Most Flummoxed Cold Caller Ever

Chris K has just posted about his Worst Cold Caller Ever and like Chris I too work in a call centre environment so know a little of what the person on the other end of the line goes through.

So I'd like to nominate my most flummoxed cold caller ever. It was shortly after the Labour/Lib Dem Scottish executive had introduced free personal care for the elderly, and if I remember correctly I was in full General election mode of highlighting our sucesses. This is how the conversation went.

Caller: 'Hello can I take a few moments of your time to ask a few questions?'

Me: (unusually) 'Certainly.'

Caller: 'Have you heard that the Scottish Executive have introduced free personal care for the elderly?'

Me: (grinning in anticipation of the next question) Yes

Caller: 'How did you hear about it?'

Me: 'When it was debated at the Liberal Democrat conference.'

Caller: 'Oh..... I don't know how to put that down....can I ....put you down as read about it in literature.'

Me: (now unable to supress the giggles) 'Well I suppose I did see it in the agenda first, so that's fine.'

Caller: 'OK I have some further questions...and you probably know more about this than I do....'

And so the questions continued about the details and whether or not I agreed with various things. Quite a fun call but you sence the caller was panicked to actually find someone with a greater knowledge of the subject matter than their brief training probably involved.