"You people"--
This quite possibly THE worst insulting thing you could say... The rep on the phone is simply an employee of the company. Regardless of your problem, he or she is NOT personally "out to get you" despite what you may think. 3 minutes from now, they'll have forgotten your name.
"Honey/Sugar/Sweetheart" --
Listen, when female Customer Service Reps hear this, they CRINGE. Granted, it's often a regional thing, or even a generational thing. I get that. I'm not talking about that. It's when you call us that when you're talking down to us, as though we are not educated enough to get a "real job". You obviously have something that needs fixed. Be respectful. If you call me this while being a jerk, I will repeat my name for you, since you OBVIOUSLY didn't catch it the first time. And if you continue to be a jerk, you're probably not going to get whatever it is I was THINKING about giving you, but a lot less at this point.
"Just give me your Supervisor"--
You know what? Let me know what the issue is. Believe it or not, I can PROBABLY take care of it for you-- lickity-split. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. The Supervisor (or the President of the company (that one's my FAVORITE)) actually DO have other things to do besides sit with their thumbs up their butts waiting for YOU to call.
"Missy" --
Unless you're greeted with "Thank you for holding, this is Missy, how can I help you?" Don't go there... People feel this sense of anonimity with the internet, and the same goes with phone calls. It's like if you can't see them, and they can't see you, you have the freedom of being a jackass. We have all your information! Granted, I've never seen any CSR retaliate against a customer, but that doesn't mean people don't... We do relieve our stress by coming up with ideas on what we could do, but I don't think anyone's actually done anything... YET ;)
Bottom line, go by the Golden Rule... If your mother didn't teach it to you, you obviously have the internet, go and learn it.
Service with a friggin smile! Why do I work in a call center? Because I can fake a cheerful voice like nobody's business. Body language is totally different story. This is for all those folks who have ever had the THANKLESS job of working in a service call center.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
"Give me my money or I'm driving up there!"
Ok... I work in a CRAZY call center. I've worked in several over the last 15 years. This is one of the craziest customer bases I've ever worked with... Today's shenanigans consisted of the following:
A brand new customer called in early in the week to place an order. She specifically asked to have her check HELD until that Friday. Why couldn't she place her order on Friday do you ask? I have no freaking idea. Anywho... back to the story...
I spoke with her that Friday, because a certain national bank had overdrafted her account by $80 with fees. I looked at the order, and it appears it WAS our fault, and put the customer's check in too soon. I tell her it's not a problem, I can take care of the fees, as I would forward on the appropriate information to our accounting department. I asked her to fax in paperwork confirming that the fees were indeed due to her check to us. I advised her that we cut checks 2x per month.
Fast forward 2 weeks. She called in ENRAGED. She actually threatened to drive up here (20 minutes or so), to get her money.
First of all- Our accounting department is closed for the evening.
Second of all- The check hasn't even printed yet, there are 5 Fridays this month.
Third of all- You're bat crap crazy...
A brand new customer called in early in the week to place an order. She specifically asked to have her check HELD until that Friday. Why couldn't she place her order on Friday do you ask? I have no freaking idea. Anywho... back to the story...
I spoke with her that Friday, because a certain national bank had overdrafted her account by $80 with fees. I looked at the order, and it appears it WAS our fault, and put the customer's check in too soon. I tell her it's not a problem, I can take care of the fees, as I would forward on the appropriate information to our accounting department. I asked her to fax in paperwork confirming that the fees were indeed due to her check to us. I advised her that we cut checks 2x per month.
Fast forward 2 weeks. She called in ENRAGED. She actually threatened to drive up here (20 minutes or so), to get her money.
First of all- Our accounting department is closed for the evening.
Second of all- The check hasn't even printed yet, there are 5 Fridays this month.
Third of all- You're bat crap crazy...
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