My first reaction is that some of these are so outrageous that I started wonder if there was a little hyperbole in what the customer was relaying in their story. Sadly, the truth is that this stuff does happen, and some of them would be “grounds” for pretty swift action. And by “some”, I mean those where the rep did in fact “cop an attitude” and go outside of “common sense” protocol.

But I believe the bigger issue here is the process itself…from 3 angles:

1. in some cases, the process involved was so restrictive and non empowering, that it almost forced the type of robotic responses the customer received from the csr

2. In a few cases, it was probably the wrong process, the wrong script, the wrong behaviors, etc. that were instilled in the rep over time. And that’s culture and leadership driven and goes beyond the csr and perhaps even their direct supervision.

3. but IMO, most of this is driven because we don’t understand the customer drivers and behaviors enough to even begin to design a process that is effective.

#3 is such a big issue that if fully understood would cause a sea change in what customer service looks like in the years ahead.

There are some great reader comments a recent post that describe this in a bit more detail. If you go to http://epmedge.com and look at the first post on the page http://performancemanagementperspectives.wordpress.com/2011/02/26/a-customer-service-rant-rare-but-necessary/ —the comments as well as the article, you’ll get a feel for what I mean here.

But all in all- without these kinds of examples that you provide, there is unfortunately little catalyst in today’s market (except for losing a customer which unfortunately happens AFTER the fact) for addressing this NOW.

-b

With your permission, we would like to post this set of examples on our site, giving you full credit as the source. Our readers and members include CSRs and would find value

john.hogan@hospitalityeducators.com

Amazing how many CSRs still say “You’re not listening to me.” It has been, is, and will always be one of the killer phrases you never say to a customer. As for Twitter, your actions say it all!

Best wishes and thanks again for visiting and contributing to Smart SenseAbilities blog. I hope you will share your insights on any post of interest to you.

Have a super weekend.
Kate

1. Best Buy: after an hour on the phone merely trying to add our reward zone number to our bestbuy.com account, the CSR told me the best option was just to delete it and start over. Huh? An additional hour spent trying to contact them resulted in being transferred 7 times and then hung up on. It’s a simple request! I ended up getting on twitter and finding a rep…the situation was cleared up in 20 minutes.

2. AT&T: when we moved our office, I expressed that we needed to keep our lines the same and transfer them as they were already set up (fax = one number, phone = another, etc.). When they came and “installed” everything, it was all set up wrong. When I called, they said they could send someone out three days later. So the number that’s listed in the phone book/online/all of our paperwork is now the DSL line…no big deal. When I tried to explain that they hadn’t set it up right and needed to come back and fix it immediately, the CSR told me, “You’re not listening to me.” Instead of yelling at him, we just short paid our bill by those three days. That got the response I wanted!

Some CSRs don’t realize that they don’t hold the power they think they do. Sure, they’re the ones with the answers or solutions, but we’re the ones with the money!!

Many thanks for your contribution.
Kate

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Ace your Next Customer Service Moment!
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As for improving your English, ESL classes (English as a Second Language) can be very helpful. If you are here in the USA, you can take ESL through local community orgs. in the evening. Where are you located?

There is no doubt that someone who has passion for any job will most likely do it better than someone who doesn’t. Yet — I have sparked passion in many people who didn’t first see customer service work as a profession. It’s possible to tap people’s inner strength and passion when you don’t see it at first.

I do hope that we can chat at some point — no charge to you. Just want to see if I can share some insights. I can definitely turn overworked reps in to zealous agents.
Zappos did it and so can I.
Yours in service,
Kate

some CSRs really didnt know what they are talking about and that they sound so robotic over the phone and telling each and every customer the same and so generic spiel all over again…