What are some general issues you experience with companies' customer service?

[Deleted User]

• Have you found it's difficult to get through to some companies on the phone? No really, I know a company I buy protein stuff from has turned of their phones, without saying why so you can hazard a guess, it doesn't effect me so much because I didn't call them.
• Are webchats useful or disconcerting (eg, not knowing if you're talking to a human or AI)? Probably useful if you are in a public place. If you can write a review online then why not chat online too.
• Do you find deliveries generally go smoothly, or horribly wrong? Fortunately, smoothly. (touches wood) The only exception is when I've selected a parcel pick up place. I wouldn't dream of threatening to break someone legs or hunt them down for not receiving a parcel on time. To me, this sort of awful stuff use to get said to the likes of debt collectors trying to do their job (no offence and when even that is not right) not to delivery depots. Gosh it sounds like people have become so over angry out there, more then ever before, that they lose any fear when they get on a phone, so really I can see why some firms are going toward switch off. I can get why it is not so pleasant to be an inbound call operator anymore.

MattMattMattUK

There are far too many to mention, but:

Customer service people with zero power to resolve an issue
Customer service people with zero care about the job they do
Customer service people reading from scrips
Customer service people who refuse to answer a straight question, or just refuse to give an answer and instead regurgitate a pre-prepared phrase
Customer service people based in foreign countries or areas of the country with accents which make them very difficult to understand
Customer service people based in call centres with low quality lines and/or lots of background noise

However the main one would be that so many companies now make it impossible to actually get through to a customer services department/agent.

MSE_Laura_F said:

• Have you found it's difficult to get through to some companies on the phone?

Yes, they are companies I now will no longer use.

MSE_Laura_F said:

• Are webchats useful or disconcerting (eg, not knowing if you're talking to a human or AI)?

They are fine as there is a written record of the correspondence. It is always obvious if it is an AI or human within a few messages. Webchats are only as good as the AI or person behind them.

MSE_Laura_F said:

• Do you find deliveries generally go smoothly, or horribly wrong?
  

Generally smoothly, probably more than 99% of the time, but then I do not use the worst option. I will avoid companies that use Yodel and Hermes as I know they are useless at my work and where I live. I have never had them go horribly wrong, worst case is something does not get delivered, the company needs to send it again or refund.

tempus_fugit

I’m having an issue with Samsung at the moment. I ordered and paid for a new phone on 21st June. I was given a range of dates for delivery and chose the 1st July. Well, that date came and went and no phone was delivered. In fact, the order online said it was still “preparing for dispatch”, which it had been since about 2 days after I ordered it.

Getting Samsung to do anything about is an exercise in frustration. Their “Online Shop Support Team” are people abroad, working from home and who cannot access the system directly. They have to “escalate it to the logistics team”, which can only be done by email. Turnaround time is given as 24-48 hours. However, several of these 24-48 periods have come and gone and each time I call them back it’s the same story. Seemingly they can’t do anything with the order because of the status of “preparing for dispatch”. This includes cancelling the order, which normally I would be able to cancel myself, but again the status precludes this.

So at present I have pad for an item that I have no idea if I will ever receive and that I can’t cancel. It was purchased via Paypal so I have gone back to them to try and get it resolved, but Samsung’s systems are absolutely hopeless.

Krojan

Entering your identity information to the "robot" for 15 minutes to pass security etc just to have to go through the same process when you get through to a human, seriously, what's the point?

Looping messages saying "your call is important to us..." and "We're experiencing higher call volumes at the moment..." while in dodgy queue music hell.  If our call was that important to you, you'd devote greater resources.

Messages saying "for help/for more information go to our website..." but you've already spent 15 minutes trying to get the help through their useless website rather than ringing in the first place. 
Also saying to do this when your internet outage is the reason you're ringing their broadband fault line and they know it.

The message "Live chat is unavailable".  Yet you're directed to use live chat because they don't list a phone number.

Foreign call centres for companies, where they (the call handler) not only blatantly lie about their name (I never knew there were so many Bob's, Kevin's, Sarah's and Carol's in India) but have such a strong accent you simply cannot understand what they're saying and their English is so poor they simply cannot understand you either.

Getting through to tech support, only to find out that you know more than they do about how their product actually works.

Getting through to tech support, after going through some basic troubleshooting steps listed in their manual (and/or website), telling them you've done those steps prior to the call, but they insist you to repeat them anyway because apparently you're lying.

Being passed to another department after going through your issue for 10 minutes, only to either get disconnected and/or once through to the new department, having to repeat everything you've just discussed because the previous agent didn't update any details.

Being told "Someone will call you back in xxx timescale" and you know, they won't, then you have to go through the whole thing over again, from square one.

Asking to speak to a senior member of staff and there's literally never one in the call centre, or whole building or they're all in meetings.

Call handlers ticking boxes to get their answers, and cannot deviate from the script that's in front of them, despite what's in front of them literally has no resemblance to your actual query or problem.

Hearing the comment "please bear with us our systems are running slow today"... they're slow literally every single time I ring up.

"I'm just going to pop you on hold.." What this really means is I'm desperate for the toilet/I'm just popping to the canteen for a brew and by the time they get back you're bursting but don't want to risk going and them hearing you.

Saying things like "Oh I've not heard of that problem before" yet the web is inundated with reports of the same fault and a few days later the item is recalled for the exact fault you've rung up about.

The website says an engineer will be with you within 7 days, three weeks later is the earliest appointment available.

Being asked to answer a "short survey" after the call, especially when the call hasn't solved anything you've rung up for.

I think I'll stop now... 

briskbeats

I had an issue with my Sky box last April. They only had sales on as when pressed buttons for tech support, the line went dead. So I spoke to someone in sales and they said as I’m not shielding that’s why I’m being cut off. What a silly thing as people wfh or furloughed need their tv too.

I was off work through surgery. They got an engineer out eventually.

ceh209

HMRC are my bugbear at the moment, and there isn't an alternative company I can use for that! I'm trying to contact them about a VAT return submission issue. Tried several times on the phone, waiting at least 30 minutes, no answer. Have sat waiting on webchat for over a week now (whilst doing other work of course) - never had it change from 'all our agents are busy'. Sent them an email a week ago, but it says they might take 15 days to respond. Well that's all well and good, but my VAT return is due and somehow I don't think you're going to say this is a reasonable excuse for not filing on time!

SevenOfNine

Most people would probably find this solution GREAT, but frankly I find it irritating. A couple of financial organisations have been giving me 'compensation' for their shoddy service.  I've had at least 5 payments, amounting to quite a few hundred pounds over the past 18 - 24 months or so.

For some I've been obliged to formally complain, for a couple it was just negative feedback. Now as much as I like being given 'free' money, that's not the point, I don't ask for it & don't particularly want it, often pass it on to a charity BUT, what I do want is for the problems I've encountered to be FIXED.

I've seen forum complaints similar to mine, so clearly they think a payout will satisfy a customer. It probably does, I'm just not one of them. Ranging from £50 & £100 a couple of times, £200, a hamper.

I'm not trying to make a living out of compensation, all customers including myself actually pay for that 'free' money, what I want is for problems to be fixed & not continue for other people.  Particularly when it's an on-line processes that aren't fit for purpose, then bounce me from pillar to post on the phone & in person!

ciderboy2009

The one thing that really annoys me is when you're in a queue on the phone and they don't give you any idea whereabouts in the queue you are.

I called one company a couple of weeks ago who not only told me what position in the queue I was but also their average number of calls dealt with per 10 minutes for that day (it actually changed whilst I was holding so it was clearly a live average).. Why can't more companied give out info like this?

Murphybear

briskbeats said:

I don’t like call centres that the staff have to follow a script 100% and get nothing out of them. I worked in call centres and only had to follow the script for dictating the direct debit guarantee and a couple of others about contracts etc. After that, I had free will to talk to customer to help them.

Personalisation adds customer service.

Another bug bear of mine, B&M, Poundland - I’m talking to you. I’m not interested in buying a bar of chocolate and other stuff you want to sell at the till, Especially when I come to the till with healthy store cupboard items - rice, chopped tomatoes, tinned pulses etc. If I want a bar of chocolate, I would put it in my shopping!

If i am offered chocolate/sweets at the checkout I tell them I have diabetes.  I usually get an embarrassed look and an apology.

Murphybear

I have had good customer service from Amazon and Thompson and Morgan.  I communicate by email and get a response very quickly.

on the rare occasions I have any problems with food from Waitrose I email them and they respond within hours.  They always send a voucher for more than the value of the food I’ve had a problem with.

we bought some raspberries from Morrison’s yesterday and didn’t put them in the fridge overnight. This morning they were covered with tiny flies.  They gave us the money back today with an apology and no proof.