One day in 2007, the TBTF (Too Big To Fail) Bank customer service call center introduced something new and trained us all on it. The IVR System Bypass wasn't quite like gastric bypass, but it was hard to stomach and it did make me want to throw up.
Certain customers had been identified as good prospects for new accounts, particularly mortgages and home equity loan and lines of credit. When these people called the automatic phone system to do something like check their bank balance or activate a debit card, they would be transferred to a representative who would get a pop-up on their computer screen telling them which product they were supposed to pitch to the caller.
Certain customers had been identified as good prospects for new accounts, particularly mortgages and home equity loan and lines of credit. When these people called the automatic phone system to do something like check their bank balance or activate a debit card, they would be transferred to a representative who would get a pop-up on their computer screen telling them which product they were supposed to pitch to the caller.
To the customer, it seemed like they had made a mistake following the recorded prompts or keying in their information. Now I work for a
credit union and I know that sometimes these things do happen and callers will randomly be kicked out of an automated phone system to a live rep.
At TBTF Bank we knew very well something else was going on, but we were expected to pretend otherwise. We were supposed to tell the customer that we'd be glad to help them with whatever they needed, but in the process we were supposed to try to engage them in a conversation that could transition to a sales pitch. At the end of the phone call, if we had not managed to transfer them to a sales rep, we had to log the reason why. Of course we earned commission for every loan application that was submitted or new account opened as a result of our successful sales pitch.
In this, as in other sales incentives, I didn't perform very well, because my heart just wasn't in it. This was just another little crisis of conscience that kept me actively seeking other job opportunities during the year and a half I worked at TBTF Bank.
At TBTF Bank we knew very well something else was going on, but we were expected to pretend otherwise. We were supposed to tell the customer that we'd be glad to help them with whatever they needed, but in the process we were supposed to try to engage them in a conversation that could transition to a sales pitch. At the end of the phone call, if we had not managed to transfer them to a sales rep, we had to log the reason why. Of course we earned commission for every loan application that was submitted or new account opened as a result of our successful sales pitch.
In this, as in other sales incentives, I didn't perform very well, because my heart just wasn't in it. This was just another little crisis of conscience that kept me actively seeking other job opportunities during the year and a half I worked at TBTF Bank.
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