Interesting, completely unverified, tidbit from an anonymous Sprint employee: “We’re no longer allowed to quote the customer in our notes [on the account] because if they’re subpoenaed by a judge then they’ll be evidence proving they’re telling the truth regarding their situation.” Any Sprint insiders care to comment?
(Photo: Maulleigh)
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As a former CSR, let me at least say that it was rare if I ever saw a customer directly quoted in notes, they’d usually say something like “cust claimed he was supposed to get a phone for free but no notes support” which indicates what the customer was saying without being verbatim.
We were however, told NEVER to read ANY complete note to a customer…EVER. We could summarize (“The notes say you spoke to a supervisor and no credit was due”) but were prohibited from relating them word for word.
I will also add that we were pretty much directed, not specifically, but implicitly to do anything possible to prevent a customer from recieving any information that could be used against Sprint in a lawsuit.
In addition to not being allowed to read notes as stated above, we were also told to NEVER agree to be recorded and disconnect the call if a customer claims they will be taping, nor were we to offer ANYTHING in writing beyond a few generic things that had messages that could not be altered (ie they’d look exactly the same for every customer and not pertain specifically to any particualr situation)
We were also trained to promptly shut up if the customer threatens legal action and only say “ma’am/sir because you’ve threatened to sue us this has now become a legal matter and I am not longer able to assist you.”
@noquarter: I purchased and own a device that permits you to record cell phone calls. It is called a “recording controller,” which is an interface between the phone and the recorder. So what you need are the following:
1. a phone; 2. a recorder (tape recorder or digital recorder); 3. a recording controller; 4. the proper cables to connect everything.
I own the following device: [www.radioshack.com] The controller is about 4″ long and 1 1/2″ wide and 3/4″ thick.
You plug the controller to the cell phone. The controller has another jack to which you plug in an earphone. And the controller has a cord that plugs into the recorder. To record, you turn everything on, and dial. Some controllers have switches that switch your recorder on and off, so you don’t have to fumble with too many buttons.
The whole setup is a bit clunky and not terribly portable, but it works well. One last caveat: As an alternative to the controller, Olympus sells an earbud that also acts as a microphone to pick up (record) the sound on the phone call. When you see it, it looks very convenient. The problem is that this device doesn’t work well, and I don’t recommend it (I speak from experience).
In these modern timez, I recommend buying a digital recorder that permits file transfer to a computer for easy saving and editing. You may not be aware, but some MP3 players double as recorders. If you have one, check and see. It has to have an input jack.
Regarding cell phone recordings,
my cell phone is a Palm Centro (coincidentally from Sprint), and I have a program in it called CallRec that can be used as a recorder. I have it set up to record every incoming and outgoing call automatically. It stores them on my memory card, and the name of the files has the date and the phone number of the other party. The only thing to remember is that slowly but surely the recordings will take over your memory card, so I usually move them to my computer once a month or so.
This program is available for Palm phones, but I bet other smat phones have similar programs.
@cmdrsass: perfect!
so, start recording all calls, it’ll help when you have to call back, instead of wasting your energy re-explaining the situation from scratch, replay the last conversation to them before telling them there is still a problem, that will get them up to speed and save you some energy, they’ll love that!
The ambiguity of the meaning of “this call may be recorded” might be an interesting issue, whether what is clearly a notice could be claimed to have been understood to be a waiver. “May” clearly means that there is a possibility of the call being recorded by the company. Could it reasonably be claimed that the caller understood it to mean that the company was giving consent for the caller to record the conversation? It would be very odd for the company to make the effort to insert the message for the purpose of waiving its rights. But some comments here suggest that it serves this purpose – is this vaguely plausible enough that it may work?
@ChuckECheese: Another item is that you might have to get a converter for Nokia phones- this allows you to hook the recorder to the Nokia phone and allows you to also use the more common phone ear/mic jack versus the Nokia only version. Downside is that you cannot charge while using this converter.
As for the converter box I use a set of fresh rechargable AAA batteries and have a hot and recharge set. These are used in my recorder also…
Like ChuckECheese, definitely get a recorder with downloadable ability. I have a Sony now but had used a piece of shit RCA without adownload port, etc and it flaked with a software error and I lost about 70 hours of recordings.
As a law student who had to write a brief on the CA recording statue, I can say that at least in CA (a two party consent state) you would be absolutely fine recording if there is a message on their side. They have to expect that it could be recorded, so there is no problem if you do it as well as them: they consent by doing it themselves. It is most likely legal wherever you are if they have the disclaimer.
This would amuse me if true, especially since so many companies tell reps to directly quote customer in case notes so that, if sued, it won’t look like the company made a definitive statement.
@mergatroy6: It’s not lieing…It’s more like, not recording a phone call because you know you’ll be asked about it.
From a company point of view, the more plausable deniability you have, the safer you are.
@noquarter: look up 321-call-log to record outgoing calls.
@peralant: thanks for the tip! i’m looking into that for my centro now.
also, anyone have a definite list of which states do and do not require 2 party consent? the one link says IL is one of them, but another comment excluded IL.
Re: Hearsay
It is not hearsay under the federal rules as a “Present Sense Impression.” Even though the statement is by a party to the action, a written down version of that statement is generally hearsay. But in this situation, it is written down at the time when the operator hears it (so the chance of mistake is minimized), making it a present sense impression.
It’s probably also not hearsay under the Business Records hearsay exception.
@science_diet: I want to know how as well.
I want to get out of my Sprint contract.
And if this is true, I will be very upset. Sprint customer service completely sucks and when I’ve called to speak with someone at the cancellation department their attitude is always very matter of fact.