Posted on 03/12/2010 2:19:21 PM PST by Niuhuru
Today we launch a major new series investigating the parlous state of customer service in Britain. We start on telecoms companies, which, despite being in the communications business, generate more complaints than any other industry.
Britain's internet and phone companies show a shameful disregard for their customers - leaving 4.1 million people unhappy with their service every year.
Official figures show that an incredible 3.3 million customers have been left waiting three months or more for their phone or broadband provider to resolve a problem.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Those in Britain may bemoan their situation but it’s far worse in America thanks to a deplorable education system.
Automated attendants and call centers etc. sound great in meetings (save on labor costs) but it drives customers away - the bad word-of-mouth easily negates all the ad campaigns.
For English, press 1.
In years gone by, a business telephone complaint was to be resolved within 2 hours or that line was free for a month. For a residence line the commitment time for repair was 4 hours. Today, a residence line complaint is committed for resolution 5 or 6 days out. Quite a difference in customer service, isn't it?
To get an idea of how much customer service has really changed, I remember a story I heard from an Australian who grew up in Ireland.
When he was a little boy, he accidentally dropped his Mother’s tea chest on the floor. He got a broom and swept it up and put it back before she found out.
A couple of months later, a man in a suit came by their house. After he left, the boy asked who it was. His Mother said that was the man from the tea company. He brought me some tea and apologized. “I wrote them a letter because their tea was full of trash”.
He never did tell his Mother what really happened.
I’m 66....Unscrewing the gas cap to fill my car is a terrible struggle in winter...
Maybe I’m a Pollyanna, but I never have problems with customer service. The reason people get problems is because they come across as d***h***s when they start the conversation. I always start with a greeting. I say hello, ask them how they are doing, and give them time to answer. It may seem cheesy, but my wife lost her cell phone in a bathroom, and by the time the sun went down, we had her phone replaced. This was in another state, and the people we dealt with were strangers. Verizon is the carrier, to give credit. The store was in Vancouver, Washington. In spite of slightly higher costs compared to others, there is no better reason to stay loyal.
I may have a high tolerance for BS, but I realize the kind of crap that customers deliver to customer service personnel. You aren’t much of a Christian if you can’t cut them some slack.
I believe that the worst thing that happened to customer service was the declaration that the customer is always right. This gives lowlifes and idiots the power to win an argument without any supporting evidence. They grow up in self-esteem-inflating schools, and become insufferable liberals, and treat everyone else like crap.
I’ve had good ones too, but I am sick of all the touchtone stuff and trying to deal with a tricky problem with a machine than a person.
Either you listen to automated machines which you can understand or listening to someone from India you DONT understand..
How about just giving me someone in the call center that speaks English as their FIRST language?
I never have customer service problems either over the phone. I am polite to all representatives here and abroad
That too.
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