How Many Times Has a Marketplace CSR Hung Up on You?

[MaryDallas]

Now, I'm tired of this. I have been hung up on so many times I cannot count. This evening I had the client on a three-way call to authorize me to help her with a CIC. She tried to handle it herself (and I told her do not try this alone). Marketplace terminated. I was nice enough not to tout the 'I told you so'. Too late now.

In the three-way call we were hung up on twice. Evidently, all we have to say is insurance broker ..... click. These are some incompetent fools we are trying our best to deal with. I am now calling back and asking for a supervisor to let them know what is going on.

The client was absolutely stunned. I'm not. This is the way it's been for a while now. I would have zero clients ... and if I were an employee -- why aren't they being fired?

 

[taterpeeler]

i don't recall ever getting hung up on... I'm jealous..... my mo with the people is i bite my lip and spread the sugar heavy..... i hate manipulating the ffm reps to the degree i do but i generally get my way.... control is gained by making them let their guard down... i just become them.... i get laqueshia on the phone i become her... i get jim bob i become the hick(thats easy).... i get one of them from the pacific north i struggle and I have personally hung up a few times within about 1 minute of the call....

 

[AllenChicago]

i don't recall ever getting hung up on... I'm jealous..... my mo with the people is i bite my lip and spread the sugar heavy..... i hate manipulating the ffm reps to the degree i do but i generally get my way.... control is gained by making them let their guard down... i just become them.... i get laqueshia on the phone i become her... i get jim bob i become the hick(thats easy).... i get one of them from the pacific north i struggle and I have personally hung up a few times within about 1 minute of the call....

The technique you're describing is known as "mirroring". The best sales people do it instinctively. Congrats to you Tater! Works great for me too. Never been hung up on, or kicked out...going on 29 years now.

 

[MaryDallas]

Must be a male thing: women are easier to mess with. I'm a very nice, sugary sweet person so I'm not getting it. I've been hung up on 'a lot' primarily by the marketplace guys. Cannot stand those folks.

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i don't recall ever getting hung up on... I'm jealous..... my mo with the people is i bite my lip and spread the sugar heavy..... i hate manipulating the ffm reps to the degree i do but i generally get my way.... control is gained by making them let their guard down... i just become them.... i get laqueshia on the phone i become her... i get jim bob i become the hick(thats easy).... i get one of them from the pacific north i struggle and I have personally hung up a few times within about 1 minute of the call....

I'm not sucking up. I'm just about to leave the room, Elvis.

 

[FLM2]

I haven't had any problems either with the Marketplace reps but not every one of them has been helpful either (some have).

My new philosophy on this is that each client represents less than 0.5% of my annual income so if I lose a few along the way it doesn't really matter. Same thing with new clients-if someone calls me for a new enrollment with a $20 per month commission I don't really care about it so if they delay at all I just forget about them.

It's the new age of health insurance, your book is your book-if you realize it probably isn't going to get much bigger from year to year it is much easier to deal with all this nonsense.

 

[kgmom219]

Its not a boy thing. I'm sickeningly sweet. I even warn my clients, who are seething by the time we get to the "call the FFM" stage how sweet I am about to be. I've never been hung up on.

Cust service reps are getting yelled at ALL DAY LONG. There is no accountability for service at the FFM. Are they going to help someone who is pissy or someone who is being sweet? Its all about getting the problem resolved.

 

[RayNY]

Never been hung up on (I'm another one of those sweethearts on the phone), but that doesn't mean I get anything done.

I usually ask a question ("is it A or B?"), get an instant answer ("It's A!"), and ask if they have a reference or guide or something in writing I can refer to next time. They put me on hold, go bake brownies or something, and then transfer me to a supervisor.

Supervisor picks up, and confidently tells me "It's B!", so again, I ask for a reference, saying their rep said the opposite and I would love proof one way or the other.

The supervisor puts me on hold, goes to lunch, comes back, and says the same thing every time.

"We'll e-mail you a reference, have a great day" and hangs up.

No one has ever e-mailed me anything, ever.

 

[MaryDallas]

That's interesting: this happens when I have the client on a three-way call with me to authorize me on their account. Now, I'm thinking it's because they don't know how to do that. It's taken as many as 3-4 calls to get that one thing done quite a few times.

 

[jefflange]

Has happened to me so many times I have lost count.
I have come to the conclusion that when the Marketplace Rep can't answer the question you have asked ( Almost always) they put you on hold then the system hangs up on you.
I have also come to the conclusion that most of the Marketplace representatives I have spoken are almost completely incompetent when it comes to the ACA. Just my 2 cents of course. Maybe next year things will change but I highly doubt it.

 

[dgoldenz]

Has happened to me so many times I have lost count.
I have come to the conclusion that when the Marketplace Rep can't answer the question you have asked ( Almost always) they put you on hold then the system hangs up on you.
I have also come to the conclusion that most of the Marketplace representatives I have spoken are almost completely incompetent when it comes to the ACA. Just my 2 cents of course. Maybe next year things will change but I highly doubt it.

x2

Usually happens when they can't get the answer to a question and the phone call gets disconnected while they're "checking with a supervisor"