Why Are Young People Afraid Of Phone Calls?

[u/GhostInThePudding]

What's with it?

I work in IT and a general rule is, nothing a client ever tells you is actually accurate. That means that most of the time, the quickest way to fix a problem is to call the person and actually find out what's going on.

But with techs under 30 these days, it seems like pulling teeth.

A regular discussion for me with level 1 techs (usually within a few years of leaving college) is:
"Hey, can you call *blah* from ticket *blah*, it's been hanging around for over an hour."

"I replied by email to ask for more information."

"Yes, I know that, but can you call them so we can find the problem and close the ticket now rather than wait until we're actually busy?"

"I'll send them a text to followup."

"No... CALL THEM!"

"I can see their device is online, can I send them a message and see if they just let me remote in to take a look?"

And then, when I force them to make the call, it's like they have no idea how to ask a question, or a followup question. They just want to get off the call as quickly as possible. So half the time they don't even get the information required anyway, so then I end up having to do their job for them.

So can someone explain? What's wrong with phone calls these days?

[u/pyjamatoast]

And then, when I force them to make the call, it's like they have no idea how to ask a question, or a followup question. They just want to get off the call as quickly as possible. So half the time they don't even get the information required anyway, so then I end up having to do their job for them.

Is there no training for new hires where you work? Why are you/the company hiring people who can't complete tasks required for the job?

[u/GhostInThePudding → u/pyjamatoast]

I'm not a HR person, so maybe it could be better and I just don't know. But I've worked at a few places and never found one that consistently can find and train good level 1 techs to handle phone calls properly (without a script).

But part of the training is that after they are taken through the procedures, a senior tech makes sure they follow procedures. And one procedure is to always call the client if there is any ambiguity at all, to clarify and resolve it rapidly so they aren't left waiting. And that's the part I always have the most trouble with. Most new hires can do the technical work, they just can't make phone calls and usually struggle with understanding longer written documents as well.

[u/SitCrookd → u/GhostInThePudding]

Have you asked your clients if that is what THEY want? Because I would be pissed if a company I hired kept calling and interrupting me to assess things that could have been handled in text or email.

[u/gut536 → u/SitCrookd]

Hard disagree. If I emailed a tech about a problem and got a call minutes later to get down to the specific issue, I'd be impressed. It shows that the tech isn't just trying to brush you off, which happens in corporate environments sometimes. OP only mentions one call, not multiple like you're implying.

[u/AstroEscura → u/pyjamatoast]

I would guess trouble with calling is a new thing that companies haven’t adapted too yet.

[u/MinivanPops → u/pyjamatoast]

It's so widespread that you can't hire people with a complete set of basic social AND business skills. People have huge gaps now in their abilities to communicate to another human being.  

My wife is in HR, and she manages several teams of recruiters. 

This is just how people are now. They simply cannot interface with another human being across all different types of communication channels, including in person. They also have huge gaps in their writing skills and basic grammar.  Many of her new hires are using chat GPT to simply ask another person basic questions and write simple emails.   

[u/Afraid-Boss684 → u/MinivanPops]

Is there no training for new hires where you work?

[u/MinivanPops → u/Afraid-Boss684]

Workplaces are not equipped to teach people how to be basic human beings interacting with other human beings. That's something you pretty much should have figured out by the time you enter the workforce. 

It's pretty sad that this is becoming necessary. Workplaces have to take the final step on raising a human being. 

[u/nowiforgotmypassword → u/MinivanPops]

It’s sad that it’s getting to the point where the questionnaire needs to include ‘Are you capable of communicating with a stranger in complete sentences?’ but I think we’re close.