Bad customer service

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

My biggest bugbear with customer service is being promised a call back/email and it not being done. I don't mind if they email/call and say that for xyz they haven't been able to process my request but it will be done by z date. That is not an issue, I understand things crop up, take time etc. I always reply thanking them and appreciating that they have let me know.

Its the waiting around and not knowing that annoys me, especially if I have someone waiting on info from me.

It used to drive me insane when colleagues would do this and colleagues from other customer contact centres. There was nothing worse than answering a call to an upset and angry customer that had been let down because someone had made false promises and then of course we would get the blame from the customer. We had a couple of customer contact centres that were based abroad and they were notorious for saying anything they could to get the customer off the phone, it was all empty promises and lies. It was honestly one of the worst part of my job. I very rarely offered to phone someone back, but if I did, then I meant it.

 

[Veronica]

I work with customers and get spoken to awfully on a daily basis. My job sector deals with builders and architects. The old schoolers havent adjusted to the fact women can do this job and do know there stuff. I had a man scream at me down the phone as i shouldnt of being dealing with his enquiry as im just a type writer and dont have qualifications after my name on my email signature. It was a simple question that even a google search would of answered and his kept saying he was a retired architect and been in the business longer than ive been alive.
One of the managers said something the other day that hit the nail right in the head. Things like amazon prime and netflix have really ruined peoples expectations. They expect next day delivery, box sets on demand and fast food. Yet they are so inpatient and demand answers there and then. No one can wait anymore. We get 100s of emails a week ontop of phone calls and applications to deal with. We are aimed to respond in 10 working days but always manage to answer quicker. Only at times when the email is a little more complexed and needs help from higher up that it takes upto that length of time but people call upto to complain they cant wait that long or they email a silly question that could be answered in seconds on a phone call. The y mostly are - “are you open” what are your office times etc. Yet they got the email address of the contact us page and they would of had to scroll past these details and then moan we dont answer straight away and we by company policy have to answer every email professionally and it takes time answering these silly ones

It's so annoying..... They go on our website.... They send an email. If they'd have read the website the answer is right there so frustrating!!!!!! I get that too if it's anything technical..... I think I need to speak to a man

 

[ProphecyGirl]

I think it depends.

So I work in an office as an admin but also answer phone & e-mail queries so I guess that is some sort of customer service. But there's a small handful of us who work here so we need to maintain good customer service with them

I've found when I've also dealt with small offices, the customer service has been really good.
Customer service when it comes to call centers are shocking. They aren't bothered because they'll probably never deal with you again, that and they're probably rushed to get off the phone and have targets to meet.

I have also found my local council really horrible to deal with. Nasty people

 

[Hendrix]

I worked in customer service for over 10 years, some of those years in a Sky call centre.

Coming off a call where you’ve been called every name under the sun because you won’t turn their Sky back on even though they can’t pay their bill and then speaking to a lovely old lady who’s in the same situation but couldn’t be more apologetic about the late payment, you don’t get time to breathe in between calls sometimes.

People would think there was a button we pressed to turn their Sky on and that was not the case at all. Customer is always right though..

I once had a woman screaming at me because her daughter’s bill was over £200 due to call charges and she demanded I refunded the money so the daughter could feed her kids.

 

[CherryAcid]

I work on a hospital switchboard and when we are fully staffed there are 4 people to answer internal and external calls for 3 hospitals. From 4:30 there is only 2. We also have people coming in who need pagers etc Now at the moment there have been periods were there has been one person to answer all those calls, this week for example there are 2 days where I will be working alone in my office. When I am on a lone shift I cant leave the office as I have to listen out for the emergency phone so I dont actually get a break. If I need to use the loo I have to rush etc.
Some people are lovely and totally understanding but then you get some who will scream and talk to you like muck because they have had to wait for a reply. People think that by shouting they will get what they want and its just not true, I cant make wards/depts answer.
It's so hard at times to remain upbeat, I do try my best with everyone and will often go out of my way to help(even beyond my role) but if you talk to me like crap you are going to get the basic things I can do and thats that. I'm never rude but the warmth goes out of my voice.

 

[totallytaz]

Not so much a “rise of the Karen” more like a rise of people whipping out their smartphones mid-disagreement and recording one half of a two sided non-story.

 

[Blakelycakey]

I started a job in a call centre this year working in travel. 80% of the people I speak to are lovely and understanding that we are currently in a pandemic with extra ordinary circumstances. And then the other 20% who just seem to want to scream and shout at someone at the end of the phone. I tend to let them not interrupt and find they usually calm down by the end of the call they just want someone to vent at. When I first started the job I loved it, lovely team and company. But it is starting to take its toll especially as someone else said they start being personal about you. I’ve had people say I’m uneducated, one step up from McDonald’s and I’m scum of the earth working for a money grabbing company. I know shouldn’t take it personally but there are days when I’ve gone home and cried and cried and started to believe it’s true. I worked for many years before as cabin crew and found it similar you had lovely passengers who are happy, polite and just looking forward to a holiday. Then you got the ones who just needed to vent/moan and as you wear the uniform you’re the one who gets it. I do find it’s easier to deal with people face to face than other the phone body language and a smile goes a long way it’s very difficult to put that across on email or phone. If it wasn’t a pandemic and with the industry being so turbulent I would probably look for a new role in another sector but I realise I’ve very lucky to have my job and a wage x

 

[The Devils Arse]

My biggest bugbear with customer service is being promised a call back/email and it not being done. I don't mind if they email/call and say that for xyz they haven't been able to process my request but it will be done by z date. That is not an issue, I understand things crop up, take time etc. I always reply thanking them and appreciating that they have let me know.

Its the waiting around and not knowing that annoys me, especially if I have someone waiting on info from me.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

I worked in a call centre for two years, just over ten years ago. Never again, is all I will say!

 

[Veronica]

My biggest bugbear with customer service is being promised a call back/email and it not being done. I don't mind if they email/call and say that for xyz they haven't been able to process my request but it will be done by z date. That is not an issue, I understand things crop up, take time etc. I always reply thanking them and appreciating that they have let me know.

Its the waiting around and not knowing that annoys me, especially if I have someone waiting on info from me.

I've never in 17 years ever not called anyone back when I said I would..... I'm a customer service queen

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

When I worked in a call centre for a mail order company, someone ordered something, saying they needed it for a certain date and probably paying the extra amount for swift delivery. I'd answered the phone with my first name and the caller concluded that if they didn't get it by the day stipulated, 'remember, your names on it.' Errrm, yeah, I thought, I may have taken the order but I'm nothing to do with order-picking and despatch...

I remember when I used to work in a call centre and a customer would be angry over something that I couldn’t fix and they would demand, “I want to know your name” so I would give them my first name and then they’d say, “right and your second name?” To which id respond, “I don’t have to give you that information”. They would then get so angry that I wouldn’t give them my last name, as if they had some right to know that information and they’d start shouting at me down the phone demanding I tell them, it’s unbelievable how rude and entitled people are!

 

[HoGi]

Call centres often seem to have a script and they only give answers from the script, even if it doesn't answer the query. In some cases, the person on the phone is only employed to answer the phone and another department does the other things, often in another place and there can be a lack of communication or a delay between the two and this affects the customer.

I've worked in retail and hospitality for a few years and I honestly believe if someone has had bad customers service, they likely deserve it. I know some staff are rude and can have a bad day and some staff are shit at their job or do the wrong thing so nobody is perfect.

However, customers are more entitled now. The normal behaviour we see is quite impolite ( eg talking on their phones while being served, putting their shopping on before previous customer moved along , interrupting to ask their question while someone else being served) .

The majority of complaints we get are because a customer has been told no , because of what they want is against our procedures (eg our apple pay in store is limited to a £50 transaction, or we can't give a discount because the goods don't belong to us as they are sold on behalf of supplier). It's often their expectations that are the cause, not our service.

We say 'The customer is not always right, the customer could be lying or mistaken '.

You are so right about expectations being the cause.

We get people call up to complain that they haven't had a response to a letter they posted yesterday. Its like...mate, we haven't even received it yet?! How was I meant to receive it, process it and respond in less than 24 hours? You want that service then at least email so we receive it same day.

 

[Kim Mild]

I always try not to make false promises . I will say no if that is the answer (I don't believe the idea of never saying anything negative). However I will try and find/ suggest an alternative for them .

 

[Welsh1]

I work in a GP practice so although not dealing with customers, I still feel my job involves some form of customer service. I aim to listen, be as helpful as I can and always remain polite however when patients are shouting at me or making insults, I continuously tell him to fuck off in my head. Our job is stressful enough given the current times and people just expect the world! We are open for 9 hours a day and there is not 1 second of the day where the phones aren't ringing or people aren't moaning.

 

[Phoenix Lazarus]

When I worked in a call centre for a mail order company, someone ordered something, saying they needed it for a certain date and probably paying the extra amount for swift delivery. I'd answered the phone with my first name and the caller concluded that if they didn't get it by the day stipulated, 'remember, your names on it.' Errrm, yeah, I thought, I may have taken the order but I'm nothing to do with order-picking and despatch...

 

[Begborrowsteal]

Customers have always been difficult, customer service is then difficult as you have to paint on a smile no matter what youre going through.

I worked in retail for 10years, and i loved it. I did have some awful interactions (called a cunt, threatened, complaints to HO etc), but good service was important to me. As a manager, I was strict on my staff to keep that standard going. I think customers are very entitled and expectations are high. Some staff are lazy, inconsistent or poorly trained. An example; nandos offer generally great service, and Primark offer next to none. Primark offer no training or standards around customer service, its all about sales.

I now work in an office with no direct customer interaction and I'm glad of the change

 

[Rippedjeanmaybe]

I worked in a call centre for two years, just over ten years ago. Never again, is all I will say!

You sound like me! I left the job in September and I will NEVER go back and I’ll never go back to retail either. I’m staying unemployed (living off savings, matched betting and selling stuff on eBay) until I find a job where I have as little contact with customers as possible.