Bad Customer Service? It's Probably You, Not Them !

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Hi OP,

Glad you follow some principles. The point I am trying to make is that nearly all call centres have at least 1 or more of the above problems not specifically yours. The point being people are always edgy, judgmental and have a temporary loss of sanity when dealing with call centres because of the above. Now your call centre may be a good one but it is reasonable to be cautious and have a bit of contempt for any call centre they ring. It's like your best friend gets beat up a bikee (biker gang) you can;t tell me the time you saw a bikee you would not be cautious of them based on your personal experience? Call centre operators and mangers need to accept that people (customers who pay their wages) act this way 1) Some are just idiots & 2) People have temporary insanity & memory (what they signed up for) loss & become completely unreasonable because of previous perceptions and personal bad experience dealing with call centres.

I'm glad you run a good call centre but I can say from my experience not all are run that way. The industry would be better if others adhered to your practice.

As for 0 button being an option I have found the opposite actually. Most are disabling that feature (those that do have it hardly inform the public of that option or put it last on a list of many options so most don't hear it ...... deception) so they don't have to hire as many operators. They also have secret code patterns that only certain employees know to get to different people that they do not tell the public.

there is NO fixing that problem with VOIP

So we just have to put up with it? It's feels like suck on that fool, we don't care!

however I would not consider my staff at any level to be stupid or anything of that nature.

Well all know anybody who is "any good" work in call centres as fill in jobs short term or they moved to higher positions very quickly!. It's not rocket science

We don't outsource. I refuse to

I see you are a person of integrity but I hope you will not be forced to retract that after extreme pressure from company bosses,boards or hareholders etc!

reply to post by phatpackage


Well the beautiful thing about my company is that I have the final say. Period.

No shareholders, no board, no anything.

Privately owned, privately run.

I also encourage my employees to move to difference departments or get cross trained. I'll be honest I'm trying to really get rid of my frontline csr's. I don't think it's quite effective to have somebody only do 1 thing when the guy next to him is doing 7 different products.

Mind you they are all the same, but I pay VERY good wages, almost double the minimum wage to start out, so I expect people to work when they are at work. I reward good work as well, bonus structure, benefits etc.

I don't employ students to do actual phone work, more data entry and that sort of thing. I won't jeapordize customer service because some little snot doesn't want to do his job cause there's a party in 3 hours.

I run things very differently from most places which is why I've enjoyed a fair ammount of succcess. My business model and my company structure is always changing. Things get stale when they stop moving and I can't have that in my business, considering my competitors are very cuthroat and will offer contracts for which they don't make any money at all, just to have a relationship with the client for future products.

~Keeper

From Day 1 of my experience working in hospitality, I was informed by wiser folks that I will inevitably come into contact with some people who will never be happy, pleased or even satisfied with whatever you give them or whatever you do for them. I have never forgotten that advice.
And I can sincerely say that from my personal experience, as well as hearing the experiences of friends and family, that there are hordes of *ssholes out there. But what can you do?
I believe that the best response in any situation is to kill them with kindness. It's better karma in the end, plus you might help them in some small way. Even if you possess a fervent desire to scream back at them.

God bless 'em..

When talking to a supervisor at a call center, I was informed things are black and white for the average call center employee. This was a very enlightening revelation to me, which had not occurred to me. This inflexibility can lead to frustration, especially after having been on hold for way to long (which almost always happens). I now try to give the facts a concise as possible and then ask for a supervisor. This has worked much better for me, in that there is more flexibility that a supervisor can impart to the situation. I also find supervisors to typically be more professional, and patient. Most of my calls to call center revolve around the airline industry, which maybe different then IT based call centers. I fly almost every week, and I expect good service, it’s not a $50 phone once every 6 months it $350 every week. So when I have a problem and want some help, I don’t want to wait forever on hold, then to be hung up on when saying "heck no" this actually happened to me on frontier airlines call center. I will admit I was frustrated, but I never cuss or yell at the employee's I know it’s their job, but many times my frustration is obvious and not well taken. If the hold time was eliminated, a lot of the frustration people have would be reduced.
And yes some people are just unhappy grouchy people, I am not that person, the domino effect will get me there at times as it does to most people.
Good service at the front eliminates bad call center interaction at the back. For me what is comes down to mostly; is good product, good service, and then very little need for the call center.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Sounds like you have a stressful job. I read something about customer service horrors. It's called Not Always Right. Some of the stuff on there is really funny. Laughter is a great stress reliever, so I'm putting on here for you. Keep your head up.

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Sometimes, it is the fault of the consumer, because they don't pay attention, don't want the rules to apply to them, etc. Sometimes, though, rules are not stated, or companies lie, and then, it's the company's fault.

I have seen this myself. Offered a rate for a phone plan, told "this is your rate", to find out later it was, supposedly, only for 30 days. I was NEVER told 30 days. Signed up over the phone, so no paperwork in front of me. Better believe I let them have it over that.

Or the time I ordered a replacement laptop cord for a Dell. Got the cord, and not two months later, it wasn't working. No damage, nothing I did, just defective. So, I contacted them for a replacement. Over an hour later, and after at least 13 transfers (yes, 13), I finally got someone that said, yes, of course I was owed a replacement. That was BAD service, and I have vowed to never do business with that company again because of it. Bought two laptops since, too, and neither is a Dell. Wasn't my fault the cord was defective, nor was it my fault they were too untrained to connect me to the correct department, or that several tried saying they could do nothing, for a part under warranty.

So, this can go both ways. We should be reasonable, yes, but so should the companies we give our money to.

Have to add to this. I have worked in the service industry, too, and have dealt with angry customers. In my case, it was a hotel. Some of those angry customers were totally out of line, and some had legitimate beefs. In every case, they were happy after I handled the situation. Unreasonable or not, people can be spoken to with respect, and their issue addressed. That's what customer service means. I have also experienced really BAD service, both on the phone and in person.

I already listed some of the phone stuff. Have had a lot worse dealing with Best Buy (but that is enough material for an entire thread!). I have had people hang up when I asked for a supervisor, call me a liar, etc. That, when I am always as reasonable as possible, knowing that the poor soul on the phone doesn't make the decisions. All I ever ask is that they listen, don't interrupt, don't lie, and act like they care about the issue. To the OP, you might not have this sort of behavior in your company, but if you don't, that is an exception to the rule. Most do. That is why people become so frustrated. Sure, there are bad customers, but there are also bad employees, and bad business practices. It isn't fair or accurate to try and place the blame all on one side.

Originally posted by JaxonRoberts
reply to post by tothetenthpower

 

As a former Restaurant Server, I can tell you Keeper that some people are just born miserable, and they are sucking everybody they can down the misery hole! The old saying, "Misery Loves Company" is just sooo true! I could see it on their faces when they sat down. They were going to have a miserable evening, something was going to be absolutely horrible, and that was that! The bright side is that they live in a 24/7 misery bubble, and you only have to deal with them for a short period of time...

What about bad servers? Yes, there are some people that are always going to be a problem, but sometimes, they are the ones supposed to be waiting on us. Let me give you an example. I went out one evening with my grown daughter, her young son (under a year), and my youngest daughter (a day older than her son). Went to a local IHOP for a late dinner, just to spend time together. This was something we did often, both being night owls. Well, we were seated right away by the hostess, handed menus, and told the server would be right with us. The place was VERY slow, with, if I recall, one other table having people, and the rest empty. Well, the waitress came out, tended to something at the other table, looked right at us, and went away. Alright, not a big deal yet. We figured she had to get them something else, and would be right back. She came back. NOT with anything for them, and began just meandering around other, empty tables. During this, she made eye contact with me several times, and still didn't come to our table, to even take a drink order. After a good ten minutes of this, some other people came in, and were seated at the table next to ours. Immediately, she rushed to their table and took their drink orders. When she brought their drinks, a couple of the group glanced our way, clearly noticing that she had not brought ours, and was making no effort to wait on us at all. They looked very uncomfortable at this stage. Not their fault, of course. They even sated they were not quite ready to order, but the waitress didn't take a hint, and still stood chatting with them. Mind you, during this, I made several pointed comments, that I KNOW she heard (because they did, and reacted) to the effect of how long before she waited on us, speculation that we were somehow invisible to her, etc. She even looked at me a couple of times, but never, even once, indicated that she would be waiting on our table. At this stage, the hostess came back through, and saw something was wrong, so I asked her to get the manager. He came out, very polite, and we explained to him what was going on. He was, to his credit, VERY apologetic, and asked what he could do to fix the issue. I told him, flat out, he could fire the, um, witch. We then left, and went to another IHOP in another area. There, in less time than all this took, we had our order.

Yes, this is an extreme case, but there are bad people in the service industry, as well as bad customers. To be fair, I have seen some rotten customers, too. One was a very LOUD fellow my husband (before we were married) and I encountered. He was loud, arrogant, impatient with the good staff, and annoying the entire place. That time, several people, mine included, offered to help the staff remove him.

The important thing is that we all try to treat others as we want to be treated, whether we are the server, or the servee.

All the poor Customer Service I've received has been from outsourced CS departments that are full of non-english speaking people. Hard to get good service when you can't understand the advice given.

Worst offender? AOL HANDS DOWN. I finally started cursing the woman out and demanding to speak to someone that spoke English as a first language.

I may be the source of the Crazy American.