Being constantly in contact with people who call or write because they have a problem can be a stressful job. When I gave customer service reps the chance to speak up about their experiences, they talked without inhibitions. Customer conversations can highlight funny moments - and embarrassing ones.
Here’s the skinny:
1. We are very impatient and often expect a resolution before we’ve given them a chance to find out what the problem is. Pity they don’t read minds.
2. We don’t listen very well. Repeating the same stuff a couple of times does not seem to work either.
3. We expect that all will be solved in a nanosecond, even when the problem is complex and beyond our comprehension.
4. Despite all this talk about conversation, we’re still pretty much tuned into one channel: ours.
5. We can be very inappropriate about the details we share on ourselves. Need to know is a beautiful thing.
6. The most discouraging thing is when we don’t believe them or trust them.
7. We sometimes call for really trivial things that we could deal with easily if we took the time. Still, we don’t want to.
8. A forum or online support site often contains more information than any one rep can give us. We call anyway.
9. We don’t let them diagnose the problem. That makes the solution a mismatch if we were wrong.
10. It is sometimes easier to give us advice and point us in a direction than it is to explain that all is well, there is no problem.
11. We have unrealistic expectations of what customer service reps can do for us besides helping with the problem that was the reason for our call.
12. The potential for a shouting match or a rude line is always looming in the background. That makes for an uneasy conversation. They know it, you know it.
13. We all think that all customer service reps know everything there is to know about our use of their services. Depending on the company’s diagnostic tools in place, they may not.
14. The best customer service reps are those who are not afraid to say “I don’t know” and set out to find out. We don’t think so.
15. At least one third of all answers we get are coaxed out from sheer insistence. If we were more patient, we’d get better information.
16. Although they do not cry on the phone with you, they can have some pretty depressing days because of you.
17. We are often already biased towards them because of a past experience with the company they work for.
18. We sometimes expect they solve problems that relate to the products or services offered by other companies.
19. We hang up a lot.
20. They rely on management to make the changes required. We often put them between a rock and a hard place.
21. They know that we will make the time to take customer satisfaction surveys to say how bad the service was, but not take the time to explain how good it was.
On the other hand, we could easily modify this list to make it about them. What does that say about us?
[reposted from a post I authored for FastCompany.com]
[image by Caro's Lines]
© 2006-2009 Valeria Maltoni. All rights reserved.
Awesome.
We could be personally responsible, make a real effort to resolve the issue using the internet or an actual conversation with someone who'd like to help, or we could just pick up the phone and yell at the next person who picks up.
(Of course, those damned automated, "Press 1 for English, Para servicio en espanol, por favor oprima el numero dos," systems do a good job of getting you good and pissed before an actual human being the company hasn't really empowered to fix the problem or otherwise engage in a real conversation beyond a script gets on the line...)
Posted by: Brian Driggs | November 09, 2009 at 08:42 AM
This is all true and our microwave mentality, microblogs and the like really adds fuel to the fire. Breathe Deep!
Posted by: Kelly Cotiaux | November 09, 2009 at 02:22 PM
@Brian - well played! With so many posts about the customer's side of the story, the service rep's side had to be told. Empathy is a quality I've come to appreciate more and more, esp. as things got a lot tougher for everyone for various reasons.
@Kelly - we cannot help but recognize that as customers we can be a pretty sorry bunch indeed. Thank you for stopping by and welcome to the conversation.
Posted by: Valeria Maltoni | November 09, 2009 at 07:43 PM
@Valeria - Thank you. I've been on both sides of the phone and I handle myself on the phone accordingly. I recognize that the person on the other end did not, personally and willfully, set about my ruination, nor do I presume they have the authority to completely solve the problem.
As much as I wish it were so (the latter, that is), when I find myself calling a company with a problem, I do my best to convert the voice on the other end to my side. Not so much to see that I'm right and their organization is wrong, but to be the one person they talk to that day who isn't an asshole to them. Without them, I have no means of resolution, so I want to be sure I can give them whatever they need to help me. That can be the difference between someone pulling a sting to hook things up or putting you back on hold for the next level II associate.
PS - When Tmobile went down last week, I received excellent service when I called to find out why my wife's phone wasn't working. I was so impressed that, after seeing all the dullards and hood rats lambasting Tmo on Twitter, I made a point of calling back just to tell someone "on the inside" thank you and to hang in there because they were doing a damn good job. :)
Posted by: Brian Driggs | November 09, 2009 at 07:53 PM
This gave me a good chuckle as I have been both on the giving and receiving end of the list and can relate. Often times when a customer calls, they have it in their mind that they are always right and so will do whatever they think will get there service work without realizing the reps cannot just simply push a button and fix things.
@brian I love Tmobile's customer support! They are some of the friendliest most helpful reps I've ever dealt with. More companies' support needs to be like them.
Posted by: Jimmy | November 11, 2009 at 06:51 PM