do to help you and you feel that isn't satisfactory, don't escalate it in the first instance, only when you get to the end of the conversation, 'I'm really sorry you couldn't help, I don't feel that is satisfactory, is it possible you could escalate this for me please? I think it can be worth bringing it up'."

Paul Donald