Customer service

[Zundfolge1432]

My wife worked customer service and more difficult client retention for a big insurance company. Nearly 20 years of dealing with ignorant and ill mannered public every day. You have no idea the abuse these people take and it’s not just customers. The company has stats which must be met like being tied to a headset so that anytime you need to leave they know how long you’re gone.

It got so bad middle age women got Dr. notes prescribing potty breaks for medical need. Think real hard before you talk shit to these people the next time. In the end all the jobs were offshored to India and she lost her job. But hey profits are up and that’s all that matters.

[KTPhil]

Yep, app and keystroke logging are common, as are bogus stats about "productive time" which means "if you aren't typing, you aren't working." a dubious equivalence for customer service. After all, if you are typing you aren't listening!

And they can turn on your camera and microphone remotely and block the indicator light on your computer so you don't know.

They are probably watching me type this at this very moment.

[Zundfolge1432]

She came home beat from dealing with assholes and you’ve got to rise above it. I wouldn’t have lasted a day before telling some rude hillbilly to piss off. She did persevere however being a top performer got us all expenses paid vacation with private concert in Las Vegas to see John mellencamp. Then we got Disney world the next year. It’s in the past and those jobs ain’t coming back

[Cusser]

Last week Mrs. Cusser bought some Oster Professional Animal Clippers for her horse. Today she went to use them, and the electric cord housing fell off, so she asked me what she was doing wrong. Well, some F-Tard at the factory had forgotten to install the two screws that hold that housing to the body of the clippers. Retail shop is 20 miles away, downtown.

So I called Oster, asked for technical support to find out the thread size and length of the two screws, so I could possibly pick up at Ace Hardware, F-Tard phone operator with thick accent won't transfer me, doesn't understand that I want the screw specifications. I ask to speak with her supervisor, after being on hold that doesn't happen, tells me to return the clippers to the store. I briefly explain (using Mr. Wonderful's voice from Shark Tank) that this will cost Oster money and effort, and such practice eventually leads to folks like her losing their jobs. I ask if Oster could mail me two screws, she says Oster doesn't do that. She says I could go on Oster's website and that might parts information about buyin g such part, I tell her that I'm not paying $9 shipping for 20 cent screws. I ask to speak to a man, doesn't happen.

Anyway, while this was going on, Mrs. Cusser calls the retail shop in town; the repair guy quickly agrees to send two screws in today's mail.

Anyway, I later check Oster's website, all that does is tell me to call Oster same number and get a service center !!! What F-Tards, my favorite new word !!!

The corresponding screws in her older - but still operational - clipper were about 3mm thread by 26mm long, but I don't know for sure if metric or not, or if the new clipper uses the same screws. So I waited, correct screws arrived next day. So Oster itself had super-sucky customer service, and local clipper place had great customer service, go figure.

As to IRS customer service, see https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=731802
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[Spezialist]

Increasing the incentives to deny any type of customer service, gunfights in the dealerships when the newest bubble pops, subprime auto lending!
Idiocracy IRL

Try buying a foreclosed home for $711,000,with a rat, trash, wrecked cars and motorbikes for decor. All of which has zero value, not even scrap.
Just saw it.
This old house on steroid, termites holding it all together.
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[bigdog1962]

I have always said that the place I work at needs to hire someone to cuss people out - both employees and customers.

My idea hasn't gone far yet.
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Oprn wrote: I'm getting to the age that any self propelled woman (no wheel chair or walker) looks HOT!! Oooo! look at that Babe! She made it from the dining room all the way to the TV room without help!! Hubba, hubba!!

[bluebus86]

Of course i have had horrible customer service representatives at tmes. Lie, cheat, delay, unfounded accusations etc... It goes both ways. I was always polite with them at AAA dealing with claims , Id dropped AAA auto,insurance after having to deal with to much of the horrible games they played trying to get out of paying legitimate claims.

Then I went with Safeco, very nice people, fast service, honest.

Disclaimer.... Your experience may be different. I wont go back to AAA, black listed by me.

Bug On!
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Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[calvinater]

If product fails to function properly Do Not return to place of purchase.
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"Albatross"!

[67 Florida Deluxe]

"Customer service" is an oxymoron. Usually. Sometimes, albeit rare, I have actually had a good customer service experience. Two weeks ago I called the water department at the City of St. Petersburg and inquired about an issue. After talking to her supervisor for a while (me on hold) she came on the line a and apologized that she was unable to find my answer. She asked if minded holding a little longer while she tried contacting a person in a different department. (Sure, why not!) A few minutes later, she came back on the line and apologized that person she was trying to reach was not answering. She said she would follow up with her and call me back (yeah, right ). Well that was a total waste of 20 minutes, I figured when I hung up. But later she actually DID call me back and filled me in on the details. WOW! That's rare.

But there are some companies that actually strive to provide outstanding customer service as a matter of routine. USAA is one of them. Whether for banking, lending or insurance, in the 30 years I've been a member, only ONCE have I ever encountered a snotty a$$hole, and she REALLY was! She was so heinous that I felt compelled to call back and speak with a supervisor about it. When I did, the supervisor said that she was just about to call me, as she was listening in on the conversation in real time and wanted to assure me that this person was going to be pulled out of rotation for "re-training." I've never had anything but outstanding service from Hagerty, too.

But don't get me started on the f-ing cable company. 180-degree opposite den of thieves and liars!
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-Kent (BaT "daleallen")

OG member of the '67 Posse

A few of my toys, past and present
'56 Oval, '66 KG Conv't, '67 21-Window, '67 Bug, '79 SuperVert, '55 Pre-A Continental

[Zundfolge1432]

Again I’d defer to someone with decades of experience in the business of customer service, my wife. Here’s why you have a bad experience, first you get the automated system which requires you to input numbers and follow a menu all while a patronizing voice tells you “ please pay attention as our options have changed” and “ your call is important to us it will be answered in the order in which it was received” these statements are bullshit and are meaningless and they waste time as we’d rather speak to a live person who speaks English.

The people working the call center have stats as in mentioned earlier but the main one is get you off the phone as quickly as possible, average handle time.
Followed by breaks, time off phones. After call work, start times. Compulsory checklist for each caller, using multiple systems simultaneously during the call to answer questions.

The biggest problem was defusing already angry customers who had been on hold too long and making them happy. Client retention was even more challenging as you are taking people wanting to cancel policies and try to talk them out of it.

You can blame the cheap ass businesses that off shore the jobs to a foreign call center because they refuse to hire Americans to answer the damn phones. Blame them not the poor bastards answering phones.

[67 Florida Deluxe]

[60ragtop]

[hitest]

20 years ago I attempted to work for the local service center of a large regional bank. I applied there after my dad retired after his lifelong career there (59-96). My job was to co-supervise a dept. of data entry and dealer-communications specialists who received and provided the data entry of car/boat/RV loan applications from all over the west.

In the time I worked I developed automotive booking training and challenges that helped increase entry operator accuracy- the loan officers dug me. I helped increase our dept's accuracy from 96 something to 98.5% consistently. This was really something I was very proud of.

After a year and a half the bank was positioning themselves for a merger and had to demonstrate cheaper operational costs everywhere- so you guessed it, they tried to outsource a percentage (channeling roughly 20%) of loan apps to Juarez, Mexico. Accuracy of typed apps dropped us below 90% almost immediately and never recovered. Car dealers would receive approval from rival banks in a fraction of time. Dealerships called and complained constantly because of unnecessary denials all over- for all variety of D/E reasons possible. Loan apps once digitized ALL went through Equifax/Transunion/Experian credit risk processors so erroneously declined apps were a big deal to those declined- and bad info allowed apps through that should never have. Loan officers screamed all the way to SLC.

I was warned my job would be gone in 3 months because we would reduce staff by 30% by November in prep fro a merger. No problem- I returned to private sector and never looked back. Bank merger- unsuccessful (not just because of car loan decisions of course). Acquisition by bigger bank almost immediately- full and ghastly for the survivors. And with that the name of a bank known out here for decades was taken off the buildings a few months later. I was relieved my dad got out of there 4 years prior.
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[andk5591]

Wellllllll...let me tell ya...I owned a telephone answering service for just under 25 years (sold January 2019). And we did customer service related work as well as various emergency calls. We were not real big. Handled around 4000 calls a day 24x7.

The abuse that my staff would take was unreal at times. But most callers were good and some were great. I went through the era when a lot of of calls started getting outsourced to overseas centers. Depending on what someone was willing to pay dictated the quality of the center.

We also went through the transition to using more and more remote agents. (I had agents in 3 states) There is an industry that just hires and trains agents for places like Home depot and many others. Interesting stuff. Keep in mind, these are not big paying jobs. Many remote agents are making maybe 12-20/hr (no benefits typically). But you can work in your bunny slippers and PJs.

Anyway, its becoming less common for the person you are talking to to actually be at whatever facility you are calling and they are limited by the information they are given to work with. Like, you can't run down to the warehouse and look at a part or ask Bill if this fits on this.

Given that I understand how it works, I am amazed at times at how good some of the agents are in helping me. And I appreciate that and make sure to rate them if given the chance. BUT phone is like social media. People can choose to be total dicks. And also the company you are calling has choices on who they hire to answer their phone.

If you legitimately have an issue with the agents performance, then you should contact the company. BUT I have also taken those kind of calls where the caller wanted to speak to the manager and they said how rude my agent was. They gave my agent a hard time and sounded like a drunken sailor and when I got on the phone with them, it was Dr Jekyl and Mr Hyde. They were sweet and mellow.

One of the best ones was a nurse calling for one of our Drs. My client called the next morning complaining about how we handled the call. Since we recorded all calls, I brought it up on the voice logger and just let the client listen to it along with me (I had no idea what happened on the call, so it was the first time I heard it myself). The nurse was a total bitch and would not supply the information that we needed and instead of us getting the info and dispatching the Dr within a minute an a half, she gave us a hard time for almost 5 minutes. Our client had the nurses supervisor contact us about it and we never had another issue with that nurse...LOL.

Anyway, more than you wanted to know, but thought I would educate you on how this actually works...And this is one of the reasons I love CIP1. "Hang on Andy, let me run to the warehouse and see if that fits" I'll call you back in a couple...."
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There's more, but not keeping them...

[Zundfolge1432]

Hagerty Insurance is popular among collectors and although they’ve grown over the years I still call them once a year to renew the auto policy on my
74 bug.

Yes I could just do it online but I prefer to touch base and always find myself talking to a local rep in or around Traverse City Michigan where the company is based. I have been there and have cousins living nearby so we end up bullshiting about tourism and the cherry festival, Grand Traverse Bay etc.

They don’t try to rush you off the phone but we can get it all done in about 5 minutes and both happy. Not everyone has abandoned taking care of customers.
On the other side ATT is a cluster fuk.

[bluebus86]

the latest trend is to include no instructions on how to set up or operate things you buy, no owners manual included. Now you have to go to some website and hope the answers are there. Google is one of the worst. Apple is pretty bad too.

Even my Trek bicycle came with no owners manual. they want to have you go to their website for info.
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Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[Cusser]

[iowegian]

[djkeev]

I'm in the process of switching insurance companies to another big name nation wide company.

Their online firm is 600 (exaggeration) questions which I answer.

The human I talk to next is pleasant enough, knows my name and address but begins to ask the exact same questions I just spent time answering online! What the heck?

The waste in these automated phone and online systems is annoying at best.

I've begun to just push zero at the beginning of any automated telephone response.
It almost always quickly gets me a human.

Dave
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Ghia
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=392473

Vanagon
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6315537#6315537

Beetle
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=482968&highlight=74+super+vert

[Manfred58sc]

Don't worry AI answering platforms are already being sold and implemented in test markets. Customer service work is on the corporate hit list. Why pay the 3rd world pennies per hour when you can buy an AI program for far less. Then we can all cuss out the programs without hurting anyone's feelings. The insurance industry must be the most hated in American society ( for good reason), and the poor employees bear the brunt to the abuse.
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