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Relational communication skills training!
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"phunny" mail:

Looking for motivation can be a challenge ... especially in our line of work! The Phone Phunnies has helped me tremendously. My staff looks forward to each month's edition! —Nancy M. Maxwell

This is great. I'm going to let my co-workers in on it. —Linda D. Chambers

And now for something more serious...
E-learning, uhggg!

Technology gives us so much. Technology takes so much from us. It's true in both our professional and personal worlds.

Have you bought any CD Rom training programs lately or signed up and taken an online course? I just finished an online customer communications course. It's one of the best, yet it's still lacking in so many ways. Signing up was smooth. The price point was remarkably low . . .

funny pictures
The captions keep arriving for this picture. Here's one from Brad & Christel:

"...Eggs, flour, milk... honey-you'll have to make it quick others need the phone."
STATE OF CONFUSION
 I am a supervisor for a directory assistance (411) call center and we have a customer that firmly believes that New England is a state. Here is how these calls would go:

Operator: What city and state please?

Customer: Uhhhh. . . Lincoln, New England.

Operator: I'm sorry, did you say New England was the state?

Customer: Yes, that is what I said.

Operator: Sir, I apologize but New England isn't a state.

Customer: Yes it is, I am reading it off a paper that says "Lincoln, N-E".

Operator: I am sorry sir, but N-E is Nebraska . . .could it be Lincoln, Nebraska?

Customer: Oh yeah, that's what I meant.

It would be funny if it only happened once, but it happens several times a week, which makes it hilarious!

CHATTY CUSTOMER
 I work in a call center where we offer our customers the option to receive assistance through a chat program that is accessed from our website. A few weeks ago, one of our phone reps received a call from a customer who informed us that our chat was not working properly. Concerned that we might be having technical difficulties with this important service, the representative asked several questions regarding the type of problem, intending to notify the proper personnel to have the bug fixed. However, the rep realized the root of the problem when the customer described her attempts to chat from her new computer: "I keep talking to it as loud as I can," the frustrated customer emphasized. "It's just not doing anything!" At this point, the representative broke the news to the customer that in order to chat online, one does normally have to type!

OOPS, I ATE IT AGAIN!
I am a counselor in a call center that specializes in dietary supplements for weight loss, health and fitness. I received a call from a customer who was frustrated and unhappy about the results from using our products. I empathized and asked her to tell me more about her lifestyle. The good-natured caller told me she had “a Britney Spears stomach.” A little confused, I told her that many people would kill for “a Britney Spears stomach!” She told me, “You don’t understand. My stomach is the size of Britney Spears!!”

THIS PIN-head IS SEEING STARS!
I work for a large financial center on the internet support line. Clients can access their information online using an access code and a personal identification number (PIN). One day I received a phone call from a lady who stated that her pin number was not working properly. I looked at her account information and the account was in working order. I went ahead and gave her a new temporary pin and asked her to try it while I waited. She said it was still not working. At a loss as to what to do next, I ask her why she thought the pin was not working. Her reply was when she entered the new PIN all it showed were stars ( * * * *) and not the PIN numbers.

I JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS NEW-FANGLED CONTRAPTION!
My sister works for a mobile phone company. She e-mailed me right after the call.
Caller: I bought a phone last week, and I didn't receive the car charger for the lighter until today. I'm trying to use it, and it's not working. How do you use it?
Rep: First, you remove the lighter and then you plug it into the adapter.
Caller: But... I don't have a car.
Rep: Why do you need the car charger?
Caller: To light my cigarettes.
After some probing, the rep learned the member thought she could plug the charger into the phone and use it as a cigarette lighter.

Source: Readers of The Phone Phunnies
Copyright. Grantland Enterprises, Inc. www.grantland.net 2408 Brook Road,
Charlottesville, VA 22901. Tel: 434-964-1238. Fax: 434-964-1298.
Used by permission.