Customer Service SUCKS

joshm_2

For goodness sake, I can't believe how useless these financial (and other) institutions are. I am in the UK one day a week and need to sort stuff out. What do I get?

Amex
Me: I disagree with the statement, I need you to explain it.
Them: Sorry, systems down, call again in TWO DAYS!

Woolwich:
Me: I sent you a DD mandate form in MAY. Why haven't you set it up?
Them: Sorry, don't know, I'll just send you another one THAT'LL PROBABLY GO MISSING AND WASTE MORE OF YOUR TIME.

Thames Water:
Me: Received a letter about doing a water meter survey, with a number to call if the time is inconvenient (OF COURSE it's inconvenient, it's at a time when PEOPLE ARE AT WORK). Call number to change appointment time, at least 4 times so far.
Them: No answer, not even an answering machine. USELESS.

Citibank:
Don't even get me started. These guys are the worst.

GRRRRR! Ok, rant over. Thank you.
JoshM

mrcow

Sorry to hear of your bad day.

It could have been worse though, you could bank with A&L, in which case you could have been insulted, or worse, you could have had a price query with Tesco, in which case you could have been assaulted! (see other Vent threads).

madfrenchgirl

which ones mrcow?

mrcow

Tesco thread is here

There are various A&L threads around the vent and banking boards ref their customer services (or lack of it ) as members have had so many different problems if you try a search.

IvanOpinion

Personally I think that in the vast majority of cases it is CUSTOMERS that suck. Customers want absolute bottom of the range pricing and they want all the support lines and service lines because quite often they can't be bothered to read manuals or follow simple instructions. I think everybody should spend a bit of time working in a call centre ... maybe then they will understand what the staff can and can not do and the amount of crap they have to take day-in-day-out. One of the big problems is that a significant number of people come on the phone after getting themselves all riiled up ready for a fight .. and irrespective of the stupidity of what they say or the helpfulness and sympathy of the staff they are determined to have a fight. I have often wondered how a call centre worker can be calm to someone after they have had several obnoxious customers in a row.


Out of your list the only people I have had any contact with is Amex and given some of the problems I had (simple mistakes/misunderstandings) I rate the call centre staff I spoke to as excellent. I must have phoned at the roughly the same time as you because their system was 'down' as well ... it happens, I phoned back ... you say you are out of the country well then surely that is your problem, or can the call centre say 'that customer sucks, he wants loads of help but only makes himself available one day per week'. Swings and roundabouts.

Ivan