‘This actually isn’t helpful’: Woman shares how she tries to help customer service workers on the phone. It backfires

TikTok user Its.Bastet (@b.as.tet) posted a video three days ago and it has since amassed more than 513,000 views. The video is a selfie with the following text overlay: “Random Fact about me: Whenever I get cool customer service reps on the phone I purposely tell them ‘Hold on—don’t hang up’ just to give them a 15-20 min break from taking more exhausting phone calls because I know how it is.”

But in the comments section, some users who work at call centers asked her to please stop doing this. 

One user wrote, “the thought is kind, but this actually isn’t helpful. youre increasing their AHT (avg handle time) which is a major factor for many cs reps. they want u on and off the phone ASAP.”

Somebody else wrote, “Plz don’t do this to me I got other people to call lol.” Its.Bastet replied, “Inbound calls only. Sometimes the back to back beep is traumatizing.”

One user said, “We are told to hang up after 2 mins of silence.” Its.Bastet responded, “I try not to stay too silent. Chime in here and there “I’m still looking for it … are you able continue holding?”

Are you helping call center workers by keeping them on the phone?

It’s not a good idea because many call center workers have quotas and queues to tend to. Most calls are recorded and reviewed by supervisors as part of a regular feedback loop. Indulging them on the phone too long can get them in trouble, especially if their metrics correlate to call time.

However, not every call center employee had a problem with the practice. One user said, “As a call agent who doesn’t care about quotas or numbers I appreciate this lol. I loooove long phone calls Makes time go so much faster.”

Someone else said, “You’re an angel thank you I appreciate you every single time, my calls aren’t timed at my job so this is a LUXURY.” Its.Bastet responded, “Because I know how it gets when you finally get off a call and .23 seconds later ‘BEEP!’*

@b.as.tet 🤷🏽‍♀️ #fyp #fypシ゚viral #customerservice #friendship #work #phones #customerservicejobs ♬ Stick Em 2k20 – RoddOnnaBeat

TikTok users with remote call centers jobs often take to the platform to discuss their workload. One employee praised her job for not making her take back-to-back calls. Another worker said she spoke to a customer for a whopping two hours. And recently one worker blasted customers who call in with no information to look up their account.

The Daily Dot reached out to Its.Bastet via TikTok comment for comment.

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