Is it my ears or do customer service reps suck?

[bbb]

Is every company cheaping out on the headsets they are buying their reps? Everybody I talk to is muffled. I ask are they on a headset. Yes, is this better? Yeah.........And, then within a minute it's muffled again.........and, most of the time they claim the headset is wired, not wireless, which I figured was the problem.

 

I know my hearing sucks from genetics and too many years of listening to music and podcasts through headsets while trying to be louder than traffic, etc..............But are other people having this problem?

[The Poojer]

What??? Huh???

 

 

Is every company cheaping out on the headsets they are buying their reps? Everybody I talk to is muffled. I ask are they on a headset. Yes, is this better? Yeah.........And, then within a minute it's muffled again.........and, most of the time they claim the headset is wired, not wireless, which I figured was the problem.

 

I know my hearing sucks from genetics and too many years of listening to music and podcasts through headsets while trying to be louder than traffic, etc..............But are other people having this problem?

[Punching Bag]

It has to do with call centers and companies using software for phones rather than old fashion wire.

 

Verizon has a terrible application you are supposed to use and NO ONE liked it but management because they could see whether you were dialed in, etc. It also gave them ability to have calls be made anywhere with customer not being able to tell where call from which is useful when you are farming out work overseas; not only does it hide where call is coming from it makes accents and such harder to recognize when everyone sounds bad. A lot of the junk callers use same system and it is sold to the jerks who call you and say they are from "Technical Support" when their true purpose is to talk you into loading so spyware onto system.

[unbillievable]

I have more problems with the accent than the muffle.

[bbb]

It has to do with call centers and companies using software for phones rather than old fashion wire.

 

Verizon has a terrible application you are supposed to use and NO ONE liked it but management because they could see whether you were dialed in, etc. It also gave them ability to have calls be made anywhere with customer not being able to tell where call from which is useful when you are farming out work overseas; not only does it hide where call is coming from it makes accents and such harder to recognize when everyone sounds bad. A lot of the junk callers use same system and it is sold to the jerks who call you and say they are from "Technical Support" when their true purpose is to talk you into loading so spyware onto system.

 

Thanks. That makes total sense. It sounds like there is software involved - and not just a straight up wired call.

[MDH]

I don't know about the quality of the reception but the actual customer service at many places sucks.

 

I currently live in London (though I'll be back in the States in a week!) and have had the worst banking experience in my life here. They consistently decline my card and then want to send me a new one. Why? They won't tell me anything other than it's "for your protection."

 

When I call to try and get some help they hang up on me if I show the slightest aggravation. They literally hang up on me. As if I'm not going to be aggravated that they continuously decline my card for whatever "security reasons" they come up with. When I'm actually able to keep my composure they ask me a dozen questions about my activity and want exact numbers and places of things I've charged recently. However, in order to log on to their website to get this info I have to use this little machine that I put my card into and it gives me a log in code. Of course that gets declined because - wait for it - my card has been turned off! So I have to actually go down to the bank and wait in line and talk to a representative. I've done this at least 7-8 times.

 

It's a vicious cycle and one that has me and my wife pulling our hair out. Change banks you say? Can't, the company my wife works for requires a Barclays account to deposit paychecks.

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

yes,

 

Try getting calls from recruiters working from India pretending to be in the states.

 

I had to ask one guy 3 times to repeat himself then just said sorry I am not interested.

[rockpile]

I don't know about the quality of the reception but the actual customer service at many places sucks.

 

I currently live in London (though I'll be back in the States in a week!) and have had the worst banking experience in my life here. They consistently decline my card and then want to send me a new one. Why? They won't tell me anything other than it's "for your protection."

 

When I call to try and get some help they hang up on me if I show the slightest aggravation. They literally hang up on me. As if I'm not going to be aggravated that they continuously decline my card for whatever "security reasons" they come up with. When I'm actually able to keep my composure they ask me a dozen questions about my activity and want exact numbers and places of things I've charged recently. However, in order to log on to their website to get this info I have to use this little machine that I put my card into and it gives me a log in code. Of course that gets declined because - wait for it - my card has been turned off! So I have to actually go down to the bank and wait in line and talk to a representative. I've done this at least 7-8 times.

 

It's a vicious cycle and one that has me and my wife pulling our hair out. Change banks you say? Can't, the company my wife works for requires a Barclays account to deposit paychecks.

 

I have learned from being on the call center side of the wall to be polite but firm when I deal with customers AND when I call because I need customer service.

I used the same head set for 4.5 years even though we changed phone software multiple times.

Sometimes when a person got through to me, they had been transferred a few times already, which compromises the quality of the sound you get.

 

Where I worked, help desk 'customer service' personnel were paid by having a high sales/call ratio, length of call, availability, and number of calls taken.

Actual service quality is only 10-15% of the quarterly review.

 

This is not customer service.

 

Also the customer's expectations range pretty evenly from polite but frustrated, to holier than thou, to ignorant/stupid.

 

Some customer service agents DO suck, by the way.

Edited June 23, 2015 by rockpile

[The Poojer]

I was getting flooded by them up until last week. I would follow the unsubscribe instructions in the email but still the calls and emails kept coming. Finally I got a bit 'stern' in an email after receiving 4 calls and 4 emails within an hour for the same position and from the same recruiting firm. Plus anytime I get an email that starts off "Dear McCarthy..." it automatically gets flagged as spam.

 

 

yes,

 

Try getting calls from recruiters working from India pretending to be in the states.

 

I had to ask one guy 3 times to repeat himself then just said sorry I am not interested.

[Gugny]

I was getting flooded by them up until last week. I would follow the unsubscribe instructions in the email but still the calls and emails kept coming. Finally I got a bit 'stern' in an email after receiving 4 calls and 4 emails within an hour for the same position and from the same recruiting firm. Plus anytime I get an email that starts off "Dear McCarthy..." it automatically gets flagged as spam.

 

 

 

Isn't that a song on the White Album?

[The Poojer]

such an overrated album AND band

 

 

 

Isn't that a song on the White Album?

[Gugny]

such an overrated album AND band

 

 

 

FINALLY someone is making sense around here!

[BuffaloBill]

FINALLY someone is making sense around here!

Mark the date... This is a first...

[Rob's House]

I don't know about the quality of the reception but the actual customer service at many places sucks.

 

I currently live in London (though I'll be back in the States in a week!) and have had the worst banking experience in my life here. They consistently decline my card and then want to send me a new one. Why? They won't tell me anything other than it's "for your protection."

 

When I call to try and get some help they hang up on me if I show the slightest aggravation. They literally hang up on me. As if I'm not going to be aggravated that they continuously decline my card for whatever "security reasons" they come up with. When I'm actually able to keep my composure they ask me a dozen questions about my activity and want exact numbers and places of things I've charged recently. However, in order to log on to their website to get this info I have to use this little machine that I put my card into and it gives me a log in code. Of course that gets declined because - wait for it - my card has been turned off! So I have to actually go down to the bank and wait in line and talk to a representative. I've done this at least 7-8 times.

 

It's a vicious cycle and one that has me and my wife pulling our hair out. Change banks you say? Can't, the company my wife works for requires a Barclays account to deposit paychecks.

I used to do that job and in my experience people who get hung up on generally show more than a little aggravation. Usually they're being borderline abusive to someone who has no say in the policy, had no role in blocking the charge, and has been provided minimal information about the cause of the situation. You may be an exception, but most people who get hung up on have it coming.

[The Jokeman]

As a Customer Service Rep a lot also has to do with the position of the head set and honestly they aren't too comfortable to wear or maybe we adjusted it because the call we got just before yours was of someone screaming in our ear so we adjusted our volume so we wouldn't kill our ear drums and didn't have a chance to re calibrate our phone tool. Or prehaps you caught us on a day that we're forced to move to another cube and we failed to re calibrate and maybe now in an area with more co-workers and the caller ends up hearing more background noise. The software may play a part too as back in the day when I started over a decade plus ago we used have our headsets hardwired to a phone now it's all done through software. Toss in I admit I don't take good care of the headset as I usually just toss it in my top draw after my shift is over instead of boxing etc. There are a lot of factors that can lead to poor voice quality heck it might just be the rep you have is soft spoken too which doesn't always make for good voice quality on a headset too.

Edited June 23, 2015 by The Jokeman

[BillsFan-4-Ever]

I was getting flooded by them up until last week. I would follow the unsubscribe instructions in the email but still the calls and emails kept coming. Finally I got a bit 'stern' in an email after receiving 4 calls and 4 emails within an hour for the same position and from the same recruiting firm. Plus anytime I get an email that starts off "Dear McCarthy..." it automatically gets flagged as spam.

 

 

That too. 3 or 4 emails and 3 phone call for the same job posting

[bbb]

As a Customer Service Rep a lot also has to do with the position of the head set and honestly they aren't too comfortable to wear or maybe we adjusted it because the call we got just before yours was of someone screaming in our ear so we adjusted our volume so we wouldn't kill our ear drums and didn't have a chance to re calibrate our phone tool. Or prehaps you caught us on a day that we're forced to move to another cube and we failed to re calibrate and maybe now in an area with more co-workers and the caller ends up hearing more background noise. The software may play a part too as back in the day when I started over a decade plus ago we used have our headsets hardwired to a phone now it's all done through software. Toss in I admit I don't take good care of the headset as I usually just toss it in my top draw after my shift is over instead of boxing etc. There are a lot of factors that can lead to poor voice quality heck it might just be the rep you have is soft spoken too which doesn't always make for good voice quality on a headset too.

 

Thanks - it always seems so weird to me when I ask them to adjust their headset and then they sound a lot better. I'm like why didn't you do that to begin with!

 

[MDH]

I used to do that job and in my experience people who get hung up on generally show more than a little aggravation. Usually they're being borderline abusive to someone who has no say in the policy, had no role in blocking the charge, and has been provided minimal information about the cause of the situation. You may be an exception, but most people who get hung up on have it coming.

 

Nope, I wasn't abusive in the least bit. The UK is a bit different in their demeanor and it doesn't work the way things do in the States. Any aggravation in my voice - If I raised my voice the slightest bit - and they'd hang up. In my 40 years on the planet I never got hung up on while in the States.

Edited June 24, 2015 by MDH

[rockpile]

I used to do that job and in my experience people who get hung up on generally show more than a little aggravation. Usually they're being borderline abusive to someone who has no say in the policy, had no role in blocking the charge, and has been provided minimal information about the cause of the situation. You may be an exception, but most people who get hung up on have it coming.

 

I agree and disagree.

 

I had a three strike rule and F-bomb #3 was a disconnect if directed AT me. .

I would advise them the call was being recorded, give them a "warning", and explain I could not help if all they were going to do is swear at me.

 

On the flip side, some call center people might disconnect for multiple reasons.

 

* Long call expected near end of shift

* Close to lunch

* Not trained to provide service requested

* Did not feel like handling it

 

and so on

 

If a customer was being mishandled by the company/call center, I would spend an hour or two helping if necessary, and sometimes call them back after talking to supervisors or other departments, even if it was to explain what the solution or non-solution was about.

 

Thanks - it always seems so weird to me when I ask them to adjust their headset and then they sound a lot better. I'm like why didn't you do that to begin with!

 

 

Sometimes, after 7.5 hours I did not realize I was not speaking clearly!

[Rob's House]

 

I agree and disagree.

 

I had a three strike rule and F-bomb #3 was a disconnect if directed AT me. .

I would advise them the call was being recorded, give them a "warning", and explain I could not help if all they were going to do is swear at me.

 

On the flip side, some call center people might disconnect for multiple reasons.

 

* Long call expected near end of shift

* Close to lunch

* Not trained to provide service requested

* Did not feel like handling it

 

and so on

 

If a customer was being mishandled by the company/call center, I would spend an hour or two helping if necessary, and sometimes call them back after talking to supervisors or other departments, even if it was to explain what the solution or non-solution was about.

 

 

Come to think of it, I may have been guilty of a few of the ones you listed on occasion.

 

For me it wasn't the cussing, I usually found that amusing (I once had some crazy old guy ask me how much c*ck I had that day). I had the annoying customers (they really only made up about 20% of the customers) into 3 categories: !@#$s, morons, and talkers (the categories aren't mutually exclusive).

 

The !@#$s just want to piss and moan and have no time for logic & reason because they didn't call for that. They're mad and want to take it out on someone whose only role to this point is being employed by the company they're pissed at. The real !@#$s insist on getting answers to impossible or irrelevant questions. If you're nice to them they often get even worse. You kind of have to put them in their place. These people suck.

 

The morons are just as annoying but less infuriating. They just become frustrated because they lack the cognitive ability to understand all but the simplest of concepts, and sometimes struggle even with them. It's extremely frustrating trying to explain to one of these people how debits with corresponding credits offset. You can imagine how it gets when something complicated arises.

 

Talkers - These mother!@#$ers made me want to eat my own brain. If ever I heard "I've been on the phone for over an hour" I knew why. 10 times out of 10 that's followed by a 15 minute uninterrupted rundown of a situation that I usually understood 10 seconds into the call. They turn a 5 minute call into a 30 minute call and have the audacity to think you took up all their time. These aren't necessarily bad people, but they were the bane of my existence. I'd rather deal with an !@#$ with a double digit IQ over a talker. At least I could get them off the damn phone.