21 May 2019

Recording

"This call will be recorded for quality and training purposes"... "This call may be recorded for monitoring purposes"...

You hear such statements frequently when entering telephone conversations with businesses or even government departments. Sometimes the subject matter of those conversations will be very innocuous and yet still we receive that recording advice...or is it a warning?

It never used to happen. Before effective recording technology came along you just had two way conversations. Nobody was recording them.

I sometimes wonder where all these recordings are kept and who exactly accesses them. Though I have never tried it myself, I wonder what the response might be if we phoned companies back and requested copies of the recordings or said, "Can you just play back the bit where I was talking about my insurance claim?"

How long do they keep the recordings? Are they sometimes bluffing when they say that the call will be recorded? Is it all just some kind of power game in which the customer or client is made to feel self-conscious, small and somehow defused?

Once or twice when I have been irritated or badly served by a company, I have retorted, "Aye and I want to warn you that I am also recording you for monitoring purposes!"

To me all this one-sided recording of innocent citizens is slightly sinister. They don't even ask. "Would you mind if we recorded this telephone call?" I don't think it has anything to do with "training" or "quality" - it's all about gathering evidence that might possibly be used against the caller in the event of a dispute.

Rant over.

21 comments:

  1. I've given up. Record me all you want. So what? As you say- who's going to listen to all these recordings?
    But you're right- it's been a slow, slippery slope to where we are now.
    I suppose that if they give you that warning that you can hang up if you don't want to be recorded. Which of course means that you can't conduct business with that entity.
    And what the hell ARE "training purposes"?

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    1. "Training purposes" is just a euphemism for "legal evidence". Perhaps when they mention recording we should cough before singing "Blowin' in the Wind". That would fox 'em.

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  2. I think your conclusion is correct -- they want to have evidence of our calls for their own legal purposes.

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  3. "I have retorted, "Aye and I want to warn you that I am also recording you for monitoring purposes!" " The reason they tell you in advance is, I understand, because you can't record a conversation lawfully without notifying someone being recorded. Having said all that I'm sure you are quite correct in your assumptions. However I have used it to my advantage when an insurance company were not convinced that I had made a declaration. I gave them the exact time and date of the conversation and they conceded. It can work both ways.

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    1. 'Was not convinced'. Apologies.

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    2. I think an insurance company can be viewed in either singular or plural terms. Rather like "crowd" or "army".

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  4. It is exactly the kind of thing my clients put in front of me - can they (two of them are insurance companies) lawfullymrecord conversations, and if yes, how long can recordings be kept, whomis entitled to access the records and under what circumstances, etc. etc.?
    In Germany and the EU, privacy protection regulations apply - but are not always adhered to by the companies. To record a conversation lawfully, both parties must give their informed consent; the employee as well as the caller. Records may be kept only until the purpose of the recording is reached. That means, if for instance a recording is made so that the employee's conduct towards the caller can be monitored, it needs to be analysed by a coach as soon as possible, talked through with the employee and the deleted; the fact that it was analysed and the result of the coaching have to,be documented.
    In other circumstances, companies in the financial sector (which includes insurance companies) are even required by law to keep records of business transactions. Therefore, when a customer calls in for banking or other transaction purposes, the call has to be recorded and kept, and no consent is required.
    The only other exception for recording calls without consent is when there is evidence or reason to believe something unlawful is going on or being planned. Such suspicions must be documented, records can be accessed by only a very limited circle of persons, and they have to be deleted when the suspicion can not be verified.

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  5. I apologise for the many typing errors. I am not living at home these days and have only my ipad to type on, which often makes my fat finger land on the m when it should be on the space bar.

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    1. You are forgiven and thank you for giving insight into the legalities of recording callers... at least in Germany.

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  6. I think those calls are more for employee training purposes than anything else. They don't bother me. If anything, I think they make me more confident that I will get proper service. I've been on the receiving end of a collection call for my father's debt that was highly unpleasant; it included a threat that left me rattled for days.

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    1. I should have clarified that the collection call wasn't being monitored, or at least I wasn't told it was.

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    2. They don't bother you? That is surprising.

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  7. yes, we should stop and think about what the recording business really means. What would happen if somebody really went after a recording? What would happen if they said we don't have it or we didn't record it?

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  8. I forgot to tell you that this is a super post. You've asked some excellent questions.

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    1. I am pleased that the matter means something to you too. All this recording of us seems like an affront to our civil liberties in my opinion.

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  9. Well...it could be said that we didn't know we were being recorded back when...

    They can record me...I don't mind, nor care. I can be firm when the need arises. I am polite.

    If there are moments I slip out of polite-mode....it is probably because of their behaviour and obvious ignorance...so they deserve a serve; and if they want to record that part...perhaps they could learn something about customer service upon playing back the conversation. :)

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    1. I hope that this post gets people like yourself to sometimes stop in their tracks and consider why a company might be recording your words. In my view, we should care.

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    2. People like me? Oh....how about that?

      You know all about me and how I think, Yorkie. You so blatantly include me in your "we should care" declaration...in so very few words.

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    3. It's about civil rights.

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    4. I guess we are free to pick and choose when we decide to be civil...and we treat others accordingly - dependent upon how they treat you...even when they're not being civil towards you. It's best to hold one's head high and not lower one's self to their level.

      If by recording certain discussions with companies is to assist in the betterment of servicea etc., that is good. I always copy and paste every online "conversation" I have with various companies when I've a problem/question to be solved. And, most will email a transcription of the conversation, as well.

      I guess, the companies receive a lot of verbal abuse, too, from some quarters. They need to cover their backs just as much as the consumer does.

      It doesm't bother me....Big Brother has been watching us and listening to us for years, in one form or the other.

      This debate could go on for hours...days...and a million or more words could be written...but I've got savoury muffins cooking in the oven...so my time and energy are directed elsewhere. :)

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