The most annoying customer service issue ever?

[AtlantaBob]

Good lord, people in charge of call centers should be SHOT. (Yes, I mean you AT&T Wireless).

If you're going to put me on hold for 15 minutes or more, why don't you just put some soft music on the phone. I don't want to hear a pitch for every service that you offer. I want to put you on speakerphone and be able to get some real work done.

This comes from stupid executives who think that every chance to talk to a customer is another chance to sell them something. Why don't they teach common sense in business school?

 

[archiloco]

see but out of 100 people who hate it 5-10 people actuallly do get sold on the idea

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob
Good lord, people in charge of call centers should be SHOT. (Yes, I mean you AT&T Wireless).

If you're going to put me on hold for 15 minutes or more, why don't you just put some soft music on the phone. I don't want to hear a pitch for every service that you offer. I want to put you on speakerphone and be able to get some real work done.

This comes from stupid executives who think that every chance to talk to a customer is another chance to sell them something. Why don't they teach common sense in business school?

Indeed! I would argue that common sense isn't common and the benefits of good customer service are glossed over due to being difficult to measure as opposed to strategies like "Downsizing" and "Outsourcing."

 

[AtlantaBob]

They definitely need to call their own numbers sometime and see what they have to do.
Not to mention the greedy little jerks try to screw people over over small amounts.
Hint, if I'm griping about a charge that's less than $5, you should probably just give me the credit for it.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Dell.

2 problems:

1) My 7800GT got shipped like 10 days later than my friends' when I placed my order first. Order #s show that.
2) My Dell 600m laptop HD died and they replaced me with a 60gb drive TWICE. After like 2 years they said they're moving me back to 40gb which was the original spec. I understand that's policy but seriously, to put me on a 60gb 5400rpm drive for 2 years and then force me to go back to what I originally ordered was terrible.

Anyways, just demanding to speak with the manager took like 1 hour on hold.

 

[Arkitech]

if the customer service is bad imagine the pain of working for them

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: Arkitech
if the customer service is bad imagine the pain of working for them

This is true. But at this point, after having to deal with the stupid policies that they try to enforce and everything else, I just feel like they should quit. Therefore, I don't really have any sympathy for any crap they have to put up with. (Granted, I'm frustrated right now).

But seriously, if you're one of the people who perpetrates that crap, you're an enabler. Sigh.

So yeah, I hope that the people who really are forced to work those jobs can find something else. And those who willingly choose to inflict pain on others--well, I hope they suffer.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob
Good lord, people in charge of call centers should be SHOT. (Yes, I mean you AT&T Wireless).

This comes from stupid executives who think that every chance to talk to a customer is another chance to sell them something. Why don't they teach common sense in business school?

They are too busy teaching them that every customer contact is a potential sale

Originally posted by: MagnusTheBrewer

Indeed! I would argue that common sense isn't common and the benefits of good customer service are glossed over due to being difficult to measure as opposed to strategies like "Downsizing" and "Outsourcing."

QFT,

 

[SpanishFry]

There is no customer service anymore. They just have the 1-800 numbers to placate you.

I complain about a valid issue
They listen and say, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"
I ask for a manager
Manager says, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"

What's the fucking point?

 

[Nitemare]

You should call Road Runner tech support sometime. It's nearly an hour to wait and speak to a live person.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: SpanishFry
There is no customer service anymore. They just have the 1-800 numbers to placate you.

I complain about a valid issue
They listen and say, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"
I ask for a manager
Manager says, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"

What's the fucking point?

Vote with your wallet and feet. It is depressing to see how many businesses have bad customer service though. It comes down to my favorite question for companies, what business are you in?

Many companies try to emulate other 'successful' industry business practices without paying attention to how or why the policies were arrived at. Since, at least in corporate America, the dollar is king, it is small wonder that anything which smacks of cost cutting is rapidly adopted.

The effects of customer service are difficult to quantify and typically are slow to develop into trends that can be identified. That, coupled with true talent needed to throw significant money away in a short enough time to be identified as cause and effect, means that companies can literally make bad business decisions for years without going out of business. AND, if said company is an industry leader or the number of players too few, all of the companies in a particular industry can have bad business practices.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Indeed. Good points one and all. However, since I'm griping, I should also support the people that do customer service well, in my experience:

1.) NewEgg (I'll pay more for things from there, just to ensure their service)
2.) Mom and Pop bookstores on Amazon (some of which are fantastic)
3.) ... is there a third?

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: SpanishFry
There is no customer service anymore. They just have the 1-800 numbers to placate you.

I complain about a valid issue
They listen and say, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"
I ask for a manager
Manager says, "sorry sir, company policy blah blah blah"

What's the fucking point?

Most call centres you cannot even escalate an issue past Level 1 support anyway. Bell Canada and Sasktel are two examples off the top of my head. You cannot ask for a supervisor or manager, period.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob
Indeed. Good points one and all. However, since I'm griping, I should also support the people that do customer service well, in my experience:

1.) NewEgg (I'll pay more for things from there, just to ensure their service)
2.) Mom and Pop bookstores on Amazon (some of which are fantastic)
3.) ... is there a third?

Owner operated businesses everywhere. Nothing drives good customer service like immediate accountability.

 

[darkxshade]

One moment while I read and respond to your rant, estimated time of response is 15 minutes. While you wait, did you know Politics and News is a great place for you to go and unwind at no additional cost, this subforum is availble to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
One moment while I read and respond to your rant, estimated time of response is 15 minutes. While you wait, did you know Politics and News is a great place for you to go and unwind at no additional cost, this subforum is availble to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

Sorry, we like our rants on the clean and informed side.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Originally posted by: darkxshade
One moment while I read and respond to your rant, estimated time of response is 15 minutes. While you wait, did you know Politics and News is a great place for you to go and unwind at no additional cost, this subforum is availble to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

15 minutes? What a deal! I think that since AT&T's the phone company, they feel like they can keep me on hold longer for cheaper (I stayed on the phone for 40 minutes, maybe 7 of which were with a real person). I thought at the beginning that I might type out a rant the entire time I was on hold, but:

a.) it was too distracting thanks to the constant advertisements (also why I couldn't do real work), and
b.) I didn't want to made the forums crash with something that long and profanity-laden.

 

[darkxshade]

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: darkxshade
One moment while I read and respond to your rant, estimated time of response is 15 minutes. While you wait, did you know Politics and News is a great place for you to go and unwind at no additional cost, this subforum is availble to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

15 minutes? What a deal! I think that since AT&T's the phone company, they feel like they can keep me on hold longer for cheaper (I stayed on the phone for 40 minutes, maybe 7 of which were with a real person). I thought at the beginning that I might type out a rant the entire time I was on hold, but:

a.) it was too distracting thanks to the constant advertisements (also why I couldn't do real work), and
b.) I didn't want to made the forums crash with something that long and profanity-laden.

Good afternoon, due to the volume of threads posted, a reply is still pending and new estimates show that a response shall be posted for you within 20 minutes. While you wait, did you know we now provide advice on love and relationships? Go ahead, give it a try, it's free!

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Originally posted by: darkxshade

Originally posted by: AtlantaBob

Originally posted by: darkxshade
One moment while I read and respond to your rant, estimated time of response is 15 minutes. While you wait, did you know Politics and News is a great place for you to go and unwind at no additional cost, this subforum is availble to you 24 hours a day 7 days a week!

15 minutes? What a deal! I think that since AT&T's the phone company, they feel like they can keep me on hold longer for cheaper (I stayed on the phone for 40 minutes, maybe 7 of which were with a real person). I thought at the beginning that I might type out a rant the entire time I was on hold, but:

a.) it was too distracting thanks to the constant advertisements (also why I couldn't do real work), and
b.) I didn't want to made the forums crash with something that long and profanity-laden.

Good afternoon, due to the volume of threads posted, a reply is still pending and new estimates show that a response shall be posted for you within 20 minutes. While you wait, did you know we now provide advice on love and relationships? Go ahead, give it a try, it's free!

Error: 403 Funny almost found

 

[darkxshade]

Greetings, thank you for waiting. Unfortunately I am busy responding to other threads and will not be able to provide you an answer by the end of the business day. We apologize for your wait and would like to make it up to you by allowing you to repost this thread anytime Monday through Fridays between 9AM-5PM EST and thank you for using ATOT.


*disconnect*