Always ask...

[alexpgp]

At 7 am this morning, I called a company to get a password reset, spent 10 minutes with one customer service rep, then another 10 minutes with the one the first one sent me to because it wasn't the first one's department. Then the second one told me I'd have to be transferred to a third department, which would be able to help me, and would I please hold?

I replied in the affirmative, was given a 30-second spiel about how important customer service was to the company wished a good day, and transferred...

...to an office that was in the Pacific time zone, behind me, and not yet open. A mechanical voice invited me to call again later.

Never relax! Don't be lulled by an energetic voice! Always, always, always ask for the direct number to call "in case I get disconnected."

Or something.

Grrr.

Comments

[n5iln.livejournal.com]

I worked for a short time in a customer-service call center. During training, I asked if there was a direct-dial number a customer could call in the event of a disconnect.

Not only was I not given such a number to offer, I was told, in no uncertain terms, that if I ever offered such a number, I would be terminated on the spot.

Most "customer service" call centers do NOT hire trained techs. They hire professional script-readers. And if something happens to force them off script, they're expected to end the call.

And people wonder why I spend so much time diagnosing and repairing my own tech problems..."you can call this toll-free number and have it fixed!" SURE I can... [/sarcasm]

We now return to the no-snark zone...

[alexpgp.livejournal.com]

Well, I can sort-of/kind-of understand why TPTB would want to make sure all incoming calls go through "the system," but I've had pretty good success in the past (especially with AmEx) when it comes to asking for the number of the office to call in the event I get dropped.

Indeed, when I called the company later in the day and explained what I needed (to talk to someone at their California office), I was given the number of the office before being transferred.

And FWIW, it would appear that the people at the California office also can't help me with my problem (a password reset) and further, have no idea how I might do so.

Ah, the blessings of technology!