Nope, sorry, can't help you

[preston]

This sums up all my recent experiences with Customer Service.

I've noticed that CS horror stories are one of the top topics of conversation within my circle of acquaintances.

I put it in the same category as invasive medical procedures.
I'll sit and listen to your stories if you'll sit and listen to mine ... but I'd really rather be doing something else.

I used to be pretty good at getting people to see things from my point of view ... but I seem to have lost that skill somewhere in the rather recent past.
Now I have to resort to whining to get what I want.

It's gotta be at least 25 or 30 bucks for me to bother.
Which I think is what they're banking on.

Let's make the customer service experience so unpalatable that no one will want to call in.
Let's make them wait 20 minutes while listening to the same 30 second snippet of annoying music played over and over again ... only to tell them that, "I'm not authorized to do that."

I'm guessing anyone who takes the time to place a call is not going to just say, "Oh, okay." ... and hang up.
So why is our first line of staffing a bunch of people who can't do anything themselves but have to get someone else on the line to make an actual decision.

These are mostly greedy companies looking to maximize profit at the expense of customer satisfaction ... so the tradeoff of paying a bunch of lackeys who don't do anything but piss off the average customer ... must have a payoff in the form of people who will just let you stick your hand in their pocket cuz it's too much trouble to call you out on it.

[preston]

Re-reading MJ's thread ...

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=65610

It's the same dynamic.
Many of the people you deal with now are little more than automatons.

It's like the people who actually do the work and make the decisions have erected a wall of customer service reps, and receptionists and deceptionists (that would be the person who takes your money after the fact) ... assistants and mid-level managers ...

It seems that this is a deliberate attempt to keep the customer or patient from actually interfacing with the boss crowd.

And ... many of these people seem to have a personality that does not lend itself well to serving others.

"How can I provide you with great customer service today ?" ... carries about as much weight with me as as does "100 % Satisfaction Guaranteed"
I guarantee if you ain't happy now you'll be a lot less happy if you start complaining.

I don't see the financial gain to paying a bunch of people who are really too dumb or too apathetic to do a good job .... so I'm guessing the boss crowd are doing this for reasons other than tangible financial gain.

Exploring the intangibles ... is this one of the perks of position and power ?
Not having to deal with people like me.

[bags123]

I just let my wife handle any problems with stuff that we've bought. I CAN'T STAND being shuffled all over the place on the phone to resolve a problem. I end up screaming, shouting obsenities at the robotic voices, and banging the phone. She's much more patient with that kind of stuff than I. Weird thing is,....this voice tree culture that so many companies have embraced is making it more and more difficult to just conduct everyday business. People don't answer phones anymore. E-mail is being suffocated by scams and junkmail, so unless you have authoriZation??? to get through the filters many companies use now, your email is automatically trashcanned. Very frustrating!

[LadySaturn]

I just threaten to come down there and shove the product down their throat. After that I pretty much get my refund.

[MJPease]

I often wonder if the automated answerer at customer service caller #36 with 15 minutes to hold is not just a stall tactic to wear us out or a make them out to be a major player in the market of bullshit whatever. You are now caller # 24 with 10 minutes to hold while Joe blow or Susie rotten crotch is taking his or her morning nap or coffee break. I would like to do it to the idiots that keep violating our do not call list you are asshole caller #5 please your breath for 15min. until you turn blue. Take Care

[preston]

I just let my wife handle any problems with stuff that we've bought. I CAN'T STAND being shuffled all over the place on the phone to resolve a problem. I end up screaming, shouting obsenities at the robotic voices, and banging the phone. She's much more patient with that kind of stuff than I.!

As I recall, your wife is very charming on the phone.

I usually find that by the time I get to the person who;s gonna make the decision ... I've run out of charm

[bags123]

Well thank you. I think she's quite charming myself. Next July we'll celebrate our 21st anniversary. Must be something charming about her.