Customer service rant

[widebody911]

I was trying to order something online (not Pelican, not even car parts). Web site is broken. I call customer service, follow the prompts to order, and the lady tells me I need to use the web site. I tell her it's broken, and read her the error (mysql crapped out). She says "It's working for me" I offer to send her a screen shot of the error, but she says "You can if it will make you feel better, but it won't do any good."

So I'm trying to throw money at this company, and for all intents and purposes, she tells me to go f*ck myself with a broomstick. Do these people not realize that customers are the magic source of money that ends up in their paycheck every week?

[widgeon13]

I have to chuckle as there are just too many stories like this. Hope you eventually can buy what you need

[GH85Carrera]

Been there, done that.

I don't understand it either.

[oldE]

And this is the reason one of my jobs is giving one day Customer Service workshops.
Guess I'll have lots of work.

Les

[rusnak]

As a rule, if it's that hard to place the order, then pass. You'll have some other problem such as being sent the wrong item, then you'll have to fight for a return and refund.

Stay with companies that "get it" and avoid ones that don't. All that they really have to sell is their customer service.

[McLovin]

Originally Posted by widebody911

Do these people not realize that customers are the magic source of money that ends up in their paycheck every week?

That's too indirect of a connection for most $7/hour employees to make.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by McLovin

That's too indirect of a connection for most $7/hour employees to make.

We joke about how our jobs would be a lot easier if them dang customers would just leave us alone!

[BlueSkyJaunte]

You don't get to be a customer service rep by being 1st in your class at Harvard.

Just sayin'.

[stomachmonkey]

If you think reps are bad try dealing with the customers themselves.

I audit our customer support inquires. Nothing will kill your faith in the future of mankind faster.

[Shifter]

I don't get it either, if the site was working for them, then they could have just taken your cc# and placed the order for you, and them, their brother, their cousin....

But then how motivated can you be at 7 bucks an hour? Probably enough to keep breathing, obviously not enough to find a better job.

[Scott Douglas]

Last I heard minimum wage in CA was over $8/hr, but I could be wrong.

[Evans, Marv]

What ever happened to trying to do a good job in hopes of going up in the company, or getting a good reference for the next job? Maybe that sort of thing has totally gone by the wayside now days or lots of people just see themselves as "dead enders."

[Christien]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

What ever happened to trying to do a good job in hopes of going up in the company, or getting a good reference for the next job? Maybe that sort of thing has totally gone by the wayside now days or lots of people just see themselves as "dead enders."

I think this is absolutely the case. I don't think you "work your way up from the mailroom" any more. If you don't have both the education and the connections, you'll never get out of the mail room. And I think the connections are more important than the education - everyone has at least a BA nowadays. Now more than ever, it's who you know, not what you know. So what motivation is there for a minimum-wage clerk to work hard and advance? None. They'll just get canned, ***** about how they hated the job, and get the same kind of job elsewhere. It really reminds me of soviet-era Russia - nobody worked hard, because even if you got fired, you'd just get another job doing the same thing somewhere else.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by Christien

I think this is absolutely the case. I don't think you "work your way up from the mailroom" any more. If you don't have both the education and the connections, you'll never get out of the mail room.

I think it's getting to the point where if you don't have the education and connections, you don't get into the mail room.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by Christien

....it's who you know, not what you know....

Actually a lot of times it's not who you know, it's who knows you.

I have not interviewed for any job I've held over the last 30 years.

My phone rings and the person on the other end says "we need X and we were told by Y to call you"

I operate the same way, when I need a skill set I get my group together and ask "who do we know".

[stealthn]

Blast them on Yelp; I'm sure your not the only one

[mikesride]

The guys in our "product support center" AKA Call centre, start at $45000.00 per year and with bonuses many of them are making $60000.00 plus. Should be more for such a thankless job...

[porsche4life]

Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte

You don't get to be a customer service rep by being 1st in your class at Harvard.

Just sayin'.

Yup... My company struggles with this all the time in our CSR group. Its one of the lowest paid jobs, fast paced and high stress. The ones that are good get moved on to bigger and better things quickly and you are left with the ones that do just good enough to not get **** canned.

It sucks because as a sales rep I spend a large part of my time making up for stupid stuff that service did, and not actually selling my products.

[JJ 911SC]

Move North of the border and you will experience that kind of stupidity on daily basis...

I got more service at a Dollar store in the US then I get when I wanted to drop $10,000 at a local furniture store

I told a Toyota dealership that if he was the last dealership on the planet, I would &^%$#@ walk before I buy a car from them.

That is why that I got no qualms to spend over $25K a year South of the border including a few grands at PP

[billybek]

I needed to replace a washer and drier quite a few years back and went into an appliance store in my coveralls and found what I was looking for and waited for a sales guy to get his ass off a chair and come over to help me out. There must of been 5 or 6 of them having a nice conversation amongst themselves.
Good thing I wasn't dying of thirst and waiting for one of them to bring me some water...
I started for the exit while asking in a very loud voice what in the %*#@ was wrong with them for not wanting to make a sale.
I noticed on the way to the truck that their manager was also on the floor yelling at them....