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I’ve been having these off-the-wall customer service experiences that can’t go by without mention here. First it was the man talking to his muffin. And now it’s a story about the call-transfer merry-go-round, or rather, the customer-frustrated-go-round...

So, I’m in the market for a new car and apply online for a loan with a finance company. I call them to follow-up on my application:

“Hi, I’d like to find out the status of an application that I submitted online,” I told the person who answered the phone.

“Ok, hold on,” he said. I was transferred to another unknown department.

“Hi, I’d like to find out the status of an application that I submitted online,” I told the person I was transferred to.

“Ok, just a sec,” the second person said. I entered the transfer cue once more. The adventure of a lifetime.

“Hi, I’d like to find out the status of an application that I submitted online and I keep getting transferred,” I said with a hint of frustration in my voice.

“Oh, I’m in the marketing department. The reason you keep getting transferred is because they don’t know where to transfer you,” the third person I spoke with said.

HUH?

Isn’t it common sense to ask someone else who knows if you don’t know?

So you don’t make the same mistake, I’ve come up with some tips on what to do when you receive a call and need to transfer the call to another department:

1) Obtain as much information from the customer as you can in regards to why they are calling your company. Make note of that information so that you can relay this information to the department you are transferring the customer to. Customers don’t like to repeat information over and over.

2) Ask the customer if it is ok to put them on hold while you find out the best department to handle their call.

3) Before you transfer the call over, call the department and let them know that you have a customer looking for information. Make sure you are indeed transferring the customer to the correct department.

4) Thank the customer for their patience and let them know what department you are transferring them to.

5) If it's possible, give the customer a direct line to the department in case the call is disconnected. Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than to call a company and have to wait again to talk to someone because they were accidentally disconnected.

Have your own tips to share? Leave your comments below!