Bad customer service or just bad customers.

unholyangel

Chickabiddybex wrote: »

To anyone out there who has screamed down the phone at a customer service rep, or maybe even just got super arsey with them... You damn coward! They're not allowed to argue back! They can't call you a ***** or they get fired!

Believe it or not, I've had a virgin rep shout down the phone to me and cut me off when I asked to be transferred to retentions as I've found they're better at dealing with more complex situations and she couldnt grasp the situation no matter how I tried to explain. I waited for her to stop, asked her if she was finished then proceeded to explain that she was lucky she got me as usually when you repeatedly interrupt and talk over the top of customers, they explode, never mind raising your voice and verbally abusing them . Also told her that even if she was having a bad day, it was no reason to take it out on me. Long story short I got a personal account manager as a result of her behaviour.

I'm not one who thinks CS needs to be "yes sir, no sir" and I certainly dont think CS should have to put up with abuse or people shouting at them.

There are some great CS workers out there. But the main problem I've experienced with CS is that far too many of them don't have the ability to listen properly and some of them are incapable of comprehending anything that they haven't been taught about.

Its like banging your head off a brick wall with some of them.

kajstring24

kwikbreaks wrote: »

I love this site - http://notalwaysright.com/

Some years back I read through the entire archive (it took an age) and since then make reading the daily additions one of the things I do each day.

Ha! I love this site! It has kept me entertained all morning :rotfl:

Starrystarrynight

I do think that media coverage of consumer issues has fuelled a 'shout loud enough and they'll give up & give me what I want' culture.

I try to be polite & respectful when I speak to CS reps. I've been in their shoes & hated it most of the time.

You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, someone said to me once.

daytona0

marlot wrote: »

The thing that really annoys me is CS staff who are more interested in speaking to each other than serving their customer.

I've no problem with someone just wrapping up what they're saying, but I regularly give up after waiting 15-30 seconds and not being acknowledged. I simply leave the items I was going to buy on the counter and walk out. Most CS staff don't blink an eye even then.

Haha see this is a bit cranky in my opinion...


1. The CS employees get paid 6.30 an hour to do the same thing every day, every hour, every minute...

2. A minute chat in between customers is probably keeping them sane, plus they are probably 18 year old kids who have just come out o school so aren't really on the same level as the 50 year old CEO/manager who lives 4 the company.

3. No CS employee (commission based employees being an exception) in the history o CS would ever be arsed about you getting annoyed and walking out. NOBODY! It is sometimes more comical tbh... End o the day it is your loss because you don't get the items and the CS still gets their 6.30

rustyboy21

I have to admit to a guilty pleasure though.


I love it when I have a very irate customer ( which isn't often Thankfully) who starts effing and jeffing down the phone at me and I tell them, unless they curb their language, I will hang up. When they don't stop, the phone goes down.


My record so far has been 8 hang ups for 1 customer. Didn't learn their lesson fast enough ! lol. In the end, the problem had nothing to do with me anyway, it was down to someone else who had worked on the gas run in the house.


I blame sites like this TBH and some of the regular posters on here, who are great in giving all the '' you have this right, or this one'' but wouldn't do it themselves. Also the ones who argue over the wording of a law, to suit their own ends. I would take any info given on here with a massive pinch of salt, where legal entitlement is involved. Just speak to the person normally, not narky and most of the time you can get things sorted. Just be realistic in your choice of remedy.

dors01

I have to say that when I was younger I used to get very annoyed with CS reps but as I got older I learned to control my self more.

I find quite often that being polite has gotten better results that shouting and screaming, but on some occasions some of the CS reps I have had to speak to have been so horrible it's untrue.

The majority are great people just trying to earn an honest living and I thank them for their good advice and resolutions.

Some people in shops though are just beyond a joke, no idea of customer service, I don't expect yes sir no sir but some kind of hello and goodbye would be nice sometimes, not the sour faced woman who didn't speak or acknowledge me in Morrison's on Friday evening after I heard her complaining to her friend about her shift, honestly she didn't even glance at me the whole transaction, needless to say I'm not going back to that store thanks to robot woman.:money:

geerex

The person who came up with the phrase "the customer is always right" deserves to be shot. If they're dead they should be exhumed then shot.

People in public facing roles should start each day reminding themselves that the general public are morons, that way their day brightens up when they come across someone who isn't.

rustyboy21

The issue you have is that some people are born to be in the retail/services trade and some aren't.


I was brought up with parents who owned and ran a boutique type wine shop, I used to work behind the counter every Saturday so my mum could do the household bits and bobs at home. I am used to dealing with the general public now and I deal with all shop/service staff in the way I would like to be dealt with. I now own my own company and it is public facing, so it suits me well.


Years ago, I worked for a big bank on their customer services team, selling personal loans. I hated it. Yes it was still dealing with the public, but dealing on the phone, was so much harder than face to face. I have also employed someone who was ex customer services via the phone. They could not deal with face to face and had a lot of hassle doing it.


IMO a lot of the awkward customers we all have to deal with, have never worked in a shop, look down on anyone that does and seem to live in their own little worlds, where every thing has to be done in their own way, or it is wrong. The worst offenders are the people whose jobs are of an analytical nature.
The same goes for me, I could not work in an office again, even if it paid me loads more than I am on now, I would be bored stiff.

rustyboy21

geerex wrote: »

The person who came up with the phrase "the customer is always right" deserves to be shot. If they're dead they should be exhumed then shot.

People in public facing roles should start each day reminding themselves that the general public are morons, that way their day brightens up when they come across someone who isn't.

Wasn't it Harry Selfridge? If correct, your idea was spot on

bluenoseam

The "business discussion v personal discussion" is an imporant thing to remember, I work currently with a colleague who's product knowledge is significantly less than the rest of us so she often asks us for help. Granted to the untrained eye it might look like a personal discussion but it's usually her trying to get the right answer for her customer. (Almost always while we're serving other people but not directly in contact with them - so say fetching their products or getting things like bags etc) Not denying that there are times where we're having a general natter, but what I will say is that we always face the shop floor & always acknowledge people and are ready to act if someone needs us.