Putting a caller on hold.

An agent should not put a customer on hold without seeking permission. If the agent abruptly says ‘hold on’ and puts him on hold, the customer would feel helpless and less important. To avoid this, there are four steps to putting a customer on hold. The agent needs to tell the customer the following before putting him on hold.

Explain the reason
Take permission
State how long it will take
Thank the caller if he/she agrees to be put on hold


Example:

Agent: ", I need to research on this issue and it may take 2 minutes. May I place you on hold?

Customer: " All right"

Agent: "Thank you"

If the hold exceeds the stipulated two minutes the agent should get back to the customer and request for more time. If he/she doesn’t want to continue holding, the agent may have to request the customer to call back after sometime or assure him/her that the agent will call the customer later (depending on the policy followed by the process)

Upon return the agent has to thank the customer for being on hold.

Agent: "Thank you for being on hold, "

Most customers may not mind being placed on hold. They will wait for the agent to get back. But if they are placed on hold for too long without any explanation, they might feel that the agent has forgotten them or hung up on them. Then they themselves might hang up. When you place customers on hold for more than two minutes their perception of that time is a lot more. This perception, in turn makes them impatient.

Some customers who have called before and who have been placed on hold dislike the thought of being placed on hold. The agent has to strategically word the request for hold, for the customer to accept it.