Customer Service Worse Than Ever!

Most customer service is remote today and usually, if you are able to talk to a human, that person either has no idea what you are calling about and is quite disinterested. Also, they are all on automated phone hook ups which are possibly good for the subscriber, but terrible for the consumer.
 
I always switch from a foreign phone bank, and ask to be connected to an operator in USA. They always do that if you ask, or, if *I* ask! If I get any problem with the American operator I Demand, not ask, for a supervisor. I am almost immediately put through.
 

Pepper said:
I always switch from a foreign phone bank, and ask to be connected to an operator in USA. They always do that if you ask, or, if *I* ask! If I get any problem with the American operator I Demand, not ask, for a supervisor. I am almost immediately put through.
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I do the same, always ask for a supervisor if you're talking to a non English speaking call centre. don't take no for an answer and you will always get transferred to an English customer call centre..
 
Well in general customer service has deteriorated immensely, since the late 90s. However, in some areas customer service really shines...but not when using the curse-ed automated voice menu circular rat maze. Using live chat with some businesses has worked well to resolve issues.
I have to give Amazon a big (y) for resolving numerous product shortcomings in a painless manner.
 
Customer service is nothing like it once was. The so-called "service reps" often know very little about the products in their stores.
Not too long ago, I stopped a Walmart clerk who was walking by and I asked him . " Please, could you tell me where I can find 'ironing boards'? His reply, "What are they used for "? My God, how stupid are these people ? How is it possible that anyone could not know what an ironing broad is ?
 
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Nathan said:
Well in general customer service has deteriorated immensely, since the late 90s. However, in some areas customer service really shines...but not when using the curse-ed automated voice menu circular rat maze. Using live chat with some businesses has worked well to resolve issues.
I have to give Amazon a big (y) for resolving numerous product shortcomings in a painless manner.
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I'm a long time Amazon user and fan and I was reimpressed when an electric blanket I had purchased last fall stopped working and they had a new one in my hands within a day.
 
senior chef said:
Customer service is nothing like it once was. The so-called "service reps" often know very little about the products in their stores.
Not too long ago, I stopped a Walmart clerk who was walking by and I asked him . " Please, could you tell me where I can find 'ironing boards'? His reply, "What are they used for "? My God, how stupid are these people ? How is it possible that anyone could not know what an ironing broad is ?
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Walmart? Here, If you ask a question like, "Where would I find . . . . . .? You get a blank look and then they walk away. hahaha!
 
carouselsilver said:
https://hbr.org/2019/02/why-is-customer-service-so-bad-because-its-profitable

What do you think?
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I think their theory of being profitable is wrong ...
while people may get lower payouts after dealing with the multi level agents etc... or people may not bother when it is taking forever waiting to deal with these calls etc ...
They are taking up the customer service agents times ... a couple hours of wages will eat up and savings they had only giving prorated or half refunds..
I also find More people will share with others a bad experience or bad mouth a company then tell you of a good service encounter.
I had bad experience with a group that I feel tried to use this system to get me to NOT refund etc ......
i have steered more customers away then their offer of half refund would ever have saved them ...........and in fact they ended up with FULL refund and lost future customers.
 
carouselsilver said:
What do you think?
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If I get a speech recognition autobot, I usually ask them to press 1 if they care

Seems it takes about two minutes to get a human
Then we have a chat about their authority before I spill my guts

But, I mostly buy local, so I deal local.....face time

That's what I love about Home Depot
The customer service folks don't give a rat's pooper about your opinion or any details about how sucky the product is, as long as the scanner scans

'Do you want cash or a credit on your debit'

I so like that
 
About the only time I've contacted "customer service", in the past year was when I had to get a new cell phone, last Fall, and had some "setup" questions. I called their 800 number and was connected to a person who could barely speak English (from India?). After a few minutes of trying to make any progress, I just hung up, and figured it out myself.
If these companies won't employ people who can communicate properly, I see little incentive to support their product.
 
Gaer said:
Walmart? Here, If you ask a question like, "Where would I find . . . . . .? You get a blank look and then they walk away. hahaha!
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You mean you can actually find an employee at Walmart? Even one that will stop long enough to give you a blank look? Gaer, honey, you're ahead of the game..... I have a theory that they recognize the sound of my car pulling into the lot and simultaneously all of them go on break.
 
My newest strategy is to ask for a supervisor. Their new strategy is to say that the supervisor is unavailable. Then I tell them the three agencies that I am going to complain to.

The last time this happened, I had wanted to return some products to a vitamin company. They sent me a return label, and I returned the products. After checking several times, I called to ask for my refund. They behaved just like that article said they would; giving me a runaround. Finally, they refused to return my money. I asked for a supervisor, they refused to get one. I said, "When your supervisor is through hiding, tell him or her that I am going to report you to the Better Business Bureau." I did just that, along with writing complaints on Yelp and Trust Pilot. Suddenly they were falling all over themselves to refund my money. Some of those places that I complained to will have it posted for the public to read. So they had to save face.;)
 
Don’t you just love how while on extended hold to talk to a customer service rep, the robo-voice periodically assures you that your call is important to them? They mock your pain. I can’t get enough of the elevator music that they pipe to you while on hold, either! If I persist, eventually I seem to connect with an Indian speaking heavily-accented English, or some fast-talking woman speaking softly in a breathy, faint voice that you can barely hear. Odds are that you’ll then be transferred to someone else, your call being lost in the process as you hear dead air. They all work for the same union… 🙀
 
jujube said:
You mean you can actually find an employee at Walmart? Even one that will stop long enough to give you a blank look? Gaer, honey, you're ahead of the game..... I have a theory that they recognize the sound of my car pulling into the lot and simultaneously all of them go on break.
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When I have a question and I'm searching for an employee at Walmart, it's like being a participant in a magic show. I finally see an employee and by the time I get there, he's disappeared. I mean, nowhere to be seen. How do they do that? They must have ESP, know I have a question, and *POOF*.
 
Most companies view customer service as an annoyance from customers. It's not high on their to-do list. That's why it gets palmed off to 3rd world "representatives." I remember calling a computer company. The 'tech' had a cheap , barely working cell phone, and the TV was on- ( Family Guy) there was a baby crying and a kid talking. Apparently, she heard of these computer things, but never actually saw one. But I did get one tech, who helped me, after a bunch of calls.
I think any corporation who has an automated phone system- let me put it this way, I fervently believe in cannibalism. I've come to that conclusion after listening through hours of corporate ads, and menus, when I make a customer service call. If you have to punch in "15" on their menu options, AND you still haven't gotten to your problem, it's time to get the pot cooking.
 
I'm afraid to say that I always rec've good customer service while at Walmart.
There's usually someone floating around w/a price gun that I can hit up.

And, p.s... I used to be a c/s rep for a wheelchair company in the 90's.
We had little mirrors placed above our computers so we would remember to speak w/a smile in our voice. :)
 
I got stuck with one of those foreign customer service reps when I subscribed to my local cable company. The person was almost impossible to understand, background noise sounded as if they were having a party, couldn't answer basic questions, and so on. Once the call was over I was not at all sure I subscribed successfully or not.
 
Where I had worked it was a huge multinational corporation, and the company's own support staff was really bad, I don't think it could be from a profit-motive though, because days and days of highly paid staff hours were constantly being wasted by incompetent phone tech support people. I think maybe it is hard for companies to find enough good people for those positions.
 
CinnamonSugar said:
*Occasionally* you get old-fashioned, really helpful service. If this happens I find the manager and compliment the employee. Can't hurt to say something positive if it's warranted!
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I do that too! My work experiences taught me that most people will go more out of their way to complain than to compliment. When i raised my kids i followed the principle of giving them more attention for behaving well than for misbehaving. It taught me that it makes sense to thank people and compliment them even if you see it as 'their job', and let their bosses know too.
 

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