“I’m Calling Around For Someone Else…”

Lately I have been getting more and more calls by people stating they are not the person needing a unit but that they are calling on behalf of a friend and or a relative who is the one needing a unit.  How do I know if I am being shopped or if the caller really is calling for a friend, or calling for himself/herself?   As far as secret shoppers go, those types of calls are usually easy to detect.  But when it comes to determining whether the non-secret caller is calling to get prices for themselves or truly calling for a friend, I have a few suggestions as how to identify them.
First, ask the obvious; once you have asked what the callers’ name is, ask them what their friend who needs the unit name is.  Two things will occur early on in the conversation.  The caller will either easily mention the friend’s name they are calling for or they will freeze up and admit to really calling for themselves.  Once you have established that, you move on to the next phase, depending on what answer you get.  Sometimes when you have figured out that the caller is calling for themselves they may become a bit annoyed by the fact and state that they don’t need the unit anytime soon; that they are just calling for prices. Turns out they do need the unit soon but they are comparing prices.  Usually you can easily entice this type of caller to reserve over the phone if the store is offering a neat special.
As for callers who are actually calling on behalf of someone else, I find that when the caller is the mother, father or other close relative calling to get prices for the prospect that if you cannot get that relative to reserve a unit, if you represent the storage facility very favorably, the relative calling will pick up on that and ask for your name and even ask you if you have an extension number where the person needing the unit can reach you.  I have found that the person needing a storage unit, ends up calling me that same night to reserve the unit.

So next time you get a caller stating they are calling around for someone else, be prepared to know how to handle these type of calls, and be on the lookout for those mystery shops.

Written by Carmen Huff, PhoneSmart call center reservations specialist and business blog writer.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart secret shopping blog, an inside peek into the secret shopping business and the mystery shopping industry.  

Your local self storage unit provider in 9 N 004 Route 59 Elgin, IL. 60120

Tweet This Post 

Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

View admin's Profile      Subscribe via RSS