I good portion of the calls I get everyday, are people just wanting reassurance that what they’re doing is correct. Whether it’s to fill out a form, know what their balance is, or what the paid-to date is. Whatever they may be calling about, some people don’t seem to have a very good memory. They’ll either repeat themselves over and over again, or have me repeat the same information over and over again.
At one point, I did a, rough, tally. During each call, I counted how many times I repeated myself, or how many times the caller repeated themselves. What did I find? On average, for both sides, the number was about three. So, for example, if someone wanted to know what their paid-to date was, I’d often have to repeat the date several times before the call was over-with.
You can’t really make too many conclusions with that information though. I think a lot of people, for whatever reason, are either rushed/nervous when speaking to a representative. Often times, they don’t write things down while they’re talking with us. I know that some information they give me, like names, numbers, etc, pretty much go in one of my ears and out the other unless I write it down. So, I imagine it’s the same with them. (So they’re not ‘actively’ listening to me.)
Of course, I don’t really mind repeating myself, as I’d rather they have the right information at any rate. Still, I have been on calls where someone has me repeat something over and over again. When they complain that I sound like a robot, I just tell them I’m giving them the same answer over and over again, as to not confuse them. (Because, if something sounds different, well it can lead to another five minutes of me having to reassure them, again and again and again and again…)
I’ve got to say. I worked in a call center once (I was a customer service rep for DirecTV) and everything you say here rings so true! It’s funny how concious it made me, afterwards, of what kind of customer I was being any time I had to call someone.