rude call centre customers!

Murtle

nenya wrote:

Yeah, and you;ll be the first to complain if the call centre misdialled a number - confirmed who they were didn't ask any DPA security questions and spoke to someone who wasn't you about you account where it be mobile phone, bank account or Credit Card - yes i expect you would be the first on the blower to the manager to complain that the agent didn't variafy it was you.

And we don't hide behind the DPA - it's the law that we ask these questions so we don't give the inncorrect details to the wrong person - whether it's us phoning you or you phoning us. :mad:

I think you need to read the post properly.

How do you know I'd be the first to complain? or the first on the "blower" to the manager? You know nothing about me or how I choose to deal with people. As it is, I wouldn't be the first to complain, I understand that we are all human, mistakes can be made. If that were the case, I'd highlight it to the member of staff concerned and probably leave it at that. If the same company, but different memebers of staff followed the same policy then I would advise someone about it. More from a process then an issue with a memeber of staff. I worked in customer services for years and loved every minute of it.

If I phone you, I have to prove who I am before you will divulge information to me...If you are phoning me - then I expect more then your first name and company name before I divulge any answers to security questions. As it was, my OH and I were both phoned by the same company for the same reason....his agent confirmed who he was by giving specific information, mine got very agressive when I refused to give him the details, but still wouldn't tell me why he was phoning.

kuohu wrote:

Nenya I think you have totally missed Murlte's point on that one. I understood the point to be that the call centre staff do not prove that they are who they say they are. You have to take it at face value, when in reality it could be anyone asking you for your dob and mother's maiden name.

I don't disgree with anything you said though.

Absolutely Kuohu, I have no problem going through security questions, but give a little bit for me to go on to belive I am speaking to someone in the company concerned. Not just a first name and a company name...maybe why you are calling initially.

I agree with the sentiments early although I think it goes higher then senior manager!! But targets are often set that are never going to result in good customer service, being told you have x seconds to deal with a call will result in call backs. You can tell the call centres now who don't have to get the customer off the phone, and they are often the ones providing what was once known as a customer service....now is known as Good customer service.....
M

looby75

re the DPA security questions issue, there is a very simple way that this whole issue could be solved. A two way password.

A lot of co now ask you to choose a password as part of the identification process, so why can't they do the same so you know they are who they say they are before you give them your details.

Eg.

CC. This is Gary from Halifax bank, can I speak to mrs H Jones please.
Me. This is Mrs Jones
CC. So you know that I am actually calling from your bank the pre agreed password is XXXXXX
Mrs Jones just to make sure I'm speaking to the correct person I just need to ask you some security question...... Ect.

Or am I still missing the point?

singlehouseholder

Just out of curiosity. I worked in a contact centre for the DWP for about a year. I then developed bowel problems-now they have stopped working all together. This, I believe is down to being tied to a phone, having targets to meet, having to be available to answer the phone- not going to toilet when your body tells you. We were monitered by codes on our phones, you had to account for every second.I got to the stage where I thought, I'll just take one more call, then more people would appear in the queue.
Have any other contact/call centre staff experienced toilet related problems? As it's a kind of modern working environment I suppose the impacts aren't yet known, but stress is for sure in abundance, and I think "toilet" realted matters will also be a big problem......ps, I also had to be spoken too like i'd come out of dogs bum, but found that being extra, extra nice to people soon calmed them down and got them talking to you nicely, most of the time they had their beef with some-one/thing else but as you're at the end of a phone and not stood in front of them they found it easier to go off on one!!

nenya

well that would be a good idea - and then you start to wonder to yourself - why have Call Centres started doing this - it would be just too much hassell. CC managers are lazy and they only care about hitting targets.

ahrimaniac

Spoken to like I'd come out of a dogs bum - genius phrase

At work, part of my job is dealing with a few incoming calls - but I can say this now - if I need to go to the loo, I'll bloody go. No-one's telling me I'm not doing my job because I'm in the pooper.

_Andy_

singlehouseholder wrote:

Just out of curiosity. I worked in a contact centre for the DWP for about a year. I then developed bowel problems-now they have stopped working all together. This, I believe is down to being tied to a phone, having targets to meet, having to be available to answer the phone- not going to toilet when your body tells you. We were monitered by codes on our phones, you had to account for every second.I got to the stage where I thought, I'll just take one more call, then more people would appear in the queue.
Have any other contact/call centre staff experienced toilet related problems? As it's a kind of modern working environment I suppose the impacts aren't yet known, but stress is for sure in abundance, and I think "toilet" realted matters will also be a big problem......

Code monitoring is a big issue in call centres. The centre I last worked in gave CSRs an 'allowance' of 30 minutes for all breaks, including toilet breaks, in addition to lunch hour, per day.
It may have been possible that your conidition was/is now covered by the DDA in which case the employer should have been more flexible.
As an ex-union rep I've seen a couple of cases like this where the employee, for medical reasons, needed to have more break time than normal.

kenshaz

looby75 wrote:

re the DPA security questions issue, there is a very simple way that this whole issue could be solved. A two way password.

A lot of co now ask you to choose a password as part of the identification process, so why can't they do the same so you know they are who they say they are before you give them your details.

Eg.

CC. This is Gary from Halifax bank, can I speak to mrs H Jones please.
Me. This is Mrs Jones
CC. So you know that I am actually calling from your bank the pre agreed password is XXXXXX
Mrs Jones just to make sure I'm speaking to the correct person I just need to ask you some security question...... Ect.

Or am I still missing the point?

But according to Cahoot ,when they call you they state that they are your internet bank,and wil not say who is calling ,their interpretation of the DPA.

looby75

kenshaz wrote:

But according to Cahoot ,when they call you they state that they are your internet bank,and wil not say who is calling ,their interpretation of the DPA.

well that's just b!oody stupid!

If I get a "normal" phone call and I don't recognise the persons voice I'll ask "who's that" Why on earth would a co expect anyone to give personal information away when the customer they have called doesn't even know who they are talking to

When did common sense stop being important in life?

Murtle

nenya wrote:

well that would be a good idea - and then you start to wonder to yourself - why have Call Centres started doing this - it would be just too much hassell. CC managers are lazy and they only care about hitting targets.

I have seen CC managers who are both lazy and those that work very hard. However, what I see more often, is that the call centre targets are usually set by those that don't work in/near call centres and they are designed around revenue generation rather then providing a good customer service. I find call centre managers often sit somewhere between a rock and a hard place!!

regularsaver1

From the bank where I work - if we are calling we are not supposed to say from what bank until we know we are talking to the right person. Apparently it is incase another person doesn't know the other person has an account with that bank.

Luckily for me I have a direct line , and i only call my customers I have already seen.


I do feel for the CC staff - just the same as branch banking staff that get abuse. When they are asked to get their manager they are probabaly scared to as their manager has probabaly told them not to refer on to them, and deal with themselves

I've seen it in the bank - eg.lady being rude to receptionist, lady asks for manager. when manager comes out lady is nice as pie - why is that? as manager said exactly the same as the receptionist