How to get what you want from Customer Service
I spent several years in telephone customer service. I got into it because I liked helping people with their problems. I worked for a major satellite company and did turns as general customer service, technical support, and supervisor handling what we called "escalated" calls. The supervisory postition was the best.
This is the scenario, generally:
Customer calls about let's say...pay-per-views on their bills that they did not order. They get to general customer service and the rule is that we do not refund pay-per-views. We are certain that they were ordered, because we kept very good track of that sort of thing. Most likely, Junior was exporing his sexuality and didn't realize that mom would find out about it. Junior says, "I didn't do it!" and mom believes him and suddenly it's a random mistake on the part of the satellite company.
Call escalates.
I get it.
Me: Thank you for holding. This is Daniel, I'm a supervisor. I've been briefed on the issue by the representative you just spoke to. But just to be sure, why don't you explain the problem to me.
Customer: There's a $10 pay per view on my bill, and I didn't order it.
Me: Ok, let me take a look. (looking) Yep, here it is. Looks like someone ordered "The Boobies of Madison County" at 2:30 am on June 3rd.
Customer: No we didn't! My husband and I were sleeping at that time.
Me: Is there anyone else in your household?
Customer: Just my son, but he would never do anything like that. He's only 15.
Me: (to self) ok...he's a boy going through the horniest part of puberty...porn is the furthest thing from his mind. (to customer) Well. This pay per view was ordered by the remote control from the access card which is labeled "Bobby's Room."
Customer: No, that's some kind of mistake.
Me: Well there is one way to find out. Why don't we go into bobby's room and I'll show you how to look at his order history. Pay per view orders are recorded by the box, so there is no way that those things can have been put there by accident.
Customer goes into Bobby's room and and sure enough, Bobby has ordered the movie. I walk Mom through how to block Bobby's access to X-rated movies, or alternatively, how to block his access to any pay-per-view.
Usually this ends the conversation, with Mom indicating that Bobby is going to have an unpleasant discussion when he arrives home from school.
Occasionally, Mom will ask that the charge be removed. As a supervisor I have the right to offer what I will call a "One Time Pay Per View Credit." I tell her, now that she has been informed of how to keep this sort of thing from happening again, I will offer her the aformentioned credit. Which will appear on her next bill.
We're all happy. Mom's more educated about how to use the equipment and less naive about the sexual proclivities of her son.
I told you that story to tell you this one:
There are some things that are universally true in the land of customer service. One of which is the "Sir" or "Ma'am." If you get that, in an exasperated tone of voice, you know that you aren't going to get very far with this representative, and it's likely your fault. If you want your problem solved, heed this list:
1. If you are unreasonable, no one will help you. If you piss off the representative on the phone they will not go out of their way to help you. They will close their ears and stop listening to you and say things like "Sir" or "Ma'am" and you'll get that tone of voice. At this point you might as well hang up.
2. Don't be arrogant. Saying "I make 10 times more money than you do." or does not endear the person you are talking to. It makes them resent you. Also, don't say things like, "I've been on hold for 45 minutes! I make $300 an hour, are you going to reimburse me for that?" their thought will be "I have to deal with jerks like you for a living, are you going to reimburse me for that?" They will not help you.
3. Don't threaten the representative. Don't tell them about lawyers or senators or attorney's general. They don't care. This affects the representative in no way whatsoever. The company has legal departments for this sort of thing.
4. Don't yell at, swear at, or insult the representative. They will not help you.
5. DO be calm.
6. Do understand that the representative has NO CONTROL over the company's rules and regulations. If they say that they cannot do anything about your problem, thank them for their trouble and ask if you might speak to a supervisor.
7. If you are kind to the representative, then they will fight for you. They may even put you on hold and talk to their supervisor to plead your case. Most supervisors are reasonable people and will do what they can to help you.
8. Supervisors aren't omnipotent either, however. So if they say that they can't do anything, they probably can't. Ask if there is a manager you can speak to. They will likely say that their manager is not available. Ask if their manager can call you.
9. Don't be frivolous. We had a guy who would call in every month to get the sales tax taken off of his bill. His beef was with the government. It was like 35 cents. We'd just do it, but it was annoying and eventually there was a note from a manager telling reps not to refund it anymore. I got that escalation. The customer cancelled his account over 35 cents. That's really his problem. Make sure that your problem is really worth all this frustration.
10. Hold times. Oh..they suck. It is not the fault of the representative, however. Starting a conversation with "I've been on hold for 30 minutes!" will get you the "Sir" or "Ma'am" and the tone of voice.
11. Occasionally, you will get a representative that is a jerk or who hasn't paid their brain bill. I don't know why they keep them. Sometimes they're just new. Sometimes they're just having a bad day. Whatever. Feel free to talk to their supervisor about their attitude or simply hang up, call back and hope for a better one next time.
Hopefully these ideas might help.
Labels: Customer Service, Phone
