Also a volunteer here, maybe I can chime in too. We unfortunately have to put people on "hold" (it's not like elevator music, I usually just stuff the phone into the chair so the person can't hear) if another call comes on or if we need to talk with a supervisor. At my center, most of the time there is only 1 volunteer there at a time. So if I'm on a call and another call comes in...we really have no choice but to put the phone down. But we try our best to do it in a way that doesn't communicate "you're not important." I'll usually be as upfront and genuine as possible about it, and tell the person I'll get back to their call as soon as I can. It helps if there is already some level of rapport and trust built between myself and be caller, but it doesn't always turn out that way unfortunately. Then I'll do my best to balance my time between the two calls.
I'm really sorry about what happened to your friend.
One thing I'll add too is that we try to obtain phone numbers as early in the conversation as possible just in case something like this happens. If I have to put the phone down while I'm with you and you hang up, I can then call you back to check in.
hearshot_kid12 karma
Also a volunteer here, maybe I can chime in too. We unfortunately have to put people on "hold" (it's not like elevator music, I usually just stuff the phone into the chair so the person can't hear) if another call comes on or if we need to talk with a supervisor. At my center, most of the time there is only 1 volunteer there at a time. So if I'm on a call and another call comes in...we really have no choice but to put the phone down. But we try our best to do it in a way that doesn't communicate "you're not important." I'll usually be as upfront and genuine as possible about it, and tell the person I'll get back to their call as soon as I can. It helps if there is already some level of rapport and trust built between myself and be caller, but it doesn't always turn out that way unfortunately. Then I'll do my best to balance my time between the two calls.
I'm really sorry about what happened to your friend.
One thing I'll add too is that we try to obtain phone numbers as early in the conversation as possible just in case something like this happens. If I have to put the phone down while I'm with you and you hang up, I can then call you back to check in.
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