Call Transfer Procedures

Call Transfer Procedures

There are 2 different ways to transfer a call, Warm Conference and Cold Transfer:

Warm Conference: Agent stays on the line during the transfer in order to introduce the customer to the agent receiving the call and advise the agent of the situation. 

Cold Transfer: Agent transfers their call to another agent or department without making an introduction. Essentially, dropping the call into a queue.

All internal calls are to be warm conferenced unless advised otherwise by the business. Before warm conferencing any calls, it is important that we confirm the reason the customer is calling. This is where you need to use probing questions to determine the nature of the call.

Review the CXone Softphone article for Conference and Transfer procedures.​

Before warm conferencing a call to any other department, make sure you have the following information:
  1. Contract Number
  2. Reason for transfer
You MUST confirm the following information:

Customer Service

To

Retention

Retention

To

Customer Service

Customer Service

To

Authorizations
  1. 100% sure the customer wants to cancel and you have done everything you can to assist them.
  1. Review for active warranty in SCM/SB.
  1. Follow guidelines to add additional/ optional coverage (30 days before or after agreement affective date).
  1. Take ownership of all coverage questions, DO NOT transfer.
  1. Is contract in Active status (not in a Pending Cancelled status).
  1. Is the item needing service included in the plan (including additional/optional coverage).
  1. Cold transfer Service Providers to Authorizations.
  1. Does the Service Provider have a report/diagnosis?
  1. Does the Service Provider have the additional information Cinch is requesting?

Any Escalated Calls should remain within your department. If a customer is escalating something that your department cares for, DO NOT transfer outside of your department.
  1. Customer Service needs to transfer escalated customers to their Supervisors or Tier 1 teams unless approved to transfer to Tier 2 due to escalation reason.
  2. Retention needs to transfer escalated customer to their Supervisors in Retention.

Warm Conference

A Warm Conference, also referred to as a 3-Way Conference, includes the “handshake” introduction. Contact the next party and provide all necessary information and that the customer has already been validated, then conference all parties together.
  1. If the Warm Conference fails, return to the customer and advise them that you are going to attempt to conference again. If it fails the second time, return to the customer and inform them you were unable to connect them directly with an agent. Offer to transfer them into the call rotation and/or voicemail. Explain to the customer that their request and your conversation are documented for their record.
  2. If Warm Conferencing outside of the company (Sears, GE, Service Providers, etc.), the agent initiating the outbound call must advise the answering party of the outbound recording disclosure.

Script

Action

Script
  1. Ask for permission.
  1. Give reason for the hold.
  1. Wait for response and show gratitude.
  1. When the parties are all connected, the original agent must introduce both parties, them disconnect the call.
  1. The agent accepting the transfer must advise the customer of the recording disclosure.
  1. If a new person is joined into the call, the agent must again advise of the recording disclosure.

    “This call is recorded and may be monitored to improve quality.”

“<Customer Name>, to better assist you, I will connect you with <Department/Agent Name>. Are you able to hold?”

“<Customer Name>, thank you for holding. I have <Department/Agent Name> on the line and they will be happy to assist you.”

“Are there any other questions I can answer for you? Thank you for calling <Department>.”

Cold Transfer

A Cold Transfer does not include the “handshake” introduction. Be sure to set proper expectations prior to transferring customer to department queue/number. 
  1. ONLY when advised by the business and hold times exceed 2 minutes. 
  2. If unable to connect directly to 3rd party, inform the customer that you are connecting them to <Department> and the next available agent will assist them.
  3. If an attempt to Warm Transfer fails, return to the caller and inform them that you were unable to reach the party. Offer to transfer them into the call rotation and/or voicemail. Explain to the customer that their request and your conversation are documented for their record.
  4. For Sears Billing/Membership Service, inform the customer that due to longer than normal wait times, you are connecting them to <Department> and the next available agent will assist them. Ask them if they would like the toll-free number in case they decide to call back later. Provide number if applicable.

Script

Action

Script

Listen carefully to the customers questions/concerns:

  1. While listening, the agent should navigate to notes and determine need (payment inquiry, enrollment inquiry, billing inquiry, escalation, etc.).
  1. Recap/Restate with customer to clarify reason for the call.
  1. Advise you will be transferring them to the correct department to assist them.

“<Customer Name>, I apologize for the delay you are experiencing. I was unable to get an agent from <Department> on the line.

At this time I will be connecting you directly to <Department> and the next available agent will assist you.

Please have your contract number ready.”



    • Related Articles

    • Deductible: Secure Agent Payment Group

      When all efforts fail to securely capture payment information, Customer Service, Escalations, Authorizations, Support Services, and Parts Sourcing agents will transfer the customer to the Secure Agent Group to manually enter Initial and Replacement ...

    • PCI Compliant: Deductible Secure Agent Payment Group

      To ensure PCI compliance, Cinch must securely collect customer payment information. Utilize available payment options in the following order: Payment using Card On File (COF) Secure Card Capture Link by Text or Email - Used real time while on the ...

    • CXone Softphone

      CXone is our Softphone application used for calls, queue monitoring, reporting, quality management, and more. If using Zoho you must be in the New Version of Zoho, if you are not you will see the button below: Launch CXone and Log in Use the CXone ...

    • Frequently Used Numbers

      National Accounts Contact Information Sears Service When the customer is enrolled in a Cinch administered warranty (i.e., Sears Home Warranty, Cinch Home Warranty), AND Sears is the assigned Service Provider, use one of the following options: ...

    • TS&R Payments: Secure Card Capture

      To ensure PCI compliance, Cinch is introducing a new secure way to collect payment information. Options will include using a Card on File (COF) or sending a Secure Card Capture link to a customer so they can manually enter their card details. These ...