'Your calls may be recorded for training puproses'

dub45

I dont know if this is the correct forum for this but here goes - is anyone else annoyed at the increasing practise of Companies telling us that our calls may be recorded for training purposes without giving any option to the customer to decline this voicenapping?

As far as I am concerned they have no right to do this - there are plenty of out of work actors out there if they want to employ them for training purposes not to mention Training companies. To me it is yet another example of the arrogance of big companies in relation to their customers rights.

It must be incredibly annoying for people who actually use their voices to earn a living to have them 'stolen' like this.

Worse still there appears to be absolutely nothing that anyone can do about this as virtually all big companies seem to be at it now.

henbane

Originally posted by dub45
It must be incredibly annoying for people who actually use their voices to earn a living to have them 'stolen' like this.

Stolen? How does this imply stealing your voice? They're not about to release a remix of customer calls and not give you royalties. Whingers -v- Support dub mix anyone?

is anyone else annoyed at the increasing practise of Companies telling us that our calls may be recorded for training purposes without giving any option to the customer to decline this voicenapping?

As far as I am concerned they have no right to do this - there are plenty of out of work actors out there if they want to employ them for training purposes not to mention Training companies. To me it is yet another example of the arrogance of big companies in relation to their customers rights.

Have you ever worked in a callcentre? Most of the recording is done and then wiped immediately after the member of staff and his manager/trainer have reviewed the call. The best way to teach someone what they're doing wrong is to show them examples of it in real calls they took themselves.

This practice is nothing new. More companies are setting up organised call centres so you hear the message more often instead of just speaking to someone working in a branch of the company you're calling. It is a legal requirement to advise customers that their call may be recorded The same is true if you intend to tape a call you are making to one of these places for use against them (legal proceedings and the like).

Worse still there appears to be absolutely nothing that anyone can do about this as virtually all big companies seem to be at it now.

If you feel that strongly about it, request that you do not wish this call to be recorded. They'll think you're a dick but they won't record it.

The Brigadier

I often when ringing in to a customer care number will tell them that I am recording the call as well. It really puts the ****s up them and means you don't get told blatant lies....

vibe666

another good one (especially if you're complaining) is to tell them you used to work for the company. usually works for getting things done quickly.

Cabaal

Originally posted by henbane
Stolen? How does this imply stealing your voice?

Stop taking photographs of me, YOUR STEALING MY SOUL!!!

Cabaal

Originally posted by James Melody
I often when ringing in to a customer care number will tell them that I am recording the call as well. It really puts the ****s up them and means you don't get told blatant lies....

Maybe so, but if you said that to me I'd instantly take a disliking to you,
Don't like people like that, I do my job and I don't lie so I don't like people who lie to me..especially customers

dub45

If you feel that strongly about it, request that you do not wish this call to be recorded. They'll think you're a dick but they won't record it.

I have never yet come across a company who give you the option of not having the call recorded and if you complain to the person who answers they will simply tell you thats the way things are.

Capt'n Midnight

If you do not wish to have your call recorded press 1 noooowwww.

I was in a call centre for years and never got to hear any of the calls, also never got any customer management / call handling training apart after the inital bout..

Is it illegal in this country to record a call if either person the line objects ?

And as for customers letting on that they are recording the call "I'm sorry sir you are through to the wrong dept, it you hold on a moment I'll transfer your <Click>"

DaithiSurfer

LMAO
I do that as well james.
They are usually on their best behaviour too which makes a change from when you dont say that
Caball, i'ld like to hear you on a call if someone said that to you. Instant dislike or not i bet you'ld be oh sooo nice to the customer
You definitely wont transfer them for no reason if you think its being recorded. The customer could call your boss and say listen to that call and see the way that person treated a customer.
I actually did mean to set up something to really record the calls though. The amount of times cs staff tell you something just to get you off the phone is ridiculous. I'm sure it would be great to play them back to their supervisors


I never thought about not wishing the call to be recorded but you're right, you should be able to say 'No' to it. Not giving you the choice is probably a breach of your rights.

I worked in a company a while back where i was involved in recording calls. All calls are kept for 5 years. Its not for training at all (though the message said that it was), its for defense in legal situations. Although if the recording didnt help them but helped you no doubt you'ld never hear it even existed.

magick

James Melody

I often when ringing in to a customer care number will tell them that I am recording the call as well. It really puts the ****s up them and means you don't get told blatant lies....

I work for a call center, and its illegal to do that unless at the very start of the call you mention that to the rep.

Maybe so, but if you said that to me I'd instantly take a disliking to you, Don't like people like that, I do my job and I don't lie so I don't like people who lie to me..especially customers

sooooooo true , the reps mind set instantly changes when you say that because they feel you dont trust them (from a reps point of view) and so dont offer as good as service as thet normally, i have known many to simply hang up on those type of "paranoid" callers since they already have to deal with way too much sh*t from other customers.

DaithiSurfer

I work for a call center, and its illegal to do that unless at the very start of the call you mention that to the rep.
i guess that would be when people would say they are recording the call.
Thats what i do anyway, straight after i hear the we are recording this call message.



sooooooo true , the reps mind set instantly changes when you say that because they feel you dont trust them (from a reps point of view) and so dont offer as good as service as thet normally, i have known many to simply hang up on those type of "paranoid" callers since they already have to deal with way too much sh*t from other customers.

I've never had a rep hang up on me after saying that.
If they did i'ld call back, ask for a supervisor and tell them what happened and to go listen to their recording.
Somehow i dont think you'ld risk your job

The Brigadier

Well the first time I did this was with Bank Of Ireland...

I was given the wrong information regarding the clearing
process for a cheque..

I did record the calls and was able to play back the recordings to my branch manager and he was able to listen to me in great detail give an example of a cheque lodged to an account and be given 3 different times it would take to clear.

I was banking at the time with BOI in Whitehall. I had a flood in the house and received a insurance payment from BOI in the form of a cheque.

I lodged the cheque at the branch it was drawn on and was told by the teller that it would clear direct into my account. This was on a friday. On the monday assuming that the cheque would have cleared (based on the information given to me) I wrote some cheques to cover some bills (credit card payment, mobile phone etc.)

These cheques were bounced by my branch before the cheque from BOI had even arrived at my branch.

This caused all manner of charges to be levied on my accounts.

I range customer care in the end on three occasions to try and clear things up. To make sure I had some sort of backup, I told each person that the call was being recorded (at the start of the conversation)

For a cheque drawn by BOI at College Green, to be lodged into my (Whitehall) account at the issuing branch(College Green) I was told it would take the following time :

1. 3 days to physically travel to my branch + 5 days to clear
2. 3 days to travel + 3 days to clear
3. 1 day to travel + 3 days to clear.

As a result of having these calls recorded my branch manager apologised, gave me a written letter of apology, refunded the charges levied by BOI to my account, refunded the charges levied by the other sides to my account and issue me with bank drafts to the value of the cheques written at no charge...

Before I played back the recordings to him, he flatly denied that any agents of BOI would have given me the wrong information.

Now, when I ring a customer care number with an issue to be resolved, I don't care if the person on the other end likes me or not - I have enough friends thank you very much.

What I don't want, and I find happens far too often is people make answers up rather than admitting that they don't know. I think this in fact makes it neccessary to record these calls, or at least tell people that you are.... I've had too many people talk crap!!!

The Brigadier

Originally posted by magick


sooooooo true , the reps mind set instantly changes when you say that because they feel you dont trust them

I don't, why should I? Do I know them... trust is earned not given...

Cabaal

Originally posted by DaithiSurfer
LMAO
I do that as well james.
They are usually on their best behaviour too which makes a change from when you dont say that
Caball, i'ld like to hear you on a call if someone said that to you. Instant dislike or not i bet you'ld be oh sooo nice to the customer

I've nothing to hide and I'll treat a customer same as the next one, nothing to hide at all...

But if a customers acts smart with me I won't tend to "go out of my way" to try sort out a issue.
I'll just do my job normally....

Basically treat me as you would like to be treated

dub45

I was told a blatant lie by an O2 call centre representative yesterday - that is not to say that the lady concerned did not belive what she was telling me - I was told that it was not possible to make an immediate refund of a laser payment even though my bank assured me that it was. The O2 rep had stated that this had been 'checked and double checked'. Later in the day speaking to a call center supervisor, who had been on to the finance dept yet again, I was told that it was possible ok but that the person who did it had gone home and that the supervisor in the finance dept did not want to do it. Was assured it would happen first thing this morning and would get a call from the finance dept when it happened. I am still waiting.

I want to belive what people tell me when I am on the phone to them but unfortunately it gets increasingly difficult.

The sad fact is that call center staff are the infantry in the front line and it is now virtually impossible to get through to the actual departments who are ( or who arent more often than not) dealing with the issue. And more often than not these departments dont give an f..... a bout the customer.

DaithiSurfer

Originally posted by Cabaal
I've nothing to hide and I'll treat a customer same as the next one, nothing to hide at all...

But if a customers acts smart with me I won't tend to "go out of my way" to try sort out a issue.
I'll just do my job normally....

Basically treat me as you would like to be treated

Nobody is asking a rep to go out of their way.
They just need to do their job and not make up (or be fed) lies to appease a customer.

Someone recording the call is treating you EXACTLY the same as you are treating them when recording the call. Its not being smart, it does get better manners from the rep though.

Catsmokinpot

i work in a call centre i hate you whingey moaney people who have nothing better to do. you think your the first person we've spoken to all day.

I often when ringing in to a customer care number will tell them that I am recording the call as well. It really puts the ****s up them and means you don't get told blatant lies....

how Fúckin dare you! most of the "Blatent Lies" are things you people just dont want to hear.

eg.

1. oh i signed up to a contract and i dont want to continue with it but i have to (BOO HOO idiots!! do you people understand the term contract???)

2. my computer is broken! not its not! its brand new!! (idiot! your computer is made by about a hundred different companies the components are not made to work in loving peace and harmony things do go wrong)

3. you dont support other peoples software does this mean i have to cancel?*threatening tone* (IDIOT AGAIN!!! we dont care if you cancel we dont support other peoples software cause they have their own support lines. you dont ring a bakery when your car breaks down do you???)

i mean i could go on and on and on

when you say your recording the call we are legally allowed to hang up on you and so are you to us so whats the problem

any call monitoring is for training and quality purposes, they dont care about what the member/customer is saying they are trying to monitor the agent your speaking to.

whats the big deal? do you know how many members/customers or bank call up each day? a couple of thousand, do you think we give a crap what you say over the phone are you afraid we might take your bank details?? wake up!! we cant we only have the last four digits of your bank number in most cases

ok heres the bottom line

1. a call centre agent is under alot of pressure all day taking one call after another

2. agents dont care about you or your call theyre just doing their job which is to fix your problem get you off the phone and on to the next call

3.

another good one (especially if you're complaining) is to tell them you used to work for the company. usually works for getting things done quickly.

if something takes 3 weeks to do then it takes 3 weeks to do we cant snap fingers in a callcentre we can only send requests + you can get caught out very very easily with that so watch yourself

4. dont bother asking for a supervisor/manager, agents usually know the same as supervisors a supervisors job is to make sure you get in ontime. all they are going to say is the exactly the same thing.

5. dont get all narkey cause we listen to that all day and were sick of it and dont threaten to cancel either do you think we care if your account is cancelled its not our company.

6. if you polite and patient we will deal with the call and get the problem solved as soon as possible

silent

Originally posted by DaithiSurfer
Someone recording the call is treating you EXACTLY the same as you are treating them when recording the call.

disagree. the person who takes your call has nothing to say about which call get recorded. It's (usually) automated and randomly picks several calls for each agent which are problaby reviewed by some "quality" assurance team. Either that or the supervisor/manager can listen in live or on these recordings. Third possibility would be that someone in training might be listening on the call too. Thats it.

from experience, being nice and forthcomming and understanding YET making sure you are being understood well and dont accepting every sh1t said to you will get your problems resolved. threats, offending words and similar will get the people trying to help you pissed off. So try to stay cool, speak calmly and you will be heard.

Of course theres the odd 10% morons who will not do anything for you - with those it's the same as arguing on the internet - it has no point. Hang up and call again

too many employ that hard-assed approach these days every day and all it does is piss other people off. be nice to each other

edit: completely agree with last dub45's post - well said - call centers are the front lines who will only in extreme circumstances through to someone important. Personally I have mostly given up to call for most things, I rather send an email or similar and explain my problem in detail that way, exception being something financial.

magick

Catsmokinpot

3 weeks to do then it takes 3 weeks to do we cant snap fingers in a callcentre we can only send requests

completely agree, the amout of people who actually i can go to the web admin to fix their email filtering or account problem is laughable, when i say ill have to "send a request" i either get 2 types of responces the first is the disheartened puppy dog responce which is "ohhhh no ,how long will that take is their anything else you can do to speed it up? ooooh woe is me" or the second is the ignorant bastard "oh well fine then if thats all you can you!"
Either way couldnt care less, because its about the millionth call we have taken and your no way special.

dont bother asking for a supervisor/manager, agents usually know the same as supervisors a supervisors job is to make sure you get in ontime. all they are going to say is the exactly the same thing.

yup, dont know many times ive seen this, whe people get a call they rep says about the company policy or the members problem etc etc and then gets more irate and demands a sup, the sup comes over and says the same thing.

dont get all narkey cause we listen to that all day and were sick of it and dont threaten to cancel either do you think we care if your account is cancelled its not our company.

yup so true, i cant even begin to count the many times when people who actually think being nasty/narkey to the rep or just in general being an ass on the phone think that by acting this way will get their problem fixed quicker, in fact the oppsite ive seen many a time where the rep (rightfully so) will just hang up on the caller, its a completely thankless job hence the stress reps go though, and many times dont want to deal with it.

if you polite and patient we will deal with the call and get the problem solved as soon as possible

this i agree the most with, the old saying you catach more flies with honey, and its true I find myself helping more and going out of my way to help someone more if their completely polite ,patient and generally a nice person to deal with,ive seen so many cases where when people behave that way their prob gets sorted that much quicker.

dub45

work in a call centre i hate you whingey moaney people who have nothing better to do. you think your the first person we've spoken to all day.

Unfortunately doent this some up very well the problems with the whole call center concept for both employee and customer.

Over the past few days I have been a very whingey moany customer with O2's call center - they took 440 euros out of my account without my permission and have shown no good will or urgency in terms or returning it. I have literally had to scream and roar to get any movement. I dont want to behave like that I have more to be doing with my time I can assure you. And as well as being down the 440 euros I have had to wait several times up to 20 mins to even get an answer so unfortunately it does not tend to make me or I am sure most people very tolerant.
And unfortunately both the call center worker and or supervisor and myself are at the mercy of the idiot who made the mistake in the first place and who does not seem to care that the customers concerned might actually need that money to live!
As was said to me because these people dont deal with customers direct they can be a bit insensitive!!!

As far as the customer is concerned theirs is the only important call. People who work in call centers are under pressure and unfortunately are just glorified messenger boys and girls the infantry fodder between the sections or areas that are messing the customer up and dont give a f.....

With service levels being so poor I imagine most customers have been driven up the wall by the time they get through after 20 minutes of being told press 1 blah blah and then your call is important to us etc and thats without the annoyance of whatever problem they have rung about in the first place

Has anyone anywhere ever been able to prove that call centers actually improve customer service? I think they must be one of the worst developments of recent times.

when you say your recording the call we are legally allowed to hang up on you and so are you to us so whats the problem

The problem is that you cannot do business with the Company if you hang up so you cannnot get your problem resolved. I dont know of any Company who gives an option not to have the call recorded.

whats the big deal? do you know how many members/customers or bank call up each day? a couple of thousand, do you think we give a crap what you say over the phone are you afraid we might take your bank details?? wake up!! we cant we only have the last four digits of your bank number in most cases

Unfortunately in the light of my current experience with O2 I am very worried about people having my bank details.

sceptre

Originally posted by magick
I work for a call center, and its illegal to do that unless at the very start of the call you mention that to the rep.

Er, no it isn't.

The guy probably doesn't get to use it in court but illegal it isn't.

Kell

Erm, has no-one actually figured out that the call recording can be of benefit to you the punter? How you ask in amazement?

Example- had signed up with Vodafone and before I started making any calls I rang the customer care people and asked if the free minutes could be used to call other networks to which I was told I could ring any network anywhere under the free minutes. Great I thought.

Bill arrives in a month later and of course I had been charged for calls to other networks. So I rang them up and patiently listened while I was told that it was my mistake and rah rah rah until I pointed out that as all the calls were recorded, THEY would have record of the previous conversation I had with them and that they should go and listen to what the agent said. The calls were refunded and everything was sweet.

A few pointers people- if you are making an important call to anywhere take note of the persons name, the date you made the call and also maybe the time. For a start, if you have a complaint and you call in saying "yes I called you on the blah and I spoke to x and it was about 6 in the evening" it sounds way better than saying "well I spoke to yer man there a few weeks back and he said the phone could make toast". Who do you think they'll believe?

I complain a lot if I dont get exactly what I pay for and I always get exactly what I want. Theres a term I came across when working in a call centre regarding customers who were "professional complainers" i.e. the ones theres no point in arguing with because they are just going to get what they want. Make yourself a professional complainer and believe me, you'll get what you want everytime.

K-

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by dub45
they took 440 euros out of my account without my permission and have shown no good will or urgency in terms or returning it.

it can take up to and including 38 days for the refund to go back into a members a/c

but usually takes 8 days, if it takes the 38 then so be it. sorry but the agent doesnt make the rules and the agent cant bend the rules SO STOP WHINGING!!

i know you feel hard done by, but complaining about it isnt getting it back any quicker, your agravating already stressed agents who are not going to try to help you any more becuase your screaming down the phone at them.

would you feel compassion to someone who is screaming and shouting down the phone?? dont think so

it is true call quality isnt 100 percent but when you are supplying a service you should by right be treated with respect and with patience when money is involved no-one is patient no-one treats anyone with respect

As far as the customer is concerned theirs is the only important call

sorry.... no-one is more important than anyone else thats a load of tosh thats the problem you all start thinking you are the bees knees if we were to make one member more important than anyone else that wouldnt be fair and things would never get done for some people

The problem is that you cannot do business with the Company if you hang up so you cannot get your problem resolved. I dont know of any Company who gives an option not to have the call recorded.

well tbh if you say your recording the call even if its an easy call to solve were more than likely to hang up because we can. (why does a dog lick his balls?) if you didnt say you were recording the call and it was the same problem i would have dealt with it.

no they dont give you the option to not have your call recorded on a plate but it is within your rights. calls are recorded so that quality teams can listen in on members they really dont care about you or your problem they want to see how the agent is coping with it

Unfortunately in the light of my current experience with O2 I am very worried about people having my bank details

everything agents do is traceable EVERYTHING if we see your account it is logged in your history we have no access to your credit card details we only have the last four digits any mistakes are made by poorly programmed database software.

Dr. Loon

4. dont bother asking for a supervisor/manager, agents usually know the same as supervisors a supervisors job is to make sure you get in ontime. all they are going to say is the exactly the same thing.

Sorry... but this is crap. Yes the agent will know the same as the supervisor (generally) but getting a supervisor on the phone (when required) always works for me.
If I know the agent is talking bóllocks then I request a supervisor. Supervisor's have the authority to bend the rules. Agents do not.

I've worked in a few different call centres, and this has always been the case.

You just don't like getting a supervisor, because it means you've failed in carrying out your job properly. You sound like the type of ásshole I'd hate to have to speak to with that attitude.

5. dont get all narkey cause we listen to that all day and were sick of it and dont threaten to cancel either do you think we care if your account is cancelled its not our company.

You may not care. Your supervisor should. Which is why I speak to a supervisor when an agent doesn't have a clue what they're on about.

Really, you're a bad customer service rep. Very unprofessional. Change job.

Catsmokinpot

Really, you're a bad customer service rep. Very unprofessional. Change job.

thank you:D

ive worked at my job for 2 years now and my call quality is allways above 80% i dont think im a bad rep at all

what is a supervisor able to do that a rep cant?? i wish you would tell me

when i tell a member that something is going to take x amount of time to be done and they want to speak to a supervisor what does the supervisor tell them? we'll have your replacement equipment flown over to you in a chopper? yes no problem sir 5 minutes... bull****

they are going to tell you exactly the same **** but because its official its ok?? you need some sort of reassurance??

Even if the supervisor cares there is little else they can do that i cant do for them. if you were a rep you would know that there are loads of people who want to speak to a supervisor and i can deal with them all but sometimes they dont let me sometimes they wont even give me their account number

Dr. Loon

A supervisor can replace things that shouldn't be replaced, and the agent would not be able to authorise.
A supervisor can refund things that shouldn't essentially be refunded. An agent can't.
A supervisor can authorise overnight delivery on an item. An agent can't.

All taken from real life situations I've experienced.

If as a customer you kick up enough of a fuss, a supervisor will do almost anything to appease you. Then again, it does depend on what sort of business it is. I'm talking from a technical support/customer service perspective.

magick

Dr Loon

You sound like the type of ásshole I'd hate to have to speak to with that attitude.

Now now, Dr Loon and Catsmokinpot , ye both play nice

But basically id have to agree, working in a call center is a crap job, one i will not be repeating

Cabaal

Originally posted by Catsmokinpot
if you were a rep you would know that there are loads of people who want to speak to a supervisor and i can deal with them all but sometimes they dont let me sometimes they wont even give me their account number

If a customers refuses to give me account details I will refuse to contine with the call
1. for security reason
2. wasting time
3. no point, a super would need them befoire taking the call

If I do get account details from a customer they have to explain what the issue is, again if they refuse I will not help them, simple as that (see point 3. above)

Once I DO get above details I just contine with the call and by the end I'll have it resolved, people who wouldn't give the current rep a chance to resolve a issue are unreasonable.

Now if you talk to the rep and they do the same crap as they prevous others then by all means ask for a sup, but there are people that know there **** in every call centre and its worth giving them a chance.

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
A supervisor can replace things that shouldn't be replaced, and the agent would not be able to authorise.
A supervisor can refund things that shouldn't essentially be refunded. An agent can't.
A supervisor can authorise overnight delivery on an item. An agent can't.

All taken from real life situations I've experienced.

If as a customer you kick up enough of a fuss, a supervisor will do almost anything to appease you. Then again, it does depend on what sort of business it is. I'm talking from a technical support/customer service perspective.

but what you are saying is not fair

if things should not be replaced then why should i let you speak to a supervisor. if a customer wants something replaced and it has to he doesnt need to speak to a supervisor i can request it and supervisors listen to reps

if something shouldnt be refunded then i wont refund it unless you are generaly a nice lad/lass on the phone and if you start shouting and moaning then youll probably get your refund and you dont need to speak to a supervisor to get that done

i actually asked my supe about that one day if something doesnt get delivered then all they can do is send it out again

if you agree to a contract its your own fault if anything bad happens. people! were not supposed to make you read it. you read it yourself. if you dont we win and you pay up. if you do you wont get cought out.

Ripwave

Originally posted by Catsmokinpot
i know you feel hard done by, but complaining about it isnt getting it back any quicker, your agravating already stressed agents who are not going to try to help you any more becuase your screaming down the phone at them.

Well if that's your attitude, you deserve all the crap you get. We might as well scream and shout, and get it off our chests, because it isn't going to make a blind bit of difference to the service we get.

Dr. Loon

Fair doesn't come into it.
If the rep is an idiot, I ask for a supervisor.
In my time working in call centres, when a customer spoke to a supervisor they got what they wanted. End of story. I'm not gonna argue this out with you. This is what I've known to happen.

When I speak to customer service people on the phone I am nice but stern, as in I won't be pushed around. I always get what I need. If the rep is a fool, I request a supervisor. If they know their stuff, aren't rude and serve me in the way they should, i.e - do their job properly, then all's grand.

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by Ripwave
Well if that's your attitude, you deserve all the crap you get. We might as well scream and shout, and get it off our chests, because it isn't going to make a blind bit of difference to the service we get.

Dewd if something takes as long as it takes whats your problem why do you complain to us??? we give you the adress to the complaints department and you still complain to us we can do nothing about the time it takes neither can a supervisor

Fair doesn't come into it.

did you even read the rest of that post? and you still fair doesnt matter?? and your calling me an asshole????

if you are a decent human being. a great balance between fair and right is in you

if someone doesnt deserve something by the terms of a contract by law they shouldnt get it and im a dickhead for saying that to you????????????????????

if they get all uppity and demanding then they wont get what they want. the term do on to others comes to mind. but if they are nice and polite and understand that agents are just following orders and doing their job then they will get what they want

if you worked in a call centre then you would know that the more refunds and appeasements that reps make that reps stats **** for the month. same with supervisors

if we were to give in to every tom dick and harry then we would be out of a job

a contract is a contract i abide by the terms of a contract so should you!

now having said all that there are a few fools in the callcentre those are trainees and will get better. if theyre there long enough theyll be ok. its because of the constant hounding that they get from inconciderate dickheads who think they are more important than everyone else. that makes them quit the staff turnover for pretty much all callcentres is 6 months

you cant say that everyone who works in a callcentre is dumb because theyre not. i have spoken to many people on the phones who say that ntl technicians are dumb but most of them are more highly trained than myself

half the people complain about call centre reps because they dont hear what they want to hear

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by Dr. Loon
when a customer spoke to a supervisor they got what they wanted.

when a customer wants to speak to a supervisor the supervisor asks me whats the problem and asks me what ive done to solve the problem if they are not entitled to something by the terms of a contract then i think they dont deserve to get it

Originally posted by Dr. Loon If they know their stuff, aren't rude and serve me in the way they should, i.e - do their job properly, then all's grand.

and if the customer isnt rude and talks to me the way they should do then all's grand. its a two way system

dub45

it can take up to and including 38 days for the refund to go back into a members a/c

So you think that its ok for a company to take money out of a customer's account without their knowledge or permission and not return it for up to 38 days?

and that if a customer attempts to get their money back in those circumstances they are whinging?

DaithiSurfer

I'll tell you what a supervisor is there for.
To make sure the call jockys dont get away with the attitude trhey are displaying here.
'Heloo, i'm recording this call as well as you'

'Well i'm hangin up'

Ring back - ' Hello can i talk to your supervisor'

Supervisor 'Hmm... I'm going to kick that fkers ass.'

You . 'I'm so sorry please let me keep my job. I wont do it agai... Please, i'll only vent on the internet in future'

herbie747

I'm a professional complainer, and I ALWAYS get what I pay for....and why shouldn't I?
If some clown makes a mistake that costs me time, money or hassle, I'll let them know about it - and I won't be patient wth them, because if they weren't incompetent in the first place I wouldnt have to waste my time resolving it.

They are getting paid to be nice to me and resolve my issue - it's called THEIR JOB. I, on the other hand, am complaining for a reason (not for the thrill and sheer enjoyment) and I am not getting paid to be wasting my time resolving someone elses mistake, so f*ck them.
And I always take their name, time, date, etc. And asking for a supervisor always works if I sense an idiot on the phone.
Being "polite" gets you nowhere - I'm always nice, but firm.

People who don't complain about dodgy merchandise, crap service, etc are suckers who will spend their whole life being trampled on - and I ain't one of those suckers.

Meadows

Ring back - ' Hello can i talk to your supervisor'

`

yeah most call centers are huge as well as outsourced so you could get indian/london/Paris call center (which a lot of call centers are now basing themsevles,so odds are you wont be talking to the same sup of the rep who hung up on you.)

Supervisor 'Hmm... I'm going to kick that fkers ass.'

chances are they havent kept a record of their activites, so its hard for the sup to trace.

magick

and I won't be patient wth them

your choice but if id be more polite but the number of times when people arent polite on the phone to a rep, that rep will usually drag his/her heels because of this person on the phone is being an a$$, and results in even worse service for the complainer,besides their not much effort in being nice and polite.

They are getting paid to be nice to me and resolve my issue - it's called THEIR JOB

nope, we aint being paid to be nice to you, we are getting paid to troubleshoot your problem,thats OUR JOB

People who don't complain about dodgy merchandise, crap service, etc are suckers

yes , thats everyones right, but people that complain constructively and politely usually get helped that bit better.

DUX

I worked in a call centre a couple of years ago and we used to organized some fake calls to train the new hires..... was great fun to play the role of the angry/son of a bitch customer asking for the manager :-)

DaithiSurfer

Of course if you record the call you can play back conversation with the ignarant rep who hangs up to a supervisor

I've been in call centers. In fact i was part of a team that used to weed out the problems in call centers and the fact is its your job to help the customer, not because he's thick but because your company knows that he may come back with more business and tell his friends what a great deal and support he got.

I know all you call center reps want to make yourselves feel important here but one thing is certain. If you are not being nice to the customer and your boss finds out you're in the **** and none of the 'i have the power' stuff that you are trying to bull**** with here will get you out of it.

KlodaX

Is it illegal in this country to record a call if either person the line objects ?

I cease to be a Vodafone rep as of 2 weeks ago.

it is illegal for someone to record you without you knowing.. hense why they tell you.

the reason they record the calls is to do a thing called "witnessing" .... its to train the staff ... and to scare them out of F*c*ing you off from a height ....

they don't don't really give two ****s bout what you say... the recorded calls are random for bout 10 calls out of the first 30 of the csr's shift ... if the csr wants to record a call to save their ass they can... but most don't know how cause its not in the training... any call not replayed to the "team leader" .... *manager nit picking at the csr , cust service rep* ... are generally deleted ... too many off them after being replayed...


so I wouldn't worry bout your recordings....

they are as prescious as the security camera recordings of you walking past an alley-way last sunday evening for all of 30 seconds.

no one cares.

magick

I know all you call center reps want to make yourselves feel important here

em i dont recall anyone saying that, its a job, a thankless one at that, if any of the reps wanted to feel important, then maybe they sould have joined the secret service or become a doctor.

and none of the 'i have the power' stuff that you are trying to bull**** with here will get you out of it.

hmmm once again, if you look back at the posts i dont recall anyone claiming they said "I HAVE THE POWER" the only person who said "I HAVE THE POWER!" is He-Man and he didnt work for a call center.

DaithiSurfer

I've seen the recordings kept for years.

it isnt illiegal to record someone at all without their knowledge.
It is inadmissable in court though unless there are particular circumstances that warrent it. e.g If someone was murdered and you had a recording of the accused saying they would murder that person.

But this thread has gone off the point somewhat.
I think the original intention was to ask people if it bothered them that they couldnt choose not to be recorded.

dub45

I think the original intention was to ask people if it bothered them that they couldnt choose not to be recorded.

Yeah it was:) It has certainly raised some interesting questions along the way too!:)

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by dub45
So you think that its ok for a company to take money out of a customer's account without their knowledge or permission and not return it for up to 38 days?

and that if a customer attempts to get their money back in those circumstances they are whinging?

no i dont think its ok. but if something is the way it is then why do you still give out? especially to people who cant do anything about it. if we could help you we would! do you think we want hassle off people? no, we want to get you off the phone and on to the next call.

do you give out because people die all the time? no. because thats just the way it is. TBH people get skrewed over all the time, not just poor old you. thats why big companies exist! to skrew people over

deal with it! if you dont want to get skrewed over dont join a corporation, big faceless money grubbing gits and yes i hate working for them and im going to quit as soon as i find another job that pays so well

i dont think all callcentre reps are bad i know why some of them would be bad. you want to know why?

MOANEY LITTLE BITCHES

the only reasons people want to speak to a supervisor is because they have signed a contract. the company has covered themselves in the terms of that contract and the member hasn't read the contract propperly. i bet your whinging bout your E440 saying boo hoo its not fair. the fact is if you read your contract for 02, i bet theyve covered themselves at every angle for that sort of situation. they have teams of lawyers working for them and if you took them to court you would lose.

i used to empathise with people who did not read their contract but i see so many people every day who dont and then complain about it, even though they were stupid enough to not read the fine print.

now im sick of it im sick of people who ring up and blame the company for problems that arent theirs.

other reasons are

your service has put viruses on my pc!!! that is not our problem we give you a connection we dont control what you download.

ive moved to an area which hasnt got broadband and i have to stick to my 12 month contract!!!! well im sorry but look up contract in the dictionary my friend

im getting porno popups and its your fault!!!! you or one of your pervo family have visited a site with lotsa porno popups programmed in to it and thats why your getting those

you find internet phone numbers on your phone list which cost you around E200!!! the fact is that once again either you or one of your pervo family has gone to a sight used a dialer program to get seemingly "FREE" porno

the list is endless hardly any of it is due to agents incompetance anything to do with money is probably transaction programs fúcking up etc not agents fault yet again

people have no right to be ignorant to other people if they are we warn them if they do it again we hang up, and we are told this by the supervisors

the list of things said by moaney little bitches like yourselves

****ers, ****, crap service, ****ty connection, your service has made my computer crash.

mostly bull.

now sometimes we do **** up and still these problems are sometimes not the agents fault. its the whole process that messes up like adress details are incorrect when they go through the system people getting their own postcode wrong etc.

sometimes you get agents who do typos every 100th call but im sure that you yourself have done typos before and so can be blamed there

and then very rarely and i say very rarely because its such an easy job only for the hastle you get the incompetant agent who does have an iq of 80 and you cant say anything but you poor ****er!

im sorry but thats the way i and most callcentre reps see it. and if it was such a lovely job with tons of nice people to speak to then the staff turnover wouldnt be the whole staff in 6 months for nearly every callcentre i know of

and as far as the voice recording goes...............

Originally posted by Cabaal
Stop taking photographs of me, YOUR STEALING MY SOUL!!!

Catsmokinpot

oh yeah

</rant>

The Beer Baron

you can train monkeys to speak now?

(I was in a call centre- indeed if I could I'd ask the bastards for copies of the recordings- my greatest hits as it were. They always recorded mine as I always ended up insulting whoever called me)

dub45

no i dont think its ok. but if something is the way it is then why do you still give out? especially to people who cant do anything about it. if we could help you we would! do you think we want hassle off people? no, we want to get you off the phone and on to the next call.

The fact is that it is not permissible to take money out of people's accounts without their permission whether you choose to call it a mistake theft or whatever. There is no contract anywhere that will stand up that will permit a company to do that.

Now if you think that people should lie down and roll over when that happens you have a very strange attitude to life which of course you are entitled to but it does not mean everyone else should have it. Not many people wish to give an involuntary interest free loan to a big multinational.

I think the whole call center concept is totally wrong but if I can bounce your attitude back to you I would be saying you knew only too well what you were letting yourself in for when you joined no one is forcing you to work there

deal with it!

I think most people would much prefer to talk to the person who is actually at fault when a problem arises not an intermediary but the call center concept is designed to stop that.

Your attitude appears to be great place to work shame about all those people who ring up all day and disturb us.

herbie747

Originally posted by magick
nope, we aint being paid to be nice to you, we are getting paid to troubleshoot your problem,thats OUR JOB

You're getting paid to be nice too. I'm the customer. You're supposed to be nice to me AND solve my problem.
I doubt they told you to "just troubleshoot - but you don't have to be nice to customers".

Just because it's the 100th call you've taken that day - I DON'T GIVE A CRAP. The only call I care about is mine - your dislike of your job isn't my problem, and I want my issue sorted out without any excuses, quickly, efficiently, and without getting stroppy if I get angry at your incompetence. If you know your job, that shouldn't be a problem though, should it?
If you can't handle it quick enough with competence, I'll ask for your supervisor and I WILL get to talk to them, and trust me, they ALWAYS sort it out.
If I pay your company for something - I want a quality product/service. Bottom Line. If you don't provide a quality product/service, it's not my fault - it's yours and your company's, so excuuuuuse me if I'm not sympathetic to the fact that it's your 100th call - your problem mate, not mine.

If I am happy with the service or product your company has provided, I will never have to call you, and I will recommend your company to others - it works both ways.

Catsmokinpot

Your attitude appears to be great place to work shame about all those people who ring up all day and disturb us.

no my attitude is shame that sometimes ignorant pricks phone up and blame me for problems that are their own fault most of the time

I think most people would much prefer to talk to the person who is actually at fault when a problem arises not an intermediary but the call center concept is designed to stop that.

the call centre is designed to help as many people as possible in the shortest space of time. if we were to give a dedicated line to one person to speak the same rep each time they call. that would cost a fortune you could ring me 20 times in one day and your subscription fee still wouldnt pay my salary so that cant work

and i dont think that people should lie down and take it. but they should still be polite and patient in the process of getting the problem solved i get lots of people who scream and shout down the phone at me for problems that can be sorted out without any hastle

and they my friend, are called dickheads indecent sons of bitches who have no real purpose but to complain about injustices that are done to them. have you ever seen someone cry? i have seen 3 girls cry since i started working in the call centre nearly 2 years ago because of inconciderate dickheads who dont care about anyone except their money calling names because they dont get what they want. that solves nothing. you want some action write a letter of complaint. complaining to a supervisor or an agent about an incident, doesnt always work a letter of complaint does because they have to reply to you.

YOU CANT ACT THE DICK TO PEOPLE AND EXPECT TO GET GOOD SERVICE BACK

we are told that if a member starts acting the dick we will warn them twice and if they still dont stop we are allowed to hang up

and then i get other people who are polite and patient the way they are supposed to be. they havent just come on to the phone and said you fúckin better solve my problem or im taking you to court. that aint gonna work because your not taking that person to court so why should they care and if you act agressive theyre not going to want you to help them

if i get a nice person on the phone i will go out of my way to help them but it is a very rare occurance

as for DaithiSurfer go to this website Whos your daddy and read the disclamer at the bottom of the website about recording someones voice without their knowledge as far as i know thats true

Catsmokinpot

Originally posted by herbie747
You're getting paid to be nice too. I'm the customer. You're supposed to be nice to me AND solve my problem.
I doubt they told you to "just troubleshoot - but you don't have to be nice to customers".

Just because it's the 100th call you've taken that day - I DON'T GIVE A CRAP. The only call I care about is mine - your dislike of your job isn't my problem, and I want my issue sorted out without any excuses, quickly, efficiently, and without getting stroppy if I get angry at your incompetence. If you know your job, that shouldn't be a problem though, should it?
If you can't handle it quick enough with competence, I'll ask for your supervisor and I WILL get to talk to them, and trust me, they ALWAYS sort it out.
If I pay your company for something - I want a quality product/service. Bottom Line. If you don't provide a quality product/service, it's not my fault - it's yours and your company's, so excuuuuuse me if I'm not sympathetic to the fact that it's your 100th call - your problem mate, not mine.

If I am happy with the service or product your company has provided, I will never have to call you, and I will recommend your company to others - it works both ways.

yes you are the customer and if your acting like a dickhead we do not have to listen to it i dont mean we start name calling i mean we can hang up - we have rights too we dont have to listen to abuse, or are you so selfish as to believe we dont have any rights

"quick enough"
some things are never quick enough for you people you all want it done with the click of your fingers

eg.

complaint: you have broadband and you move house(you also neglect to notify us) then you start to complain that its our fault we should have told you that you needed to notify us now it will take 7 days for it to be fixed

answer: fúck you!!! we are not obliged to tell you we have terms and conditions which you are supposed to read. are we your mother? we dont know where your going to move why is it our fault. if you're thinking about ordering a product you should read your FAQs first you twat and you blame us for being incompetant

propper answer: i do appologise sir but that is all part of the process

next complaint: but now i will have no broadband for 7 days i want a refund

answer: fúck you!!!! we arent obliged to pay you any money unless you are offline for over 30 days, read your contract were not your mother we are not obliged to read it out to you, the contract is there for you to read, not us! we know whats on it

propper answer: um the contract was there for you to read all along we arent obliged to pay you any money unless you are offline for over 30 days.

even though we say that the member is still unhappy and complains somemore

you could go on forever

we dont work for you we work for our company you are not a customer of mine your a customer of the company we fix your problem and be as polite as possible but if you do not have any patience and get stroppy i will warn you if you still continue i will hang up and so would any other agent who gets abuse on the phone

when an agent has worked in a place for so long he can go through a whole call script he knows what to say and what the member is going to say its sad but true