Call centres - what the **** is going on?

Ajnag · 09-03-2005 09:17PM

Lol, Stupid humans.

One thing about call centers epecially the tech is the no. of cynical pissed off grad's who came out of college expecting a better job.

Cant say I blame them, especially considering the attitudes of people. A couple of friend's are running a small computer business, repairs, installs, builds etc. They get the most ideotic of calls, people asking which buttons to press etc, **** that distracts them from their real bread and butter pay.

Now if thats just one small business.....Imagine a call center servicing 2 or more countrys :eek:

Hopefully net support will supercede call centers in the future, till then be nice, cos chances are the guy who called before you just gave the worker blood presure and reduced their life expectancy by twenty years.

samo · 09-03-2005 09:36PM

dublindude wrote:

Finally, you really think call centres attract intelligent people?

Call centres are for people who cannot get a better job.

Note: my rant is aimed at customer service type positions, not technical positions. Although you canno blame the customer for being non-technical.

to be honest - if thats the attitude you convey when calling someone in a call centre I'm not suprised they are doing absolutely zlich to help you.

I've worked in customer service for 10 years on and off and am very good at this type of work which as its been pointed out certainly has its downsides and can vouch 100% you get NOTHING through the attitude that you have shown. I would go out of my way to help someone with a complaint put fairly and without ranting and raving and telling me that I have a crap job.

I suggest the next time you ring ask calmy for a supervisor and dont take it out on the person that immediately answers your call, if you cant get a resolution with the immediate person your speaking too - ask for it to be esclated and without resorting to the old standard 'i'll ring pat kenny'!

Also dont underestimate or assume you are more skilled or intelligent than the person that is on the end of the phone, its not a nice trait and it's actually a tough thing to do call centre work and be good at it, precisely because of the emotions involved in dealing with a stroppy customer.

In my experience - Its very difficult to help a person with a negative attitude

RuggieBear · 09-03-2005 09:58PM

I'm always as nice as possible to call centre staff as i did it for a little while and found it to be the most miserable experience of my working life (admitedly i was cold calling people

) But in Jan i moved into a flat and had to deal with Eircomical and NTL and i found it exasperating.

It took 5 phone calls to eircom to get my phone line reconnected....each time being given a diferent ecuse and cause of why there were prolblems...

As for NTL....i asked for the NTL to be reconnected...i was told this would necesitate an €50 charge and an engineer to call out. They were unable to tell me why i needed an engineer to come and reconnect me as everything was there. She just splutered something about quality control...

I then had to wait over 2 weeks for the engineer to call me and make an apointment. All he did was connect the cable to the tv....and that required an engineer

samo · 09-03-2005 10:21PM

I've had bad experiences too with eircom and NTL - especially NTL - was incredibly nice to a girl that was an absolute cow to me. Then sent a long and detailed letter of complaint to NTL and ended up getting an apology, compensation and exactly what I wanted off them.

At no stage did i lose the head with them though becuase experience has taught me it wont get you want you want! A well worded complaint either over the phone or by letter/email is definitly the most effective method but is a shame it should come to that alright. (Contradicting myself from previous post I know

)

Having said that, in retrospect Eircom are a true test of even the nicest persons patience!

tSubh Dearg · 09-03-2005 11:44PM

dublindude wrote:

Call centre jobs are not difficult - completing a task for a customer is not difficult.

Very annoying.

AARRRGH.

/RANT OVER

Call centre jobs are one of the most stressful jobs around, thats a well known fact. Dealing with idiots all day is extremely tiring and when your dealing with generic problem #632 from random moron #46 of the day youre not likely to be giving the most cheerful upbeat support. Chances are your head is splitting from spending TEN GOD DAMN MINUTES TRYING TO SHOW SOME RETARD HOW TO CLICK ON THE START BUTTON.

very annoying

aaaargh

/rant over

^Deadwing posting from tsub's laptop

billy the squid · 10-03-2005 01:25AM

the only way you will get the lazy bastards in eircom off their arse is if you pester the wrong department repeatedly until they get up off of their arse and do as you ask just to get rid of you

works every time.

and im sorry to all eircom employees who read the boards, im sure some of you are quite nice, unfortunately not all of ye are.

Kernel · 10-03-2005 09:25AM

tSubh Dearg wrote:

Call centre jobs are one of the most stressful jobs around, thats a well known fact. Dealing with idiots all day is extremely tiring and when your dealing with generic problem #632 from random moron #46 of the day youre not likely to be giving the most cheerful upbeat support. Chances are your head is splitting from spending TEN GOD DAMN MINUTES TRYING TO SHOW SOME RETARD HOW TO CLICK ON THE START BUTTON.

very annoying

aaaargh

/rant over

^Deadwing posting from tsub's laptop

In fairness Deadwing, that's not a great attitude you are displaying, with regard to the customer. Calling customers idiots and morons because they need support doesn't really reflect well on call centre workers.

I also worked in a call centre, and know that it is a difficult job, but usually more so for angry irate customers complaining about things I couldn't change (out of warranty, non supported hardware or OS), throwing personal abuse at me. I never thought of the less PC literate callers as being stupid in any way, after all, many people are not too hot at using their PC's, but have different skills and are still highly intellectual, and even those few who were geniunely dim were still entitled to help.

If those people didn't call for support, there wouldn't be as many jobs in the centres, and you may not have a job then. When someone buys something they usually also pay for support from the company, whether they use it or not, so they are paying your wages.

Call centers are non-unionised sweat shops of modern day, where unfortunately, dubguy, the emphasis is put on volume of calls and low call duration rather than quality. The guy with the great stats who fobs off all the customers gets the pay rise. Crappy wages + squeezing more work out of staff = less cost for support, which increases profit margins for the shareholders.

With corporations being run the way they are, the emphasis is on the customer only in so far as the profit margins are not affected (by really crap support). It's worked out on quality of service vs cost. And if they save more money by providing a crap service than they lose by you taking your business elsewhere, then they go with the crap support option. Profit margins rule the world nowadays, because corporations are ruled by the shareholders, and if the profits aren't increasing every year, then neither is investment in the company/share price.

_blank_ · 10-03-2005 11:37AM

Call centre (technical) worker checking in.

Stop throwing stuff at me

Yeah, some customers are complete morons, but that is to be expected in any walk of life, and frankly is no excuse for crap service given to any customer.

If a customer comes on and is screaming the odds at me, of course it is not out of the blue for the customer, however it is for me. I have to assess the situation as I see it, then decide if I can personally help the customer. If I can't (for whatever reason, not my section, not my companies problem, whatever), it is not my fault, but the customer does not want to hear this, but it is all that I can say. What else can I do? I am not allowed to support customers who call in to the wrong line. Simple as that. I don't want to lose my job.

Sometimes customers are not as experienced with the product I support as others are, no problem, I will talk anyone through whatever problem they have, even if it means asking them to click on the start button ten times before they actually realise where it is. I prefer these calls, as it means I am not talking to someone who is going to abuse me. Sure, it might take 50 minutes for a call that I know I can fix in 5, but hey, everyone is different. I can't perform heart surgery, some people can't use a computer as well as me. As someone else said, swings and roundabouts.

What I cannot stand however is a customer who comes on the line and starts using jargon and the like in an attempt to sound like they know what they are doing, when it is plainly clear they don't. I have two approaches to this. The first involves using some obscure term, that will normally stop them in their tracks, and get them to listen. The other is to begin talking quite quickly, using the same terms they used to me. They cannot keep up, and eventually allow me to go at my pace, and get the problem sorted.

What is worse, by far, is people who simply do not follow the instructions I give them. If I say "Click A" they click on B, or worse Z. I don't know what drives people to do this, but it is not nice when it happens, and is nearly impossible to get problems fixed. We have fixed procedures, that work, if customers would accept this, then everything runs smoothly, but if a customer is not willing to co-operate then what can be done?

I work in the same call centre as one other poster to this thread, and he will back this up. The turnover of staff is immense, and yes, call volumes probably take preference over quality of service, and there is nothing can be done about this. I have to follow the instructions of my managers, if not I won't have a job.

Sometimes it is incompetent staff, but most of the time it is not the point of contact that is the problem, but the procedures they have to follow if they are to stay in a job. These procedures are handed down by management.

Keyzer · 10-03-2005 12:05PM

Dublindude has some good points...

Customer service support seems to me to be rubbish.
Example, I ring a credit card company to cancel a card which had some credit on it. I asked for the credit to be transferred to my bank account and then the card to be cancelled. 5 days later I rang back to check what was happening, the new person I spoke to said that nothing had been processed on my account, so I repeated what I want done (in a nice and friendly manner) and the girl told to wait 3 days and the money would be in my account.
3 days later I receive a cheque (a fvcking cheque? no mention of a cheque in either call) which took another 5 days to clear. The card was eventually cancelled. I then rang back and asked for a statement to be posted to me as I need the statement to claim expenses in work. That was 3 weeks ago and I still haven't received my statement.

Technical Support I think is different to customer service support purely because you actually need to be tech savvy to do the job, other wise you will fail miserably.
I've worked in a tech support centre for 5 years (was on the phones for 2 of those). I was supporting the companies employees, and I would say the majority of people who called had some basic computer knowledge but ask them to do anything out of the blue and they are stumped (eg instruction - open windows explorer / reply - ok I have internet explorer open, what do you want me to do now? They never use windows exlporer so immediate;y think you said internet explorer etc.etc.). The amount of people who were clueless and people who were **** hot and didnt much guidance was about the same imo.

Anyhoo, where I work is comparable to a customer service centre in terms of attitudes. I have seen some people here do some terrible things with customers (hang up on them, talk to them like crap etc.) and I have seen people who will literally go to the end of the world to help and solve someones problem, Im sure this is the same in Cust Service Support.
Its like every job, you have crap people and really good people in the workplace....

bbblueyes · 10-03-2005 12:58PM

Dublindude,
I hear where you are coming from. I read your original post and I gathered that you were not bashing call centers because they didn't do enough for you. They didn't do what you had asked them to do. Keyzer's right, every job has some really crap people along with its really good people. Unfortunately, I think they keep the good people locked up and away from the customers. Just kidding. You just can't seem to actually land one of them on the phone.
The insult contest here has just made this thread worth closing. People are getting all sensitive and seem to be jumping in half way through without actually understanding what Dublindude had written. If you are posting on this thread and defending call centers, chances are, you are not the idiots that Dublindude is referring to. These mental giants that he seems to be encountering are ones who obviously couldn't give 2 sh!ts about their jobs.
I just hung up with a great person regarding my cell phone service. And yet earlier, wanted to burn down my bank due to the idiot in customer service. What can you do? It's good and bad, yin and yang. Unfortunately, it seems like we run into a little too much yang.

RuggieBear · 10-03-2005 04:57PM

actually i was just on to eircom this morning re: another issue, and i got through in a minute, and spoke to a lovely person who actually answered my query and had the problem fixed within 5 minutes of hanging up...nice one!!

_blank_ · 10-03-2005 05:22PM

No bother.

Calibos · 10-03-2005 10:01PM

I've a mate who works in a call centre of a mobile network and he told me a story about 1 of their guys who was dealing with an irate customer. Effing and blinding like a trooper. The call centre guy tried to remain calm but when the customer told him that he knew where he lived and was going to burn his house down, he lost it "Listen mate, you don't have a F**king clue who I am or where I live. On the other hand from our records I see that you are Mr X from 21 Y road. I coming round tonight to shove my foot up your a**e you ignorant f**k etc etc. Some of the other staff had been listening in to his side of the conversation and he got a standing ovation.......still got sacked though!!

:D

bbblueyes · 10-03-2005 10:20PM

LOL. I've always dreamt of going off on a customer. I'm not in a call centre but any job that deals with the public has those moments. I'm so jealous. I know it's not good and proper, but f**k that if the person is a genuine @ss.

jonny68 · 10-03-2005 10:28PM

FFS stop bitching you bunch of fannys..RELAX...... :eek: :rolleyes:

_Kaiser_ · 10-03-2005 10:57PM

Having worked in Tech Support in different Callcentres for the past 8 years now at various levels, here's my read on the whole thing...

It's all about metrics: call volumes, average call duration, fix rate, and yes, customer satisfaction does usually figure in there too.

But these metrics are rarely static and the emphasis regularly shifts from one to another (so one month you might have to take x number of calls a day, the next month it's about solving the problem on the first call even if it takes longer, etc).

The tech has no say in these targets, and as someone mentioned, if they don't meet them consistently it won't be too long before they themselves are looking for another job.

The most difficult customers are not those who "don't have a clue". Those customers are usually very nice, will do what you tell them, and while it may take longer to resolve the problem, they are generally much more appreciative of the effort you put in (even if you don't solve it there and then).

The people who think they know more than you are harder to deal with. As someone said, usually this can be dealt with by (subtly) proving them wrong and then you can get on with fixing whatever the problem is, but having to spend maybe 10-15 minutes reminding them who called whom can get very frustrating.

The worst are those who come on complaining (ranting optional) and not even listening to you as you attempt to explain the situation and give them their options.

These people may have a legitimate complaint, but having to listen to someone shouting and giving out about you, the company, the last person/department they spoke to (I mean, what do they expect - even if you happen to agree with them, you can't SAY that... most of the calls are monitored for "quality purposes" remember).

This attitude only serves to alienate the tech - as aside from being human nature really, unless the customer is being verbally abusive, the tech will generally just have to sit there and listen to it - and if anything means that resolving the problem will only take longer while they try to calm the customer down.

As a tech this is where the real stress and frustration lies. There is generally a set of procedures for everything, and they usually DO work, but the tech has little leeway in how these are used so screaming and shouting at them isn't going to help. This is also why the average "shelf life" of a tech is about 6 months to a year.

I suppose really you could sum it up as "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

Just my 2c.....

AARRRGH · 11-03-2005 10:12AM

Thank you all for your comments...

I just had another call centre experience unfortunately.

I finally managed to cancel the correct credit card and get the incorrectly cancelled one reactivated.

I rang AIB 24 hour online and asked them to remove the defunct card from my 24 hour online account. "No problem sir, that will be done in a moment. Thank you for calling..."

That was yesterday. This morning the credit card is still there (a second phone call managed to get rid of it.)

Seriously now, what's going on...

Saying "the girl mustn't have understood me" is balls because she told me she was going to do it. If she misunderstands (which I know she didn't) she would ask for clarification.

...

Fysh · 11-03-2005 10:27AM

Can't say for definite since I neither use nor work for AIB, but...

I know from several friends in the UK that a while ago BT were involved in a rather dodgy scheme where, if you called up to cancel your broadband service from them, they would automatically transfer you to someone in sales who basically tried to convince you to stay with the company. Given AIB's behaviour over the last couple of years, it wouldn't surprise me if they deliberately drag their feet over cancelling your cards as a matter of policy rather than incompetence.

I'd suggest ringing up, asking for the names of the people who have last made changes to your account (there *will* be records, so that any mistakes can be tracked) and then ask to speak to a supervisor to discuss why it's taking so long. They might try and fob you off with the idea of making a formal complaint in writing; if so, take all the details and do it.

Sucks a bit, but it's the only way you'll get any satisfaction out of them...

BuffyBot · 11-03-2005 11:11AM

Seriously now, what's going on...

As all their calls are recorded, why don't you ask to speak to a supervisor and have them listen to the call? That might clarify exactly what went on...

_blank_ · 11-03-2005 11:23AM

BuffyBot wrote:

As all their calls are recorded, why don't you ask to speak to a supervisor and have them listen to the call? That might clarify exactly what went on...

That is misinformation.

ComReg do not allow the recording of calls to Premium Rate lines, because customers, by law, have to be informed that calls are being recorded.

What this means is that a recorded message is played to the customer, for this to happen the call has to be "answered" by the recorded message so it kicks in. On premium rate lines, this means the customer could be left in a queue on a premium rate line, which is illegal. The customer should only be charged for time spent actually talking to a person.

If any of the lines you call are 1890 numbers, then they can be recorded, but 15xx numbers are premium rate, so therefore not recorded.

BuffyBot · 11-03-2005 11:29AM

seansouth wrote:

That is misinformation.

ComReg do not allow the recording of calls to Premium Rate lines, because customers, by law, have to be informed that calls are being recorded.

What this means is that a recorded message is played to the customer, for this to happen the call has to be "answered" by the recorded message so it kicks in. On premium rate lines, this means the customer could be left in a queue on a premium rate line, which is illegal. The customer should only be charged for time spent actually talking to a person.

If any of the lines you call are 1890 numbers, then they can be recorded, but 15xx numbers are premium rate, so therefore not recorded.

Ermm, AIB telephone banking is an 1890/1850 number not a premium rate....

_blank_ · 11-03-2005 11:30AM

BuffyBot wrote:

Ermm, AIB telephone banking is an 1890/1850 number not a premium rate....

Ermmm, I didn't know that.

AIB are so good I've never had to ring them.

the_syco · 16-03-2005 01:47PM

Ajnag wrote:

Hopefully net support will supercede call centers in the future, till then be nice, cos chances are the guy who called before you just gave the worker blood presure and reduced their life expectancy by twenty years.

It'll never happen. Mainly cos most of the calls are about the computer not working, so how can they access the net if the computer is broken. Accidently told the customer about the online help facitlity, and the customer gave me a torrent of abuse, as her computer didn't work.

=-=

A stupid user is someone who rings up, knows nothing about the problem, and when you give the user an instruction, the user does something totally different.

=-=

For those complaining about us not being able to do our job; I came across a few problems I didn't know how to fix. All settings were correct, nothing wrong with PC or modem, line OK, no errors... and yet I'm still meant to be able to fix it.

=-=

In-house support; good. You can help the customer, and in 6 months of working there, never came across a problem I couldn't fix. Public support; bad. Regualrly came across problems i couldn't fix.

Public; One problem I couldn't fix, customer got very irate, wanted only to speak with my supervisor. Supervisor went through all the steps I went through. Still couldn't fix it. Customer was happy with that.

In-house; Couldn't fix a problem at first, customer stayed calm, was able to fix it eventually.

Elmo · 16-03-2005 02:02PM

I have personally worked in a Call Centre, and I never want to work in a call centre again.

I am also of the opinion that you should treat people with respect who represent the company on the phone: -

1. They're not that well paid
2. The company cares as much about them as they do about you
3. They have stupid rules place no them such as "this is an incoming call centre", no I am sorry but this is A customer Call centre.
4. And they've probable had one or two ****heads on the phone to them already today.

My experience of call centre on the customer end is not so good either. Call centre have no physical attachment to you the customer, thus you generally get the feeling that procedure is the rule and there are no exceptions to the rule. And from work in a call centre I feel the whole conveyer belt system at work any time I call.

ME: - Why does a technician have to come to the house?
Eircom: - I don't know

I could not get a reply to that question from eircom and had to fork over 120 euro to them for a reconnection.

Also I don't trust call centres in Ireland since the government gives good grants for call centres in Ireland.

Call centres - what the **** is going on?

Comments