Have you ever worked in Customer Care?

rainbow kirby · 19-08-2018 06:54AM

Did a year of tech support when I was taking a year out from college. Pure torture. Made me absolutely hate people.

Adyx · 19-08-2018 07:02AM

Imagine working in customer care but all your customers were drunk or American. Welcome to hospitality.

Same sense of self-importance, combined with alcohol.

mickoneill31 · 19-08-2018 07:17AM

Agricola wrote: »

The most not so nice part of the UK? A couple of hundred miles up the road from where I was sitting! If I saw an 028 call coming in, I knew I was in for a war with someone who fancied themselves as a bit of an Ian Paisley lite!

Similar for me. I worked in Gateway tech support 25 years ago. We served the UK and Ireland. I remember our phones would identify the source country. When I saw Ireland I'd have to take a deep breath. So many people think they "know my rights" when they really don't.
If somebody was nice I'd help them out more. If they were a dick they got the minimum.

On the plus side it was reasonable training for dealing with customer service as a customer. I have an idea what authority they have and that losing the cool is worse on me than them.
My dad had an issue with Vodafone lasting weeks. He is one that'll be an idiot to call centre employees. He told me about the issue and I rang as him. Was sorted satisfactorily with one call.

And asking for a manager is useless. The manager used to frequently listen in on the call and they have to abide by the same policies as the first line.

Edgware · 19-08-2018 10:41AM

I have a friend in the UK that regularly e mails the sports departments of the media complaining about the nil coverage of pigeon racing. Many actually reply giving facts, figures and the technical difficulties it would encounter

fryup · 19-08-2018 10:45AM

^^^^^^^^

that would make a great monty python sketch

Mint Sauce · 19-08-2018 10:57AM

Yes, so when I do call a call centre now, I can appreciate how tricky it can be for the handler to deal with querys, targets, irrate customers, and having to up sale as well.

Two memorable calls I had was one, where the caller called me a Paki Bastard mid call. When I informed him that he had came through to an Irish call centre, he followed it up with calling me a Paddy Bastard. The call ended quite shortly after that.

Other memorable call, was a couple of days after Channel 4 aired a fly on the wall doc, about called centres. Caller mid call asked me if I was holding a help sign over my desk, something that featured on the show. It got a giggle and the caller went off the phone happy.

Grayson · 19-08-2018 11:45AM

The Legend Of Kira wrote: »

I know someone who worked there in that particular call centre department you refer to. One detail I heard was if a customer requested your name that you,d have to give your name under the company policy, hopefully that,s all changed with new recent data protection laws.

I worked i a call centre where we all had fake names. On your first day you were assigned a fake name and that was yours forever. So if someone went looking for you in real life they couldn't find you but if they called up looking for you as a follow up, someone could look up the name and transfer you.

19-08-2018 11:58AM

No i couldn't cope with that at all especially as you can't tell them to cop on.

I'm always nice to them and they're nice to me and everyone is happy

Grayson · 19-08-2018 11:58AM

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Yes, so when I do call a call centre now, I can appreciate how tricky it can be for the handler to deal with querys, targets, irrate customers, and having to up sale as well.

Two memorable calls I had was one, where the caller called me a Paki Bastard mid call. When I informed him that he had came through to an Irish call centre, he followed it up with calling me a Paddy Bastard. The call ended quite shortly after that.

Other memorable call, was a couple of days after Channel 4 aired a fly on the wall doc, about called centres. Caller mid call asked me if I was holding a help sign over my desk, something that featured on the show. It got a giggle and the caller went off the phone happy.

I worked in one call centre for PC support where a guy called a girl a paddy bastard. She ended the call and told her supervisor. He left a note on the account saying if the guy called through again, put the guy through to him. The guy called back and was told by the supervisor that there was going to be no more support unless he apologized to the girl he'd been talking to.

Mint Sauce · 19-08-2018 01:21PM

Grayson wrote: »

I worked in one call centre for PC support where a guy called a girl a paddy bastard. She ended the call and told her supervisor. He left a note on the account saying if the guy called through again, put the guy through to him. The guy called back and was told by the supervisor that there was going to be no more support unless he apologized to the girl he'd been talking to.

Our company, and I would assume most companies, the handler was allowed to end the call if the customer continued abusive language after repeated warnings.

Have heard of companies though, that if abusive language was picked up on recordings or quality monitored calls more than a few times, and if the notes reflected it, the customer could get a call from a manager, advicing them on their tone, and warning of discontinuation of service or support.

Me, if someone gave the odd f bomb, talking in general, it would be brushed off or ignored, as it was their personality. If it was directed at me, or a colleague, then a warning on the call being discontinued would be given.

Iwouldinmesack · 19-08-2018 02:24PM

Under His Eye wrote: »

Customer is never right. Remember that.

I worked in one place that had scripts that did not fix the problem. I knew how to fix the problem quickly but because it was off script that was not allowed. So frustrating.

Call centres. Everyone should be forced to do a year in one.

Several friends and siblings worked in customer care during college etc. Told me i was lucky i couldnt work in a call centre and from their soul destroying stories id have to agree with them. Being Deaf ,even though we are treated like **** in this country regarding opportunities and employment, means ill never have to work in a call centre.

fryup · 19-08-2018 03:13PM

Grayson wrote: »

I worked i a call centre where we all had fake names. On your first day you were assigned a fake name and that was yours forever. So if someone went looking for you in real life they couldn't find you but if they called up looking for you as a follow up, someone could look up the name and transfer you.

it wouldn't come to that surely

Grayson · 19-08-2018 03:15PM

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Our company, and I would assume most companies, the handler was allowed to end the call if the customer continued abusive language after repeated warnings.

Have heard of companies though, that if abusive language was picked up on recordings or quality monitored calls more than a few times, and if the notes reflected it, the customer could get a call from a manager, advicing them on their tone, and warning of discontinuation of service or support.

Me, if someone gave the odd f bomb, talking in general, it would be brushed off or ignored, as it was their personality. If it was directed at me, or a colleague, then a warning on the call being discontinued would be given.

We had the three warning rule in the last place. Warn them 3 times and then they get disconnected. The problem was that they weren't refused. They could just call over and over again. I felt it was bad because it didn't show any support for the workers. Just sit there and take abuse, it's your job.

Grayson · 19-08-2018 03:21PM

Iwouldinmesack wrote: »

Several friends and siblings worked in customer care during college etc. Told me i was lucky i couldnt work in a call centre and from their soul destroying stories id have to agree with them. Being Deaf ,even though we are treated like **** in this country regarding opportunities and employment, means ill never have to work in a call centre.

Twice I had to talk to deaf people on calls. I'm sure you're aware of the process but for those that aren't...

The deaf person has a keyboard that they type stuff into. That goes to a separate centre where someone reads it out to me. I say something back and they type it in for the deaf person.

So I have to give very clear concise short sentences. And I have to wait each time for the reply.

One of the calls involved a guy who had a computer with the sound not working. He had a young child who could hear and the sound needed to be working for her. So I got him to do stuff to the computer and if it worked she would let him know there was noise.

Because of the length of time it took for the conversation the call went on ages. At one point my boss came over and said "You've been on that call a long time. Is everything ok" I said "I'm troubleshooting a soundcard with a deaf guy". He just looked at me for a second and said "Take all the time you need".

19-08-2018 04:14PM

Grayson wrote: »

Twice I had to talk to deaf people on calls. I'm sure you're aware of the process but for those that aren't...

The deaf person has a keyboard that they type stuff into. That goes to a separate centre where someone reads it out to me. I say something back and they type it in for the deaf person.

So I have to give very clear concise short sentences. And I have to wait each time for the reply.

One of the calls involved a guy who had a computer with the sound not working. He had a young child who could hear and the sound needed to be working for her. So I got him to do stuff to the computer and if it worked she would let him know there was noise.

Because of the length of time it took for the conversation the call went on ages. At one point my boss came over and said "You've been on that call a long time. Is everything ok" I said "I'm troubleshooting a soundcard with a deaf guy". He just looked at me for a second and said "Take all the time you need".

This is the service, now accessible on the web, so no special keyboard required now;

https://www.itrs.ie/

Captain Peanuts McDrummie · 19-08-2018 07:51PM

The Legend Of Kira wrote: »

I know someone who worked there in that particular call centre department you refer to. One detail I heard was if a customer requested your name that you,d have to give your name under the company policy, hopefully that,s all changed with new recent data protection laws.

Yeah, that was the case while I worked there. I don't know if that's changed since the new data protection laws have come in or not.

We also had to tell them we were based in Finglas where the applications get processed even though we weren't anywhere near there.

screamer · 19-08-2018 08:00PM

To be successful and remain long term in customer care requires a certain mindset and attitude. I've seen so many people come and go and mostly because they just didn't have the right attitude for the role. And, as we all know the customer is always right and if you don't know how to work with that then customer service is the wrong role.

The J Stands for Jay · 19-08-2018 08:41PM

fryup wrote: »

it wouldn't come to that surely

You'd be surprised. There's a very small minority who will try to find the call centre. They'll usually just show up at corporate headquarters and be treated very nicely.

bear1 · 19-08-2018 09:19PM

I worked in a pretty big one in naas before the recession.
The amount of times you'd get a call where someone had been refused a credit card and they would literally take it out on you as if it were you that rejected their application.
Never got called any names but you needed 2 things in that job, cigarettes and coffee.
I last 6 months before I was let go but sweet jesus I'll never ever go into such a role again.

White_hills · 19-08-2018 09:56PM

Worked in one for two years during the height of the recession.

The modern day Victorian factory. I was never as depressed.

Cows Go µ · 19-08-2018 09:57PM

fryup wrote: »

it wouldn't come to that surely

You'd be surprised. I was working in a call center for a phone insurance company and the abuse was unreal. Luckily it was for an English company but they certainly threatened to come find me for refusing a claim.

We were allowed to hang up after they swore at us twice so long as we gave a warning the first time. We also didn't have to give out surnames because, and I quote, they didn't pay us enough to put up with that.

Iwouldinmesack · 20-08-2018 03:55PM

Grayson wrote: »

Twice I had to talk to deaf people on calls. I'm sure you're aware of the process but for those that aren't...

The deaf person has a keyboard that they type stuff into. That goes to a separate centre where someone reads it out to me. I say something back and they type it in for the deaf person.

So I have to give very clear concise short sentences. And I have to wait each time for the reply.

One of the calls involved a guy who had a computer with the sound not working. He had a young child who could hear and the sound needed to be working for her. So I got him to do stuff to the computer and if it worked she would let him know there was noise.

Because of the length of time it took for the conversation the call went on ages. At one point my boss came over and said "You've been on that call a long time. Is everything ok" I said "I'm troubleshooting a soundcard with a deaf guy". He just looked at me for a second and said "Take all the time you need".

Deaf with a capital D , ie first language is Irish Sign Language.

Also when they demand the Deaf person talks into the phone to confirm identity, how belittling is that, if we could hear and talk wed do it ourselves rather than get someone to do it for us. Your boss would have been a right xxxx if he had said anything else to be honest. Life can be hard enough doing the small things people take for granted let alone individuals taking it on themselves to making things harder for us. If hearing people get frustrated dealing with Deaf people imagine how we feel, we are expected to understand a language day in day out which we have never heard.

Whatsisname · 20-08-2018 04:29PM

Worked in 2 in Waterford for a total of just under 2 years while I was in college. (Neither were Eishtec)

I've had people screaming at me, even threatening to take me, personally, to court. You become pretty immune to it quickly, then it just starts wearing you down day by day.

Absolutely soul destroying experience. Left the second place after having a panic attack on the floor. It left a lasting impression on my mental health and confidence in general.

A year on, I've relocated after college, got a job in my field and I'm appreciated by my bosses and my anxiety is almost non existent.

I genuinely can't understand how anyone can work in a call centre for years on end.

Grayson · 20-08-2018 05:14PM

Cows Go µ wrote: »

You'd be surprised. I was working in a call center for a phone insurance company and the abuse was unreal. Luckily it was for an English company but they certainly threatened to come find me for refusing a claim.

We were allowed to hang up after they swore at us twice so long as we gave a warning the first time. We also didn't have to give out surnames because, and I quote, they didn't pay us enough to put up with that.

The reason we had false names was because at one point a disgruntles customer drove his car into the lobby.

FanadMan · 20-08-2018 05:53PM

I spent my time in hell (or Dell as it was commonly known). We had the three strike rule for abusive language. Had to use that loads of times. But mostly for Irish customers - were the most ignorant and hateful. Had been threatened a few times that they'll come to HQ in Bray and sort me out. Not that that would work - I was based in Derry in an outsource company

Great think was we could leave these details on their records.

Greyfox · 20-08-2018 06:51PM

Whatsisname wrote: »

I genuinely can't understand how anyone can work in a call centre for years on end.

Over time you build up a very thick skin, you learn there's things you have to do and many things you can get away with not doing correctly or just waiting for the customer to call back again, you learn quickly that you cant do everything. Also you'll find that most people who work in c care are friendly and nice people as agents rely on a bit of banter with each other to get through the day.

fryup · 20-08-2018 09:09PM

BuboBubo wrote: »

My brother worked in a notorious call centre in Waterford.

talk talk?

Agricola · 22-08-2018 02:26PM

Whatsisname wrote: »

I genuinely can't understand how anyone can work in a call centre for years on end.

In my experience only two kinds of people can last. The ones that either are born with a thick skin or those that develop it.

I was a couple of years doing the job when my latest team leader (we tended to have a new one every 6 months) decided to give me some extra training by listening in on calls with a seasoned pro who'd be working in the place for absolutely ages. This girl had astonishing stats as a an agent, real model employee.
So after about half an hour I realized her secret. You treat the person on the other end of the line much the same way that many customer's treat agents....ie an obstacle to be overcome. She didn't engage in any way with them on a human level, sounded robotic, but efficient and spent every short call trying to find ways to extricate herself from the situation. I was astonished how adept she was at placating the caller, giving them reassurance and some instructions and then telling them to go away and try that out. They'd come on tearing their hair out and five minutes later be whistling.

If you can do that in a call centre, every situation is water off a duck's back and you can stay the course. If you let it get under your skin and every call is a chore, (as most were for me) you better be doing your best to get out of there or it will consume you.

ollkiller · 22-08-2018 02:48PM

Worked in a call centre for 3 months. No thank you. Next job was working the 999 lines for the fire service. Did it for 11 years. A small percentage of callers would be very abusive as they are in shock as they are calling. Now we had 4 months of training before we ever took a live call. You could say ANYTHING, and i mean literally anything on that call and i wouldn't react. I received vile abuse and it didn't bother me one bit. But that's because of the training.

There are tools to calm a caller down. One is repetitive persistence. Get the callers first name and repeat it to them 3 times in one or two seconds. Normally that will trigger a response to calm down. I do feel for people in customer care as there are people out there that there is no reasoning with at all. And if you find yourself worrying when you are at home about an abusive caller, just remember, you're not getting paid while you are at home so don't give it a second thought.

seamus · 22-08-2018 03:00PM

Did shop work and call centre work, as well as the usual support desk work after college.

People aren't that terrible tbh. It's a bit of a shock to the system I supposed when you're under 25, you haven't had that much exposure to the public and their craziness and you don't have the level head and self-confidence to deal with it. You take the crap way more personally than you should.

In hindsight these were all pretty cushy jobs, clock-in, clock-out, get paid, no real worries, no stress to take home with you.

If I were to win the lotto though, you'd never find me back in a call centre, mainly because of the repetitive nature of it. 100 calls a day, and half of them the same question, or the same request. Your brain turns to mush.

Have you ever worked in Customer Care?

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