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Does good customer service still exist?


Another Fan

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So I just got off the phone with an insurance company after an hour.  The whole call was a Who’s on First session where I got nowhere.

 

This seems to be a trend though almost everywhere.  Call centers I guess are outsourced overseas.  Had to vent before I Shout and not like after a BillsTD. 

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10 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

So I just got off the phone with an insurance company after an hour.  The whole call was a Who’s on First session where I got nowhere.

 

This seems to be a trend though almost everywhere.  Call centers I guess are outsourced overseas.  Had to vent before I Shout and not like after a BillsTD. 

  Seldom practiced and most companies don't give a darn.

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I have had good experiences recently with Delta Airlines customer service. 

Insurance is notoriously bad. 

TV cable/internet is the worst.

 

My wife yells at the people on the other end. I’m sure that helps... not. 

My son’s girlfriend is amazingly patient, but I’m not sure if her results are any better.

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5 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

I have had good experiences recently with Delta Airlines customer service. 

Insurance is notoriously bad. 

TV cable/internet is the worst.

 

My wife yells at the people on the other end. I’m sure that helps... not. 

My son’s girlfriend is amazingly patient, but I’m not sure if her results are any better.

As someone on the other end of the phone (in the United States btw), we do our best to help our customers but sometimes we're limited of what we can and can't do so even if we'd like to do more we just can't because of limitations with our systems and/or responsibilities. Yet working for the industry for close to 15 years not everyone is meant to be a call center employee either. And no, yelling won't do much to improve the situation. Patience is nice and might make the experience easier for you and the agent too. Yet it comes down to strong communication and understanding from both ends and usually things work out in the end.

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1 minute ago, The Jokeman said:

As someone on the other end of the phone (in the United States btw), we do our best to help our customers but sometimes we're limited of what we can and can't do so even if we'd like to do more we just can't because of limitations with our systems and/or responsibilities. Yet working for the industry for close to 15 years not everyone is meant to be a call center employee either.

Often it is obvious that the service person is constrained by things they can’t control.  I am respectful of this. 

I’m sure a service person has great stories of jerks on the phone. There must be a point at which the service worker just says “have a nice day” and hangs up. 

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5 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

Often it is obvious that the service person is constrained by things they can’t control.  I am respectful of this. 

I’m sure a service person has great stories of jerks on the phone. There must be a point at which the service worker just says “have a nice day” and hangs up. 

Some jobs won't let you hang up on a customer.

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33 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

So I just got off the phone with an insurance company after an hour.  The whole call was a Who’s on First session where I got nowhere.

 

This seems to be a trend though almost everywhere.  Call centers I guess are outsourced overseas.  Had to vent before I Shout and not like after a BillsTD. 

service is something i'm willing to pay for at this point in my life.  i'm just thinking of this because you mentioned insurance,  but i go through a private agency that runs the insurance for my business and home.  they only thing they don't cover is my disability.  the owner is fantastic.  he know me well, my family history, my business, etc.  if we ever have a problem, we just call over, give them a quick description of the issue, and they completely take care of it.  i've even been in his office when he calls other insurances to get claims moved through faster.  it's worth every cent.

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Went into a Field & Stream recently to purchase an item that was significantly cheaper on Amazon. I was ready for a fight, but they matched the price without even confirming that it was the same item (it was) at the price I quoted (it was). It’s rare to be believed and I found that refreshing.

 

had an issue w a grocery store lately and they dropped the ball at the store. I got a call from the DM and we talked for probably 30 minutes. He gave me time to say my piece, didn’t offer excuses and provided thoughtful answers. He offered me a GC at the end of the call & I thanked him but declined the offer. I just needed to “be heard” and that is something that most today won’t allow.

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I was hacked twice in one week - my credit card, then my bank/debit card a few days later.  Both the bank and the credit card company had fantastic customer service; I was very impressed.

 

I think the more prepared a consumer is when they make the call, the more smoothly the conversation goes.

 

Earlier in the year I had to call the company that manages my 401K.  Because of their error, my accountant calculated taxes incorrectly.  I got audited and ended up owing the state about $500.  The company had no answers and when I asked for the call to be escalated to a supervisor, I was placed on hold for about 20 minutes, then hung up on.  In the end, they basically admitted that it was their system that made the error, but there would be no refund given.  Great stuff.

 

I only call customer service when absolutely necessary.  I would say that 80% of my experiences are good ones.

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If you're trying to file a claim with an insurance company, an hour on the phone going in circles is just the beginning of the foreplay.    Prepare for many more hours of frustration, threatening to get an attorney, going back and forth and getting no where.

 

Advice is write down every single person's name you talk to, they hate it when you can recall who you spoke to and at what time.  Also write down what the conversation was about.   take notes.   Then ask to be escalated, ask for a manager, a supervisor, anything.  but move up the chain. 

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Kind of a tangent here, but I have Comcast cable. I have to call more than I would like to discuss billing, service interruptions, and such. Its usually a minimum of a 10-15 minute wait on the line before you get to speak with an individual. One thing I learned is that they seem to respond quicker when you choose "upgrade service" from the automated menu. I choose that then start complaining  as soon as someone picks up the line.

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7 minutes ago, Soda Popinski said:

If you're trying to file a claim with an insurance company, an hour on the phone going in circles is just the beginning of the foreplay.    Prepare for many more hours of frustration, threatening to get an attorney, going back and forth and getting no where.

 

Advice is write down every single person's name you talk to, they hate it when you can recall who you spoke to and at what time.  Also write down what the conversation was about.   take notes.   Then ask to be escalated, ask for a manager, a supervisor, anything.  but move up the chain. 

Thanks but sometimes that doesn’t help.  Supervisors will apologize and say on  that reference number you got the wrong info.  It does help though 

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2 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

Thanks but sometimes that doesn’t help.  Supervisors will apologize and say on  that reference number you got the wrong info.  It does help though 

Just make sure you write down the supervisor's information too.   That way when you call back you can ask for them specifically.  

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It's pretty bad in many cases, but sometimes it's because of the person complaining.

 

Many people try to take advantage of companies policies or customer service and they call in to complain to get something for less or free cause they know if you complain they will do it to keep you happy as a customer. And in some cases, companies dont care cause they either know you have little options for N alternative to them, or know that losing you as a customer wont affect their bottom line much so it's not worth dealing g with your issues.

 

Working at a KFC in my teens, I had someone come back and tell at me cause I didnt put paper plates and utensils in their bag that they never asked for (we had them but only gave them out when dining in or request them. I said sorry, you never requested them but I can give you some now and he went off on me saying I should have known he needed them and he has family waiting at a nearby park to eat but cant cause I never provided them plates and forks. After a few minutes of more yelling he asked to speak to my manager who I said would not be I  til tomorrow and he continued so I ended up giving him my managers home phone. He then asked to use our phone and because he had been so polite i told him employees only and theres a payphone across the parking lot. He got pissed and walked away. Then I get a call from the manager who tells me to give the guy 15 pieces of chicken and large fries for free to keep him happy (the guy kept telling me he expected something for free from me for my mistake). The manager said i did nothing wrong and handled it correctly, but he knew if this guy complained to head office they would just send him free stuff anyway. The guy then smugly expected an apology from me "because I was obviously wrong" and I told him to have a nice evening.

 

My friends mom was a manager at one of the other stores and she would get people all the time coming in to complain about things just cause they knew of they did, and threatened to go to head office, would get free things (like complaining a chicken sandwich wasnt cooked, but when asked to see it said they couldn't cause they ate it already)

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There is an entire sub culture of professional complainers, we were in Carrabbas for my son's birthday and it was half off appetizers but in the bar only, so the girl behind us and her bf made a huge stink at the end of the meal and talked about how their food took forever and all, which was complete BS we were getting our salads, apps, etc right along with them and the timing was perfect, but you have to complain about something to get it for free.  manager comped their drinks and apps.   

 

Really makes me irritated because  I have run a restaurant and it's amazing how many people are just looking for something for free.   And how absolutely stupid people can really be.   

 

Case in point we had $2 pints.   seems like a good deal right?  But no, people wanted 2 for 1 drafts and they whined and whined and whined for 2 months about how they want their 2 for 1 happy hour blah blah blah.   Alrighty, you asked for it.  We bought 10oz beer mugs, and racks for the dishwasher for them.   Raised the price to 3.95 a draft and sold you 2-10oz beers that were at least 1oz head for $3.95.   Instead of getting a 16oz pint for $2 bucks, they fought to pay an extra $1.95 for 3oz of beer "but served in two glasses, so you know i'm getting a better deal".   

 

Morons.   

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1 hour ago, RaoulDuke79 said:

The Chick Fil A's around here have great customer service, and from what I gather, most of them do.

Immediately thought of them (c'mon open on Sundays will ya!) and of course, Wegmans.

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