Customer service staff getting the brunt

Dudess

A lot of anger out there towards the banks and other profit-making organisations, and with good cause, but do people agree it's fair to get angry with frontline staff (who aren't responsible) because they are the only port of call, it's what they should expect - they represent the company, etc? When I say "angry" I do not mean abusive (because it should go without saying that that's a no-no - unless the staff member is rude themselves).

I personally think a customer has every right to express their anger re a product/service/organisation, but in a reasonable, if firm, manner - and not taking it out on the staff member. I think anyone who gets aggressive with a staff member who is polite and doing the best they can, seems like a bit of a bully tbh...

oppenheimer1

Dudess wrote: »

A lot of anger out there towards the banks and other profit-making organisations, and with good cause, but do people agree it's fair to get angry with frontlilne staff (who aren't responsible) because they are the only port of call, it's what they should expect - they represent the company, etc? When I say "angry" I do not mean abusive (because it should go without saying that that's a no-no - unless the staff member is rude themselves).

I personally think a customer has every right to express their anger re a product/service/organisation, but in a reasonable, if firm, manner - and not taking it out on the staff member. I think anyone who gets aggressive with a staff member who is polite and doing the best they can seems like a bit of a bully tbh...

Can't say I'm proud of it but I have lost the rag with customer service agents when they misinformed me twice. Of course losing it achieved nothing, and probably made things worse.

Helix

people should express their problems to the correct channels, usually a compaints or feedback line, not some random employee who doesnt actually care

in fact i think thats the problem, ranters dont realise that the people theyre talking to really couldnt give a flying fook about their issue. its not their job to care, they just want to get paid and go home, like everyone else

efb

Customer Care? Surely is their job to care!

davyjose

i had a woman in for the south dublin County Council actually thank me for not shouting at her when I enquired about the water cuts a few weeks ago.

I wasn't even particularly nice, as i was kinda p!ssed off myself. but it gave me an idea of the kind of abuse she must have been taking. I felt so bad for her.

Nobody should have to take continuous abuse like that.

ejmaztec

It's pointless having a go at the staff, and it's always better to find the nearest one to the top of the managerial heap, and burn his ear-drums out.

Overheal

I like to think I can differentiate my anger toward a CSR when its something they fouled up versus something that was decided at the Corporate level.

In practice though that just doesnt translate, im sure, and the CSR ends up taking it personally, etc.

Helix

efb wrote: »

Customer Care? Surely is their job to care!

no, its to help with issues relating to a product if they can. not listen to general whining about their parent company

Dudess

oppenheimer1 wrote: »

Can't say I'm proud of it but I have lost the rag with customer service agents when they misinformed me twice. Of course losing it achieved nothing, and probably made things worse.

Well it's understandable you'd be miffed by being misinformed, but bear in mind that that could be due to inadequate training, the staff members receiving the incorrect information themselves etc. Generally speaking, nobody wants to piss off a customer - it only makes their job harder. And more altruistically, some customer service agents actually want to deliver a decent service.

Helix wrote: »

in fact i think thats the problem, ranters dont realise that the people theyre talking to really couldnt give a flying fook about their issue. its not their job to care, they just want to get paid and go home, like everyone else

Au contraire.
I actually give a sh1t about customers and like to resolve their issues - I appreciate many advisors don't, but not all. However, if someone's being a ****, I won't neglect their query (as that would get me into trouble) but I'll just go through the motions rather than giving it extra priority.

efb

Customer Care, I would take it as a place to deal with issues the customer has re dealings with the company. Technical help would surely be for the product.

Some people's care less attitude grates on me.

If people refer issues to me, I take them onboard and refer them to someone that can help them (if I can't) and bring any complaints re the company to higher authority.

I greatly dislike people who are there 'just to get paid'.

Helix

efb wrote: »

I greatly dislike people who are there 'just to get paid'.

why else would someone work in customer care tho tbh

same as POS retail really, its a job for money

brianthebard

Half the purpose of customer care/service is to fob off angry people who need to vent, so as to prevent their complaint getting anywhere....

weldoninhio

efb wrote: »

Customer Care? Surely is their job to care!

Customer Care is a bull sh!t term, to make it sound good. Its basically a buffer that means that management etc. don't have to deal with customers screaming at them.

Think back to the last time you dealt with a "customer service agent", and get angry with them and demand to speak with a manager. I bet that after you had vented at the person who answered the call and got through to a member of "management" you were a lot calmer when it came to talking to the manager.

Odysseus

On the other side, I'm in health care, alot of my clients would display what we callenging behaviour, we are open to alot of abuse, I haven't seen any the "drain" on society my wages are type of stuff from them. However, I have come across members of the public in social situations starting to become abusive, when they hear I work for the HSE.

Now its far from abuse in the street if you get my point, and its very easy to deal with I'm not in work, so I can say what I want, or just not speak to the person.

However, in your case its possibly just displaced anger, I often get it on the phone from parents of clients, though less these days, as I don't have to take those calls much now; someone else is stuck with it. I don't know about CS, but I have a line, that if people start to cross on the phone I tell them that due to their abuse I'm refusing to deal with them, I can't see why this should not be the case in CS. No body is paid to be abused in work, I used to be part of a team that dealt with the psychological effects of staff being abused within the HSE, mostly it was around physical abuse, but some cases where around verbal abuse. Slightly different to the phone, but having that happen constantly if its severe won't be good for you.

Earthhorse

ejmaztec wrote: »

It's pointless having a go at the staff, and it's always better to find the nearest one to the top of the managerial heap, and burn his ear-drums out.

Agreed. If you are at the point where you are actually angry then you should be talking to someone higher up the food chain.

Dravokivich

Earthhorse wrote: »

Agreed. If you are at the point where you are actually angry then you should be talking to someone higher up the food chain.

where i work... I am that very person... trust me... roaring never helps.

you gotta take into account, each time your speaking to someone about your problems or looking to complain, its most likely the first time they are going to be handling your query, be polite and courteous, you get that back along with a sincere reply.

treat someone like shít and you get a brick wall on the other end of the line. regardless of where they stand on the foodchain.

- Drav!

Earthhorse

Dravokivich wrote: »

where i work... I am that very person... trust me... roaring never helps.

I never said you should roar. I said if you are at the point where you are angry with the service you're getting then you need to escalate it to someone who can give you the service you need to get.

Dravokivich

Earthhorse wrote: »

I never said you should roar. I said if you are at the point where you are angry with the service you're getting then you need to escalate it to someone who can give you the service you need to get.

and my last line?

Rented Mule

Let me first start off by saying that the 'Customer Service' in Ireland is the worst that I have ever experienced anywhere.

The people answering the phones are there to fend off angry customers/users from the higher up.

They have minimal skills/abilities/rights to help you with your issues/concerns.

In many cases, have figured all of this out, been badgered to death everyday and simply don't care.

stovelid

I remember getting angry with somebody once, but I copped on and apologized before the end of the call.

If staff are polite to you, you should return the courtesy.

CrazyRabbit

As an ex-Customer Service Rep (CSR), I try to be nice. But most CSR's these days don't use their brain and just quote procedures and technical docs.

My absolute most hated service center to call is Chorus NTL broadband support. Quite possibly the most dumbest and rude CSR's I've ever spoken to. If they call me a liar one more time......

They have even admitted that they weren't technical and the real techies are actually in 2nd level. I frequently get angry when I call them, which is quite often.

I know it's not really their fault, but they don't have a proper complaints department, so they have to just take it.

stovelid

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

I know it's not really their fault, but they don't have a proper complaints department, so they have to just take it.

So you abuse staff that you admit are not technical enough to solve problems that you're not technical enough to solve yourself?

Agricola

Roaring at people rarely works. If you have a problem that needs fixing its best to have some self-restraint and be polite. If not the person on the other end of the phone will take an immediate dislike to you, which could mean you'll just be calling back to be at square one with some other employee.

Right or wrong, its just human nature. Treating people decently means you'll get treated decently yourself. If you have an issue that a frontline staff person cant resolve then speak to their manager or to a member of the complaints department. Those people are paid more money and are there to listen to abuse from the public.
"Customer Care" is a misleading job title. In reality, frontline staff are just there to do admin work for the public or if its technical support, to provide the public with just that. In alot of cases frontline staff are not allowed to take ownership of issues. This is the main reason that going apeshít on them is of no use.

Abi

Dudess wrote: »

I personally think a customer has every right to express their anger re a product/service/organisation, but in a reasonable, if firm, manner - and not taking it out on the staff member. I think anyone who gets aggressive with a staff member who is polite and doing the best they can, seems like a bit of a bully tbh...

Anyone who gets aggressive with customer services either doesn't understand that the staff are given procedures and guidelines to follow, or are a complete twat. I despise generalisations, but its generally older people that don't understand how much / little power customer services staff have. You really have to have the capacity to let it run off you like water off a ducks back, or you might as well leave the job.

CrazyRabbit wrote:

As an ex-Customer Service Rep (CSR), I try to be nice.

I frequently get angry when I call them, which is quite often.

Then you should have more sense...

borderlinemeath

I'm a manager in retail, and the amount of abuse that management and staff have to put up with is unreal.
Most retail complaints are down to either faulty items or refused refunds that are either out of date or not supported with a valid receipt.

Faulty items - no point screaming at either front line staff or managers, we didn't manufacture the item but we will try and help resolve the problem but coming in with an attitude or looking for an argument won't help.

Refunds! Where do I start! customers spout on about their "consumer rights" but 99% of customers have no idea what their "rights" are, and are usually wrong. Shouting, threatening to complain to head office, threatening solicitors letters - gets them nowhere- but they usually only realise this when I print their consumer rights from the internet.

And then you get the odd w*nker who thinks that complaining will get him money off something. Not a chance in hell.

Dudess

stovelid wrote: »

I remember getting angry with somebody once, but I copped on and apologized before the end of the call.

But sometimes the rep can be downright unhelpful and I can totally understand a customer losing their patience in that situation. It's more the people launching into a tirade immediately against the person who answers the phone/is behind the counter without giving them a chance that I'm referring to.

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

My absolute most hated service center to call is Chorus NTL broadband support. Quite possibly the most dumbest and rude CSR's I've ever spoken to. If they call me a liar one more time......

Yep, I found them absolutely woeful to deal with. Do as I did, and switch to Sky - if you can.

I know it's not really their fault, but they don't have a proper complaints department, so they have to just take it.

Well they shouldn't have to take anger/abuse if they're being polite and doing their best to help, just details of the complaint and dissatisfaction expressed without aggression.

Abigayle wrote: »

You really have to have the capacity to let it run off you like water off a ducks back, or you might as well leave the job.

Oh absolutely. Some people can get extremely upset by customers and I don't see the point in that either.

Dublindude69

I had someone giving out yards about us because she saw an advert on TV and claimed our company was doing it. We went off about how useless we where for about 20 minutes cause none of us had evern heard of the deal. It wasn't until I saw the ad myself I realised it was for a compleatly different company.
Some people just don't pay attention.

John Mason

i get screamed at on a regular basis - i couldnt give a sh.it, its not my fault people are too stupid to read the information sent to them and the contracts they sign.

i dont get paid enough to care. i go out my way to help people but at the end of day, they are just thick and there is nothing i can do about that

Howard the Duck

I work in tech support/customer support. I mostly deal with the same people so i get to know who are the screamers and who are the nice people. And it might be wrong but i'll look after the nice people before i bother with the idiot screamers who have no common sense when you're trying to tell them how to do something.

Earthhorse

Dravokivich wrote: »

and my last line?

And my first? About not roaring? I don't believe in treating people like shit, I do believe in getting the service you deserve. If that means escalating an issue then that's what I'll do. Nothing wrong with that.

SubrbanOblivion

CS do take a lot of crap, and 99% of the time it's not anything they themselves have done wrong. I save my bitching for the person who actually fouled up.

CrazyRabbit

stovelid wrote: »

So you abuse staff that you admit are not technical enough to solve problems that you're not technical enough to solve yourself?

No. Some issues cannot be resolved by the customer (me). When I call, I usually know what the issue is and need their network engineers to fix it. It is trying to explain it to a non-technical CSR on the 'technical' helpdesk that is infuriating.

And I didn't say I abuse the staff. I just get annoyed with them.

And Abigayle, yes I should know better, but they are sooooo infuriating. Hell, their hold music has been broken for 2 years and they haven't fixed it despite me mentioning it on the last 30+ calls.