How To Handle Enquiries
Horse racing often gets a certain amount of negative publicity.
On Saturday, I am thinking of going to the Epsom Derby, as if the Queen’s Horse, Carlton House, should win, it will be one of those truly I-was-there moments, that only happen once in a century.
So I phoned the enquiries number at the course, got straight through to a real person and the conversation went like this.
Q: Can you buy tickets for the Upper Tattersalls Enclosure on the day?
A: Yes! We hope to have lots on the gate.
Q: Will I be able to get into the centre of the course to the fun fair and the market from there?
A: Yes!
Q: How far is the enclosure from Tattenham Corner Station?
A: About half-a-mile.
I then decided I was going, especially as there is a direct train from London Bridge at 11:45.
So why sometimes do simple questions about events sometimes take hours?
The Anonymous Widower 
I probably helped because the man probably knew where Epsom itself is, where the racecourse is, and where the railway station it. He was probably AT Epsom, or had visited it. And he spoke and understood English.
Comment by liz | June 2, 2011 |
I suspect he was one of their permanent staff at Epsom. But how many companies outsource or offsite this first level of support. I know when I phone some football club ticket offices, like Ipswich or Burnley, the real people there are on site. It’s without doubt the way it should be done.
Comment by AnonW | June 2, 2011 |
In Burnley there is an odds on chance the staff at the ground will not be native English speakers, although their English is impeccable as most are second or third generation of the family since they came over to work the mills.
Liz
Comment by liz | June 2, 2011 |
They did have local knowledge. The interesting one used to be O2’s one in Bradford, where the staff with Asian names used to add snippets to prove the actually were in Yorkshire. I don’t know whether it’s changed since the takeover, but it used to be a very good call centre. I’m still with them after thirty years and they never ever bother me, unlike others I could name.
Comment by AnonW | June 2, 2011 |