Policy Statement:
Our customers are vital to our growth and success. They should be treated with the utmost courtesy and their  requests should be responded to promptly and correctly. The policy described below has been established to ensure quick response to customer requests and to eliminate the customer irritation of being transferred repeatedly.

Guidelines:
Transfers:
For those callers who need to be transferred the following guidelines apply:

The Customer Service Advocate (CSA) will inform the caller that he/she must speak to another department which will require that he/she be transferred. The caller should be given the option of being transferred or leaving a message.

If the caller elects to be transferred, get his/her name, identification number and general information about his/her inquiry. Prior to transferring the customer, place the customer on hold and call the area receiving the inquiry. Give your contact the customer information and verify that the call should be sent to this area.  If you have the correct department, return to the customer line.  Inform the customer that you are about to transfer him/her, the name of the person he/she will be speaking to when the call is connected, and the extension to which he/she is being transferred. If you are unable to reach the department other than through voice mail, give the customer a choice of either leaving a message to be forwarded to the appropriate department or transferring them to a voice mailbox.

If the caller elects not to be transferred, take the necessary information (name, identification number and inquiry information). Give the message to the appropriate area.  Inform the caller that you will forward his/her message and that he/she may expect a return call.

When a customer calls an incorrect number (regardless of his/her approval to transfer), the correct telephone number should be given to the customer for future use.

No customer should be transferred more than once. If the caller has already been transferred once (and is still not in touch with the correct department), the name, identification number, telephone number and inquiry information should be taken and the caller informed that the appropriate party will be given the message and will return the call. Give this information to the appropriate area manager or supervisor. The manager or supervisor receiving this information will place the return call within 24 hours. If the caller is irate, this information should be noted on the message and the area responsible should return the call as soon as possible, preferably within the hour.

In all situations requiring a callback, ask the caller when it is most convenient for him/her to receive a return call. If the caller specifies a time, note this on the message given to the callback area. If no specific time is indicated, inform the caller that he/she can expect a return call within 24 hours.

Second Requests:
To identify second request situations, INFO entries should be checked to determine if the customer has called earlier with the same problem. If thorough research of INFO or through comments made by the customer you suspect the initial inquiry was not resolved, verify with the customer that his inquiry is a second request. Second request inquiries should be given priority and should be resolved within 24 hours. If the call cannot be resolved within 24 hours the member should still be called to let them know the status of the request. The workleader/supervisor should also be notified.

For second request calls, every effort should be made to ensure the customer is satisfied with the inquiry response. If there is reason to believe that the customer is not happy with the response or action to be taken, the area supervisor or manager should speak with the caller to ensure that all possible avenues are being considered to resolve the complaint.