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By Lydia Patrick
Life & Trends Reporter
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One woman's advice on how to deal with customer service advisers has sparked controversy.
Having to call customer helpline desks is never a pleasurable experience, whether it be endless call music or an inability to get to a solution to a problem you are having with a product or service.
Though it is easy to forget the laborious task the call handler has all day trying to appease endless clients, often for little pay and working unsociable hours.
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One woman, a former call center worker, Bastet (@its.bastet), shared her unusual advice on how to give tired workers a break in a video which amassed 706,000 views.
She said on TikTok: "Whenever I get cool customer service reps on the phone I purposely tell them to 'hold on don't hang up' just to give them a 15-20 min break from taking more exhausting phone calls because I know how it is."
According to the Communications Workers of America Union (CWA), 2.5 percent of the U.S. workforce, or around 3.6 million, are employed in call centers.
Aaron Painter, the CEO of Nametag, a company which works closely with customer service, call centers, helpdesk and IT departments to help them reduce customer resolution times, weighed in on the advice.
He told Newsweek: "In customer service, time is money—and representatives are measured on their call resolution times, a signifier of success not only within the company, but with customers.
"The woman's advice is well intended and a very nice sentiment, but counter to a customer service culture many companies try to cultivate for improved customer satisfaction."
He used the scenario of a customer waiting an extra 15 to 20 minutes to assist with multi-factor authentication issues or with a password problem due to being locked out of your phone.
He explained: "With the 'time is money' strategy, the woman's advice is counterproductive for the rep and the overall success of that customer service agent and his/her/their department."
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The advice has caused controversy in the comments section, with some agreeing and others saying it could impact workers negatively.
Shannon said: "The thought is kind, but this actually isn't helpful. you're increasing their AHT (avg handle time) which is a major factor for many customer service reps. They want you on and off the phone ASAP."
Brittany said: "As a call agent who doesn't care about quotas or numbers I appreciate this lol. I loooove long phone calls Makes time go so much faster."
However, Kailey said: "Please don't do this to me, I got other people to call lol."
Momo said: "Letting the calls pile up is far more anxiety inducing. You zone out the beeps after a while."
From a customer perspective, the advice may not serve well since it could lead to increased waiting times for people waiting for advice.
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