After 3 hours on hold with my internet provider, I tried asking for the 'customer retention' department.

Got a real person in under 2 minutes who actually fixed my billing error. Is this a legit strategy or does it just make you sound like a jerk?

3 comments

3 Comments

grace_perry441mo ago

Oh that's totally legit. Those retention people have way more power to fix stuff than the regular front line folks. You're not being a jerk, you're just using the system they built. Honestly more people should do it instead of wasting hours on hold.

noahpark1mo ago

Actually, the retention team often has the exact same tools as front line support. The real difference is their permission to offer discounts or credits to keep you as a customer. A regular agent might see the same fix for your billing error, but company policy stops them from applying a loyalty discount. It's less about power and more about what rules they have to follow.

jakem9820d ago

Friend of mine used to work at a cable company and said the same thing. Regular reps had a script they couldn't stray from, but retention could basically make stuff up as long as it kept you from leaving. Always worth asking nicely.