The State of United States Customer Service

[The Ozzman]

I was recently on the phone trying to resolve an issue with a loan servicing organization and it took me three tries to get someone that I could actually understand (and English still wasn't their first language). I then called one of the banks I used and immediately got someone who spoke English.

I know it's cheaper to outsource shit to India or whatever, but a line has to be drawn when I can't get an issue resolved the first time I call someone.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

That's a major pain. On the subject of Indian people though, everytime I see an Indian person walking around I just want to go up and hi-five them for being Indian, because Indian people living here are like the nicest people imaginable and have amazing food on top of that. Indian people rule.

 

[Dak]

I worked in a customer service call center for a bank prior to joining the Marines, so I am familier with what it's like on the other end of the line, so I get extra annoyed at the generally piss-poor customer service offered by most places.
We would get french speaking canadians from time to time though who would be annoyed we couldn't understand them very well, which blew my mind. Someone living in a predominantly English speaking country, vacationing in a predominantly English speaking country (the US), getting annoyed we didn't have a "Press 3 for French" option....WTF.

 

[The Ozzman]

For those that hate the automated customer service lines, get2human.com has a list of organizations, their numbers and how to reach a human as quickly as possible. You can also comment on the service you received as well. Microsoft's isn't any surprise

 

[Zephyrus]

I don't use it much, but from the few times I have, it was barely satisfactory.

 

[Dak]

General rule of thumb to get a human has been to keep hitting zero....although I have noticed a few companies are starting to catch this and making repeated false automated menu entries disconnect you or send you back to the first menu.

 

[arg]

That's a major pain. On the subject of Indian people though, everytime I see an Indian person walking around I just want to go up and hi-five them for being Indian, because Indian people living here are like the nicest people imaginable and have amazing food on top of that. Indian people rule.

there's an indian girl at my french lessons (need it for new job). she is HAWT. indian girls are hit/miss but this one is SMOKIN. i would pleasure her butt, no questions asked.

I worked in a customer service call center for a bank prior to joining the Marines, so I am familier with what it's like on the other end of the line, so I get extra annoyed at the generally piss-poor customer service offered by most places.
We would get french speaking canadians from time to time though who would be annoyed we couldn't understand them very well, which blew my mind. Someone living in a predominantly English speaking country, vacationing in a predominantly English speaking country (the US), getting annoyed we didn't have a "Press 3 for French" option....WTF.

i too worked at a call center before. my regular accent is very neutral. but sometimes i would put on a crazy asian accent just to annoy the americans. LOL!

 

[The Ozzman]

Or just act like you have a rotary phone and do nothing. You'll get connected shortly.

 

[The Ozzman]

General rule of thumb to get a human has been to keep hitting zero....although I have noticed a few companies are starting to catch this and making repeated false automated menu entries disconnect you or send you back to the first menu.

Well, what I do is wait until they ask me to enter an account number and then do it. Usually you could do it right when you heard the automated voice messages and you could get someone immediately.

 

[genocide roach]

i have never had a good experrience with customer service in this country. not only is there a language barrier, but the servicer is rude, stupid, condescending, or all of the above. and there is no difference between civilian or military customer service either.

i miss the service i got in japan. the japanese will do whatever they can to resolve the issue, and they do it fast. if you ask for something in a store, they will RUN to get it.

america has a work ethic problem, and we need to get over it.

edit: indians are generally cool. pakistanis on the other hand are assholes. i can totally understand why india has beef with em (not starting a geopolitical debate)
~gR~

 

[tagradh]

That's a major pain. On the subject of Indian people though, everytime I see an Indian person walking around I just want to go up and hi-five them for being Indian, because Indian people living here are like the nicest people imaginable and have amazing food on top of that. Indian people rule.

All the Indian/Bangladeshi people around here are awesome too.

I've never met a decent person from Pakistan. HOW ODD.

 

[Dak]

but the servicer is rude, stupid, condescending, or all of the above. and there is no difference between civilian or military customer service either.

The civilians working on military bases are usually 2x as bad, but I am sure you know this.

On the flip side though, I have seen the level of rudeness and stupidty from the customer side as well and in general it's unacceptable. People always trying to scam or just are dumbasses and think they rate some sort of special treatment over other customers etc.

 

[AchrisK]

I think this country is sorely lacking good customer service. Yes, you get it here and there, and I believe in patronizing any establishment that makes an effort to have good customer service as a rule. I think Starbucks is usually pretty good.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

It's gonna sound stereotypical, but the more 'yuppie malls' that pop up... you know, the ones that have the PF Changs, Macy's, Louis Vutton stores in them, etc...when I go there I pretty much get treated like royalty. Almost everywhere else, the customer service is horrible, unless it's Best Buy, where the drones are programmed to ask you IS U FINDING EVERYTHING ALRIGHT TODAY every 5 minutes. Yet most of the actual well off people who are the cash cows of the high-end businesses tend to have much less personal substance than the more poor/lower class people I've interacted with.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

That's a major pain. On the subject of Indian people though, everytime I see an Indian person walking around I just want to go up and hi-five them for being Indian, because Indian people living here are like the nicest people imaginable and have amazing food on top of that. Indian people rule.

...try working in retail. Your mind will change, quickly. And if it doesn't, I guess I live in a bad place because, while I'm not racist, Indian people can be a huge pain in the ass when it comes to ripping Walgreens (where I work) off hardcore and not even caring. It's fucked up.

Anyway, I actually have had GOOD customer service experiences. For instance, we use Verizon internet/phone service in my house. Every time I've spoken to them they've been incredibly helpful, even going so far as to help me with problems w/ the desktop comp downstairs not even barely related to their services, such as virus removal. They didn't have to help me with these things, but they did. It was great.

ALSO, working in retail, I get the ability to help people all the time with things ranging from helping them find something in our really stupidly laid-out store to reaching something placed on a deck close to the ceiling or trying to find stuff in the stock room. While I can't always find what people are trying to have me find, especially in our terrifying mess of a stock room, I always try to help as sincerely as possible. I don't know why, but I never get begrudging or angry when someone asks me to help them if I'm in the middle of something already. I guess I like helping people, which is weird because I didn't realize I did until I started working retail.

 

[The Ozzman]

Yeah, I like dealing with Verizon. They are extremely helpful.

 

[V.V.V.V.V.]

Maybe they're one of the only companies then...Dell has also been pretty useful, even though they transfer you around a lot. I spoke to this guy Jose before who was like the coolest motherfucker known to man. After he was done attempting to help me with a battery-related issue (turns out they couldn't really because it's not under warranty with the laptop...gay but w/e) he was like "oh yeah man, if this was helpful or whatever please send a recommendation to my supervisor at <e-mail address> and I'd appreciate it" so I totally fucking did. I basically told the boss that Jose was the coolest bro in the world and he deserved a raise.

 

[Dak]

unless it's Best Buy, where the drones are programmed to ask you IS U FINDING EVERYTHING ALRIGHT TODAY every 5 minutes.

I lold irl.

 

[Orion Crystal Ice]

...try working in retail.

That just might happen to me... I might be getting an interview for a fine jewelry sales position (no homo)...

The most obnoxious customer people we have around here is that one specific kind of, uh, I guess 'uncultured' white person who doesn't really care at all how they dress and has visibly spoiled/ignorant kids, usually 2-3 of them..........if they're rich, it makes it 3x worse. I used to work for CRDN most recently, which is a delivery/restoration company for damaged textiles...you would be on the road and in the warehouse every day, searching through thousands of items, throwing them in your van, and going down to South Florida or some random place in Georgia, bringing them to people or picking up their stuff....and people are absolutely insane, especially when you're in their house and noone can see what they do or say. I do slightly dread retail, mainly because I hate a lot of the typical aspects of being a 'seller', but there's just no way the customer interaction could get worse than what I've seen......

 

[Dak]

I hate a lot of the typical aspects of being a 'seller', but there's just no way the customer interaction could get worse than what I've seen......

Being the seller is awesome, as long as you don't ever have to handle the customer service end as well (ie:returns, etc.)