Customer Service Woes

[StarCecil]

So, because I haven't seen one yet, let's start a thread where we chat about problems we've had with customer service.

I'll start off: A while back my PS3 died on me for the third time in my ownership of it, after two Sony repair services and six months after the second. I called Sony to see if they would fix it again without extorting money from me and the man I spoke to yelled at me, demanding to know where I'd gotten the number (I called your offices in Foster City and the receptionist connected me to you) and twice attempted to accuse me of lying about the details of my problem. I swore that was the last time I would deal with Sony.

And just earlier today I went to the local Dick's Sporting Goods to buy a shotgun they had on sale and after I brought it home I discovered they gave me the wrong model; the one I wanted (and inquired to purchase, and had the salesman show me, and was holding when I said "I want to buy it", and had a sale marked tag) had an 18.5" barrel intended for Home Defense, and the one I got has a 28" barrel for hunting and useless for security (it's horribly uncomfortable to lift because all the weight is at the steel barrel and not at the synthetic stock). I'm going to see if they can help me replace the barrel tomorrow, but they have a policy of no returns on firearms and I can just see them arguing the point...

Anyone else? Who have you had to deal with that just made your consumer experience hell?

 

[Giftfromme]

I have to defend people working in Customer Service. Ive worked in public libraries and in IT support at a university. You have to be 100% politically correct with people and it sucks the fat dick. If your shoe squeaks once, people are liable to write in complaints etc. People are so self entitled now and "professionalism" is so touted around the place that it has lost all meaning. So yeah I defend people working in customer service roles because there are a lot of self entitled, humourless, crusty, old faggots who will complain at the drop of a hat, and it's their right to complain unfortunately. We credit complaints equally even though 90% are nonsense

 

[Erja_Perttu]

I have to defend people working in Customer Service. Ive worked in public libraries and in IT support at a university. You have to be 100% politically correct with people and it sucks the fat dick. If your shoe squeaks once, people are liable to write in complaints etc. People are so self entitled now and "professionalism" is so touted around the place that it has lost all meaning. So yeah I defend people working in customer service roles because there are a lot of self entitled, humourless, crusty, old faggots who will complain at the drop of a hat, and it's their right to complain unfortunately. We credit complaints equally even though 90% are nonsense

There's always going to be two sides to the story. Some customers are annoying as all hell, some of the people behind the counters are dicks. It's unfair to say that the customer service guys are always in the right. Just because they have to deal with a lot of crap and regulations doesn't entitle them to be mean or rude to other people.

I've been on both sides of the counter. It can suck just as much being a customer as it can being the guy dealing with them. My personal favourite stories from each side:

Spoiler: Being a customer

It went along the lines of 'Can you tell me the difference between X and Y?'
'No.'
'Oh. Well, I was just wondering about - hey, where are you going?!'

Spoiler: Being a till monkey

I looked at a woman wrong. I don't know what had happened to her that day to get her so wound up, but I asked her if she was finding everything okay and she exploded, demanded got see my manager and telling me she'd never been spoken to so rudely in her life. Luckily everyone else in the shop stuck around to speak up in my defense, but man, that was so weird.

 

[StarCecil]

I have to defend people working in Customer Service. Ive worked in public libraries and in IT support at a university. You have to be 100% politically correct with people and it sucks the fat dick. If your shoe squeaks once, people are liable to write in complaints etc. People are so self entitled now and "professionalism" is so touted around the place that it has lost all meaning. So yeah I defend people working in customer service roles because there are a lot of self entitled, humourless, crusty, old faggots who will complain at the drop of a hat, and it's their right to complain unfortunately. We credit complaints equally even though 90% are nonsense

I agree completely that customers can be out of hand, but there is such a thing as atrocious service. I've been unfortunate enough to see several examples of it personally but I don't take it out on the employees. I would just like to see the problem fixed in a manner we both can be satisfied with.

 

[thesilentman]

My Vista administrator account[footnote]Not the built-in one, that would be really bad.[/footnote] had once given me the group policy error leaving me unable to log on. Microsoft gleefully ignored my pleas for help by asking 200 USD first as advice. Uh, Moneysoft, that's the price for a full install copy of Windows 7 Professional and I was fine with Vista at the time. And I couldn't afford wiping my drive and starting over at that point, Microsoft, I JUST NEEDED THE FUCKING ADMIN ACCOUNT TO WORK SO I COULD FIX MY PC.

EDIT- Grammar

 

[suitepee7]

I agree completely that customers can be out of hand, but there is such a thing as atrocious service. I've been unfortunate enough to see several examples of it personally but I don't take it out on the employees. I would just like to see the problem fixed in a manner we both can be satisfied with.

usually the people who give atrocious service are generally shitty people anyway, they just don't change for work xD as somebody who works a lot with customers, they are usually very quick to anger, whereas a simple word will get their problem solved instantly. what i don't get is why they remain angry once i have solved the problem for them... i hate customers.

anyway in answer to your op, shouldn't it be ok seeing as you want to exchange an item due to them giving you the wrong one, not just refund a product?

 

[Utrechet]

My experience comes from not to long ago, when I purchased a copy of Skyrim from a Gamestop store. Gamestop, already being terrible when it comes to most things, was already making me nervous to shop there, but seeing as I did not have money over steam and couldn't be bothered to fix that, a hard-copy was the most direct route to go.

So, walk in, purchase, walk out. Simple. I drive back home, open up my new game (Ohhh, that new game smell.) and proceed to launch Steam. I enter my activation code and-

It didn't work. I retry several times thinking I just typed it incorrect, the usual thing. Didn't work. I called up the store and reported this.
Me: "Hello, yes, the copy of Skyrim I purchased earlier today does not work. The activation code is invalid."
GS: "Oh, sorry to hear that sir. However, we do not handle this sort of thing. Try contacting the tech-support team for the game, they can help you."

Now for the record, this is a shortened version already for the TL;DR people. Realistically this conversation took about 3 hours to solve, from being on hold, "umm" every other word on his end, and being pushed up the chain of command that is GameStupid.

I call up Bethesda's tech support, and get generally the same thing the first time around. I'm told to contact the store and inquire about the sticker showing the code. BACK TO SQUARE ONE.

At this point, I'm going back and forth between Gamestop and Bethsoft support.
GS Manager: "I'm sorry sir, but on our end there is nothing much we can do. I have informed my staff of this error and we will be on the look out for more incidences...blahblahblah"
Bethsoft: "Have you tried asking about-- And this? And what about-"

By now i'm sick of being the middle man and just ask Bethsoft if I can talk to a different person that isn't too lazy to give me a new code. Sure enough, the new guy on the phone is willing to send me a brand new activation code, if I can supply a receipt and picture of the activation code within the box. I take the pictures, upload and email them to the proper inbox.

A week goes by. I reply to the email I sent earlier asking if any progress was made with this.
"We are sorry sir, but we never received any images from you."
...Ok then. I copy/paste exactly what I had sent earlier and put it in another email.

Another week later.
"We are sorry sir, but we never received any images from you."
Again? Ok that's twice now. It can't be my fault anymore.
Me: "Dear Bethsoft tech support. Please read the email I sent you previously."

The next day.
"Thank you for your patience. We have verified your status and here is a new activation code. Happy playing!"

While some would say this was all worth the time to play Skyrim, I find it hard to believe it was worth anything.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

I think the worst customer service I had was at a Quiznos in Vancouver. Waited in line for 8 minutes. Made my order. Now I like to have turkey breast on white with lettuce and tomatoes. The sandwich isn't on the menu but every other Quiznos would make it for me. I add peppers and sauce at the end to finish it up.

Not that night.

Spoiler: Conversation as best as I can remember it.

"We can't make you that sandwich."

"Why not?"

"It's not on the menu. Order from the menu."

"I am ordering from the menu. I want that sandwich without cheese and sauce."

"I can't do that."

"Other Quiznos do that."

"No. Please order."

"I ordered what I wanted. Give me what I want."

"I can't do that."

"I can't eat here."

And I stormed out. I was hungry but that just made me angry. Are you really so uncreative that you can't remove two things from a sandwich to make your customer happy? Heck, that even saves the restaurant money in ingredients.

I think I ate at home that night. Forget what I ate but I made it my way.

[sub][sub][sub]I haven't had too many hassles with gaming customer service... yet.[/sub][/sub][/sub]

 

[StarCecil]

I agree completely that customers can be out of hand, but there is such a thing as atrocious service. I've been unfortunate enough to see several examples of it personally but I don't take it out on the employees. I would just like to see the problem fixed in a manner we both can be satisfied with.

usually the people who give atrocious service are generally shitty people anyway, they just don't change for work xD as somebody who works a lot with customers, they are usually very quick to anger, whereas a simple word will get their problem solved instantly. what i don't get is why they remain angry once i have solved the problem for them... i hate customers.

anyway in answer to your op, shouldn't it be ok seeing as you want to exchange an item due to them giving you the wrong one, not just refund a product?

Shitty people perform shitty service and are shitty customers, I guess.

As for my current problem, I would have thought that it'd be as simple as a barrel swap, really. But they told me to come back in an hour and a half to talk to some manager higher up on the chain who might be able to help me. Hopefully this goes well and he doesn't yell at me or something. Their policy is one of "no returns on firearms or ammunition", which makes sense - a "defective" product could have been caused by user error, serial numbers have to be logged in ATF paperwork and against their own inventory as well as the manufacturer's inventory... It's easier for them to say all sales final, but this is a problem that wouldn't exist if they hadn't made a mistake (admittedly I should have checked it before buying but I thought it was reasonable to assume that it was the firearm I asked for).

 

[aceman67]

I'm going to stick my head out from cover for a second and admit something... I was once a CS rep for Comcast Cable. *dodges bullets and runs from pitch-forks*

Here's some stories from the other side of the phone...

During an American Idol season finale, a construction crew severed a fibre optic line killing cable for half of Chicago. Never in my life have I been subject to such vitriol, hatred and dehumanizing comments. Oh, then there were the death threats. I am not kidding here. ಠ_ಠ

I answered a billing call, this sweet lady from Georgia phones in asking why her cable bill was $300+. I asked if she had her bill handy and offered to go through it with her. Lets just say the tiles of the pornography contained therein would earn me another warning on this forum, but the most tame of them was "Big Ba-Donk-a-Donks 7". What I heard next was disturbing: She yelled for her son and she dropped her phone and I can literally hear her kicking the stuffing out of him. Needless to say, I called over my supervisor and reported this to the proper authorities. Phone calls aren't just recorded for training purposes you know.

Now, I've worked customer service jobs for most of my adult life, from food service to retail, and I can say this with out a shred of doubt: While there are some places that have or can have bad CS, 90% of the time you're going to be treated fairly well. Customers on the other hand, the majority of which I've dealt with over the years have been some of the rudest, self-entitled, know-it-all, my faeces don't stink, poor examples of human-kind. Seriously, what gives people the notion that just because they EXPECT to be treated with dignity and respect, they have the right to not give it back in return?

Well over half of bad customer service from employees of a business can directly be linked to reaction from being treated poorly by customers.

Lastly, here's something for you guys to chew on: The notion that the "Customer is always right" is a load of bullocks.

The customer is quite capable of being blatantly and totally wrong. When it comes down too it, most places of business would rather lose you as a customer, then lose money on making you happy.

However, the customer is always right about one thing though: How they feel.

This is why most good customer service workers use the phrase "I'm sorry you feel that way" when dealing with customer conflicts (mostly in call centre work).

 

[StarCecil]

snip

That's terrible to hear. I would never be abusive to any sort of CS person; not only is it a good way to not get a problem solved but it's anger directed at the wrong person. In my experience, a large source of customer outrage is the fact that companies tend to give little power to the personnel on the front of things. If I have a problem that requires something more than a receipt and a refund then the person I'm expected to talk to just doesn't have any authority to do anything and can't outright say "I'm sorry, bro, but they won't let me". Getting parroted the company line most reps are required to repeat gets real grating, real quick.

Worse yet are the managers that feel it's an affront to their gods that a customer ask to speak with them about resolving a problem. That's what has me queasy in my particular situation, since I could very well just get a flat "No" from a district manager who just doesn't want to be bothered right now. And then where am I? Angry and on the internet.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

Comcast Internet Tech support is virtually useless. Let me give you a rundown of every conversation you'll have with them.

-----

You: Hi there, my internet connection is currently out and it's been dropping the connection for a few days now. I was wondering if you could help me.

They: Have you tried unplugging the modem?

You: Yeah, I did a soft reset and a complete power cycle, it's still not connecting properly.

They: Let me reset it from my end.

You: Thinking: (What? Why? I just told you...okay whatever do what you gotta do.) Yeah okay.

60 seconds later.

They: what's it doing now?

You: Same thing it was doing before.

They. Let me schedule a tech to come look at it. Are you free at 7:00 am Thursday?

-----



There I just saved you 30 minutes of your life.

 

[Wolf In A Bear Suit]

I had to sort out my broadband issues with a very nice man from Perlico, and we got it fixed eventually but MY GOD THE WAITING MUSIC. It was Boyzone and I heard the same snippet of a song about 200 times

 

[StarCecil]

Just got back from Dick's and District Manager Wade is tops in my book. He took care of the problem, no questions. Just had to verify that it hadn't been fired and I had to fill out another ATF form and get a NICS check. Thanked him for his help and that appreciated it, and he said "We'll take care of you".

I'm being taken care of... by Dick's.

 

[EeveeElectro]

I've been fairly lucky.
Either that or I just hate whining like all the self entitled pricks I have to serve. (I have been waiting for 30 seconds, this is disgusting! Where is your manager, this is sickening! You should be licking the crap off my shoes!)

The only times I can think of is when I went to Grainger Games and the guy was so unfriendly. He was just like "Uh *grunt* £45."
I tried being friendly and asking him something about the game and he walked away halfway through my sentence.

The other time was when I tried to ring up about my wage and got three different "Sorry, that's not our problem, we'll put you through to someone else" until I eventually got to a "sorry, I'm on holiday. Please ring *number she said way too fucking fast*"

Let out a scream and didn't ring back.

 

[Rascarin]

I have to come at this from the "customers are shits" point of view. I work in a nightclub, and it is a daily expectation of mine that someone will be rude to me for no reason.

Yesterday, for example - I work in the cloakroom, and when I take peoples coats/bags/shoes/etc, I take their initials as a security measure (we also give out numbered tags, and the initials prevent anyone who isn't the owner of the item from using the tag). I was serving a woman, took her coat, asked for her initials, and she went off on one for invading her privacy. I couldn't even get a word in edgeways to explain that it was a security measure to stop anyone else stealing her coat if she lost her ticket, she just shouted at me.

I've also had people lose their tickets and try to physically attack me because they disagree with the policy (that is very clearly displayed on the cloakroom wall) that says they have to wait until the end of the night.

SO yeah. Customers are horrible. If they are polite, then I'll do my best to serve them nicely. If they're horrible (like the woman who came up to me, threw the ticket and me and screamed for me to give her her fucking jacket (her words, not mine)), then they deserve poor service (in the above example, I had security drag her out without her coat).

 

[NiPah]

Best story of poor customer service:

I used to work part-time as the Cashier for the cafeteria/buffet for the Uni I was attending, pretty much was me swiping ID cards or taking cash while being nice to the students and faculty coming in. One time when I was coming off my break a regular leaving stops to tell me "Thank god you're back, the person who took your place was an asshole"... That person was my boss.

 

[FalloutJack]

I'm not in CS, because I know quite well that I would hate each and every one of you for reasons Aceman has brought up and more. That is why I avoid that sort of thing. Some people are born diplomats and some people are strangling the phone and yelling at it like John Cleese.

But because I want {A} the problem solved and {B} little abuse about it, I tend to be a courteous enough phone customer. No no, I will not shout blistering evil over the phone. In fact, I will even be understanding of the person that's had the misfortune of dealing with me, possibly knowing that I am The Mighty Telemarketer Slayer. As a customer, I am obliged to be patient and to do what's necessary to fix what's broke...but that the CS person must understand that a fatal edge is creeping into my voice, the kind that says there will be blood if my decent attitude is not met with a solution and common courtesy as well. I feel that if we have to put up with each other, nobody had better be found lacking.

 

[lacktheknack]

I'm a natural diplomat with a very high tolerance for WTFery, so I'm the ideal person for CS.

Still dislike it, though.

Personal favorite was one guy sending a "major complaint" to my boss because I had "requested both ID AND a PIN number", which is my legal obligation when you buy certain things with a credit card. Heaven help us all, I uphold the law!

From the other direction... actually, I live in Canada, I find it really hard to find rude people around here. Or maybe my tolerance for rudeness is just too high.

 

[manic_depressive13]

I haven't really had any such issues because I just expect everyone to be an asshole, so when they are it's no big deal, and when they're not I'm pleasantly surprised.