Devoted to the call center industry, the agents on the phones, and their managers

When calling other companies, I have often asked to speak to supervisors, when it becomes clear that ordinary customer service agents aren't empowered to fix the problem. I've been delighted by some alternative responses to my concerns. At least one employee of a mega-huge call center of a mega-huge corporation confessed to me that she wasn't really a supervisor. She didn't actually supervise anyone. She was part of a team that handled minor escalations, presumably allowing the supervisors to actually supervise their employees. Great idea, if you ask me. I don't consider that a fake escalation. People like that need to be able to focus on their work, one customer at a time, instead of having extra responsibilities.
 
Another strategy is to take difficult issues off the phones, off the call center floor, and to refer them to a correspondence department or a research department. These people don't need to fit their followups between a barrage of calls, because they don't get calls. Nobody has their phone number. They are able to focus on solving the problem, making their own outbound calls, and then finally writing a letter of resolution to the customer.

Both strategies work as long as the escalation issue is referred to someone who can resolve it, and as long as the customer is able to continue the process if he or she is not satisfied. Sometimes they are told, "We've referred that to our research department. There's nothing more I can do."

Customers hate to be told, "There's nothing more I can do" or "There is no manager available for you to speak to." Have you noticed that? They keep calling back.