How to Place Callers on Hold

Learn how to place callers on hold with this simple three-step strategy.

While attending Florida State University, I volunteered as a telephone crisis counselor with Telephone Counseling & Referral Service — now known as 2-1-1 BigBend — a suicide prevention hotline in Tallahassee. The experience not only provided me with valuable communication skills, but it also equipped me with strong customer service skills, including how to place callers on hold.

As part of the screening process, each potential volunteer was subjected to a thorough, in-person interview. Even though 30+ years have passed since that time, I distinctly remember one of the open-ended interview questions:

Assume that you are on the phone with a suicidal caller and the second line rings. If you are the only volunteer on shift, what would you do?

I recall struggling with this question during the interview because of the obvious dilemma:

• Do I dare place a suicidal caller on hold? After all, we’ve all heard jokes about calling the suicide hotline but being placed on hold.

• Do I ignore the second caller, who might also be suicidal? Similarly, we’ve all heard jokes about calling the suicide hotline but no one answers.

In the end, I explained that because I felt uncomfortable about placing a suicidal caller on hold, I would be tempted to let the second line ring, unanswered. Despite my apprehension about not answering the second line, I reasoned that it was the “lesser of two evils.”

And that was the second-best answer. The best answer was to politely and calmly explain to the current caller that another line is ringing, assure the caller that you’ll resume the conversation soon, ask permission from the caller to place him or her on hold, and then place the caller on hold to answer the second line. During the subsequent training program, we spent hours practicing how to place callers, including suicidal callers, on hold.

Believe it or not, your business can use the same strategies that a suicide prevention hotline agency uses to place callers on hold. Indeed, if a suicide prevention hotline can successfully place suicidal callers on hold, your business can place callers on hold, including angry customers.

Step 1: In a calm, polite, and professional tone, explain why you need to place the caller on hold.

Simply telling the current caller in an abrupt and curt manner to “please hold” not only conveys an impatient tone, but it also leaves the caller wondering why he or she is being placed on hold. If is because of another call, the caller might not hear the second line ring, so be upfront with the caller; otherwise, the caller might erroneously assume that you’re simply trying to avoid his or her call. If you need to place the caller on hold to gather information from another department, be sure to explain so; otherwise, the caller might assume the worst, i.e., “I bet they didn’t even enter my order!” or “I bet my service call isn’t even in their system!”

Step 2: Ask the caller for permission to place him or her on hold for a short while.

Before placing a caller on hold, ask permission to do so, and phrase the request so that the caller will feel compelled to agree. For example, “John, my second line is ringing, and I need to answer it. May I place you on hold just a short while so I can answer the other line? I promise I’ll be right back.” Or, “Mary, may I place you on hold a brief moment while I talk directly with my dispatcher to find out where the service technician is?”

The overarching purpose of asking permission to place the caller on hold is to provide the caller with a sense of control and importance. Provided that you pose the question in a calm, polite, and professional manner, the caller will readily agree to the reasonable request.

During my many years of taking calls from cable television customers, suicidal callers, and panicked clients, take a guess how many times I’ve not been granted permission to place a caller on hold. If you guessed “zero,” you’re correct.

Step 3: Answer the second line, and determine whether the call can be resolved quickly.

The caller on the second line does not know about the other caller on hold. Sometimes, a customer service representative answers the second line with a command, not a greeting: “Please hold.” Remember, before placing a caller, including a second caller, on hold, follow Steps 1 and 2; in other words, use the same strategy with the second caller as you did with the first caller.

Sometimes, the second caller’s question might simply involve transferring the caller to another extension or answering a routine question about your hours of operation. If that’s the case, resolve the second caller’s question before returning to the original caller.

If the second caller will require more time, explain that you are working with another caller, and ask permission to place the second caller on hold, just like you did with the original caller. Or, better yet, ask the second caller for his or her telephone number so that you can call him or her back after resolving the original call. The second caller will likely appreciate the opportunity to receive a telephone call instead of spending his or her time on hold. Just be sure to call the second caller back once you resolve the original call!

This week, try using the above strategy to place callers on hold. You’ll find that the strategy strikes an optimal balance between customer service and the realities of answering multiple incoming phone lines.

And if you like learning about simple and practical customer service tips and strategies like these, consider subscribing to our FREE Kick-Ass Customer Service Newsletter.  About every 10 days, we email our subscribers customer service tips and strategies to use and share with their teams.

In the meantime, have a “customerific” week!

Mark

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