EternalMetal
Active Member
- Mar 31, 2004
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Just over 5 years in a brokerage call center. People who throw a bitch fit, especially before at least giving you a legit chance to fix their problem will get helped just enough to get them off the phone. Their problem will likely persist. Why? I'm not an ass, but when you put me (already in a generally stressful job) in an even more stressful situation of both trying to manage your caustic personality AND trying to fix the problem you won't get nearly as much clarity of thought from me by putting me on the spot with your angry or rude demands. Also you won't get near the same level of effort as I just want to end the conversation and move on to helping a more amicable customer on the next call.
Don't get me wrong: letting the phone rep push you around is just as bad of a situation as some of them will just blow you off "oh, um that's a glitch that should resolve itself in 2 days, etc." so they can go back to playing Angry Birds, but in general you'll get the best results being clear with what the problem is, firm with your expectations, but still ultimately friendly and willing to work with the person.
This sounds alright to me. I dont immediately read the riot act to the other dude on the other side of the phone; actually im going to give him a legitimate chance to solve my problem since psychologically I realize that being mean from the get-go gets me absolutely nowhere. But once I realize that I am being diverted or ignored, my words will begin to drip with acid and I will start being more assertive. I want my problem solved after all, even if it means giving someone a hard time. Then again, I do realize that people will be less willing to try to help you out if you treat them like shit, so I try to remain civil as long as they remain compliant. From what you say, I probably wouldnt give you a hard time, but if you were to give me the 'I am just a lowly call answerer and cant fix your problem' type of excuse, I probably wont give you the type of pleasant response you would want. I honestly dont care if your company sucks and doesnt give you enough freedom to fix relevant issues of the customer, if I am paying for a service of any kind I should be able to get any sort of issue that is reasonably solvable fixed. Employees of such a service should probably be forced to quit due to overly negative feedback. If you are working for such a company that actually resolves issues (im not going to be so cynical that I believe all customer service lines are bullshit), then great, I will probably be a nice call.