Guides for fingerprinting offices
“Where are my results?” How a fingerprinting office should handle the call
It’s a common call at a fingerprinting office, and one the office usually can’t answer. Here’s why they call you, and what to tell them instead.
Why they call you
They got printed at your office, so yours is often the only number they have. They don’t know who actually runs the check.
Why you usually can’t answer
Your office takes the prints. They go to the agency that runs the check (sent electronically for most checks, or on ink cards the customer mails in). Depending on the check, the result goes to whoever asked for it (an employer, a school, a licensing board) or to the person. Either way, it usually doesn’t come back to your office.
What to tell them
- Say it kindly: you don’t receive results at the office.
- Point them to the tracking number on their receipt, if their check has one (often called a TCN).
- Give them the phone number for the agency that handles their type of check.
When you can help
If the caller got a message saying their prints were rejected, incomplete or never received, that’s usually yours to help with. Take their name, number and the date they came in, and call them back.
Keep a one-page list at the front desk
One line per type of check: who runs it, their phone number, and where the tracking number is on your receipt. Everyone who answers the phone gives the same answer.
How Lorie handles this
Lorie reads from that same list: she tells the caller you don’t hold results and gives them the right agency’s number, so your line stays free.