Discussions about people at work - primarily business psychology, including the human side of outsourcing.
Customer service is often marred by quite simple issues
Posted 4th September 2007 at 16:18 by Stephanie
I received an invoice today for a service we no longer need. I will not mention the company as this is just one example of things that seem to go on all the time. Written on the invoice was a clear note 'If you no longer need these services then please contact us on the telephone number above'.
So I duly rang the number, and went through two separate message systems, being warned at the beginning that I must listen carefully as the messages had changed, I did so dutifully.
None of the options seemed to fit, so I chose the closest, concerned that I may be put through to the 'wrong' person and have to start all over again (this has happened a few times).
Finally I get through to a real person, but as soon as I said what I wanted he says ‘You have to put that in writing to the address at the top’. So I mentioned that it had stated on the invoice to ring – he politely re-iterated that I must write in person to the address on the invoice.
As I actually feel a bit sorry for people working in call centres (having read up on research on the work experiences of some of these to support one of my lectures) I calmly said goodbye and put the phone down. But why wind customers up like this? How difficult can it be to change the note to say ‘If you no longer need these services then please contact us in writing at the above address’? As the call centre guy did not attempt to dissuade me from my choice, it was clearly nothing to do with customer retention.
This is just one example of so many similar issues I have experienced – I will leave my gripe about call centres for another day…
So I duly rang the number, and went through two separate message systems, being warned at the beginning that I must listen carefully as the messages had changed, I did so dutifully.
None of the options seemed to fit, so I chose the closest, concerned that I may be put through to the 'wrong' person and have to start all over again (this has happened a few times).
Finally I get through to a real person, but as soon as I said what I wanted he says ‘You have to put that in writing to the address at the top’. So I mentioned that it had stated on the invoice to ring – he politely re-iterated that I must write in person to the address on the invoice.
As I actually feel a bit sorry for people working in call centres (having read up on research on the work experiences of some of these to support one of my lectures) I calmly said goodbye and put the phone down. But why wind customers up like this? How difficult can it be to change the note to say ‘If you no longer need these services then please contact us in writing at the above address’? As the call centre guy did not attempt to dissuade me from my choice, it was clearly nothing to do with customer retention.
This is just one example of so many similar issues I have experienced – I will leave my gripe about call centres for another day…
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Oooo! I find that kind of thing aggravating and so unnecessary! It suggests that the call centre staff haven't been informed of what's going on which makes them look a bit daft. Perhaps whenever we come across that sort of situation we should ask to speak to the supervisor or manager (maintaining the staff member's self-esteem in the process) to offer them some feedback that they need to act upon. Perhaps also, feedback could be given when we write.
It's considered by some to be very un-English to complain but if we don't do it, things will just carry on as normal. Good customer service is so central to business retaining their customers that it seems odd that so few businesses actually apply themselves to it. Gets off soapbox... |
Posted 5th September 2007 at 13:59 by Simon Donnelly
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Hey Simon, great to hear we get irritated by the same things!
Soapboxes are of course what this is about - so go for it. And I fully agree about the issue that they have not told their staff about the situation - this happened with a major internet company who kept their upgrade secret from the staff (marketing department hated the techies...) and the first thing staff knew about it was when the customers started ringing in for information because they had seen the adverts (you can imagine how that went down). |
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Posted 5th September 2007 at 20:03 by Stephanie
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Recent Blog Entries by Stephanie
- Quality Accounts for NHS (21st November 2008)
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- The human side of outsourcing - managing people change (13th September 2008)
- Outsourcing kills the IT job market - what now for IT recruitment? (4th September 2008)
