Dispatcher Issues

[Tow411]

Topic Originally Created by DodgeTowGuy134 on Tow411 in March of 2014:

 

From time to time, we run into a problem with one of the Agero dispatchers whom is rude/uncooperative...

Some of the things that we have told our rep over the years that hasnt seemed to have been corrected:

-Dispatchers whom REFUSE to provide their Extension # (WE log this info [the dispatcher Name and extension#] to know WHOM we talked to!)

-Dispatchers whom REFUSE to disclose/provide the name of what "program" the customer called through, instead saying that the call is through Agero....yes, we know the Motor Club is Agero, but we NEED to know WHAT PROGRAM the customer called through (ie, Nationwide, Progressive, etc) -- This is because it allows US to provide BETTER SERVICE to the CUSTOMER, think of it this way, when our company dispatcher and/or driver speaks with the customer, isn't it A LOT more professional and reassurinig to the customer to have us address them as: Hello Mr/Ms Yadda, I'm SuchandSuch with XYZ Towing and we were contacted by your ABC insurance/Etc that you had requested assistance!...This is ESPECIALLY true when our driver arrives onscene, to allow the customer to KNOW that WE are the ones whom were called to come help, and arent just some PIRATE Tow Company that will do whatever the service needed is and then tell the customer, "now how are you gonna pay" in surprise to the customer, because they werent the company dispatched by Agero!

-Dispatchers whom REFUSE to disclose/provide what DOLLAR LIMIT (ie, $50, $100,etc) policy coverage limit the customer has with their policy and instead simply give the generic "oh, the customer is covered in full" response, which we ALL know may/may NOT be true!

- Dispatchers whom REFUSE to transfer a call to a Supervisor when the Service Provider REQUESTS to SPEAK with a SUPERVISOR and/or instead the dispatcher just hangs-up on the service provider. Simply put, if/when a provider requests to SPEAK to a call center supervisor (Alert Supervisor, etc) we should NOT be denied that!

- Dispatchers whom get frusterated/rude with a service provider and hand-up on them and say "then I'll just call someone else then...click!" this happens when we (our company dispatchers) start asking questions to gather more information regarding the call and the services being requested. This can range widely from, needing to obtain a better explination of the customers location to the type/need of service being requested, but all too often, the Agero dispatchers instead get rude/frusterated by our dispatchers asking these questions (in an attempt to gather NEEDED info to provide the CUSTOMER with the best customer service) and the Agero dispatcher hangs-up on us....We have been doing this for years, so we know that sometimes, the Agero dispatcher is simply just a "warm body" in the seat, making calls and that the dispatcher doesnt understand/know the industry terms/etc like WE do, but this is also addressing when we ASK for a SUPERVISOR to get the help needed to assist the customer, because the dispatcher is "lost". Also, we know that your dispatchers are "rated" based on how quickly they can get a service provider to accept a call, that method of evaluating/rating your dispatchers lends to POOR CUSTOMER service, because the dispatcher then focuses on how FAST they can get the call accepted by a provider and not by the quality of service

-Dispatchers inability/unwillingness to accurately/completely document a call with the notes that the service provider provides/requests/requires to be added to the call notes. This also includes documentation of Supervisor Approved additional charges!

-The newly growing problem of calling us for WAY out of area service calls (over 50+ miles away) and wanting a 60-minute or less ETA!

-Dispatchers in one call center doing things TOTALLY different that ALL the other call centers! This kinda includes dispatchers refusing to provide info (ext #, what program, etc)

-Rude and uncooperative dispatchers in general...

The above list is just meant as a "general" list of some of the things that we have noticed over the years regarding dispatchers from your club (AND MANY OTHER CLUBS AS WELL). We have tried to mention these things to previous reps, but they say that the call centers are managed by others and the feedback provided wouldnt go too far..

The Service Providers are the DIRECT contact with the "customer" and are the ones whom do the work. Right now, the "you're in bad hands people" are finding this out the hard way, as they are loosing MANY providers daily because of their Extremely Poor working relationship with the providers. Likewise, the communications between your club dispatchers and the service providers should be a quality and understanding, not having to fight to get something accomplished.

Our facility has a "dispatch flow process" where oour facility dispatchers receive a call and then follow a "flow-chart" style process of asking prompted questions to gain additional details about the call and service needed. We are VERY WELL versed in this industry and we have custom built this process for our facility to allow us to get as much information is possible to allow us to provide the BEST customer service to the Customer as possible, by obtaining all needed information to quickly and accurately assist the customer, however we find that from time to time, your club dispatchers are uncooperative regarding this process. We have explained this over and over, yet sometimes the issue still arises from time to time.

Our facility does look forward to a quality working relationship with your motor club, with open communications and prompt responses, as it takes BOTH parties (club & provider) to achieve the goal of customer service. We are willing to provide feedback and hope that our insights will be received constructively and without recourse, as it is our intent to provide constrctive feedback to help better the process in which your club dispatchers communicate with ALL service provider facilities.

 

thtdon said:

I believe that the problem with all motor club dispatchers of all motor clubs starts with how they are trained.  They are trained to rule (us) with an iron fist.  They are taught not to take any guff from us.  And to hang up on us when it happens.  The trouble is, what is their definition of guff?  You cannot ask them any questions because they do not know anything.  Their attitude is, just take the call and shut your mouth.  Is asking a question that they don't know the answer to considered guff?  Evidently, yes.

Tonight I was called 3 times by 3 different dispatchers to do the same call, over a period of about 20 minutes.  The car is at a tow company.  They didn't tell me that.  According to them, I don't need to know that.  But I recognized the address.  When I know that my call is at another towing company, I want to know if the charges have been paid.  I don't want to go there and have to wait.  Three times I told the dispatcher to call the member and confirm that the charges were paid.  And three times, the dispatcher hung up on me.  Three different dispatchers. All with the same level of rudeness. 

The members always do the same thing.  They want the tow truck to be en route, while they are en route.  The trouble is, I always get there first.  And the person at the towing company always tells me that the charges have not been paid, and they haven't heard from the owner.  So I either have to wait, or I leave.  The worst offenders are school teachers.  (I have to be careful here.  My wife is a school teacher.)  When I get a call around 1-1:30 in the afternoon to go to a school and change a tire, do a lockout, or do a jump start, the member is never with the car, and the member never answers the cell phone.  The teacher wants us to be standing by so when he/she walks out the door, the tow truck is waiting for him/her.  Good for them.  Not so good for me.  If the motor club was paying us by the hour, it wouldn't matter.  But they don't.  So you get the same fee whether you are there 10 minutes or 110 minutes.  Sometimes I think that I am the least relevant piece of the puzzle.  My time is their time to waste, I guess. 

 

atrmick said:

I filed many complaints about this over the years. Kerry Webb always tried to do her best to help with these. I filed a complaint with Nicole ad never a word back. You have to have all the information about the call including the dispatchers name. But as stated before it is really a lack of proper training and understanding. We have found that for the most part dispatchers are willing to give the info. The one I had last week was the topper. They wanted me to pick up a full coverage accident and tow it to an address. Like the Don I recognized the address as a another company here in town. When I questioned why it was being towed there they told me it was to be stored for the weekend. I asked why they were not towing it and told me they were too busy and they did not want to pay the mileage to our shop (7 extra miles). I told I wasn't going to another tow companies shop, she said fine and hung up.

 

SHERIDAN said:

You should here the attitudes we have been getting on vehicles in our yard that need to go to the body shops. The body shops are calling us direct and when we think the Agero is going to get involved we move them immediately. A some time later Agero calls ands wants the fees. We give them all that info and tie up the phone for as long as we can then tell them the vehicle has already been moved. They then demand to know who authorized the tow and become very rude. Then the battle starts. They will  even will call the body shop to see if the vehicle is there  and what time it had arrived.

 

EKYtow55 said:

what gets me is especially on weekends is trying to get some sleep, and they call you for lockouts in the wee hours of morning out of your area and can't even pronounce the name of the town or try to spell it to you, and I'm half asleep, you tell them and lay back down and call you back at least three times, I told the dispatcher the last time other morning you've called me 14 times and she said I won't call you anymore and hung up, thirty mintues later same call again different dispatcher, took the call at 2:30 am 11 miles out for a lockout and ended up GOA back to base at 3:30 am?

 

SHERIDAN said:

I too am fed up with all the repeat calls for the same job. Are they stupid and don't understand the word no? On the second call we tell them to not call back and if they do it's phone harassment. 3rd call I demand a supervisor. They ask why would I want a supervisor. Then they put me on hold and in less then 2 minutes the connection gets broke. On call 4 they flat get told off.

 

In Memory of NationalAutow who said:

Just quote them a ridiculous price.

$500 non refundable and pre paid with a card gets me to do a lot of things and go a lot of places at 2 AM.

No second phone calls and a lot of money to go 10 or 20 miles and open a hoopdee.

 

rdonchann said:

$500.00 would make most of em pass out.

 

SHERIDAN said:

I really laugh at them when they call and make the comment that they have called 10 other companies and none will help. I say guess what now its 11 then hang up.

 

GregTowzIt said:

I stored their phone number in my cell and pit it on the ignore list. No more wake ups at night!

 

ESC said:

the $500 mark is tough to break with them usually.... however 1 time after a storm, they paid me $750 for a 3 mile tow.   Nothing special... front wheel drive, had keys, easy job.

 

In Memory of NationalAutow who said:

They have paid me in four figures to the LEFT of the decimal on the strange recoveries that their local dude won't/can't do.