Hi Everyone,
If you are over 35, then you should have noticed that all forms of customer service are being placed upon the customer. Since I don’t know exactly when this increased demand started, I am going to guess that it began creeping into our lives about 15 years ago. This is what I mean.
Today I decided to call up an organization that rewards customers with points. After I dialed the number, pressed the appropriate buttons, the recording stated that there is a wait time of 2-10 minutes. I thought, “No big deal, I’ll compare the grocery flyer that is ending today versus the one that is starting tomorrow.” So I did.
The wait time had now exceeded 10 minutes. Again I thought, “No big deal, I’ll do the dishes while I listen to a business show.” So I did.
With the dishes almost done, I thought, “If SOMEONE isn’t on the line by the time I finish the dishes, I’m hanging up!” There were three things left in my sink and I wanted to get this point thing out of my face. I was getting pissed off!
Before I was done, SOMEONE was there for me to speak to. Finally! Because I moved from one phone to the next I don’t know exactly how long I was on hold, but it was over 10 minutes with the phone with the timer. I think I was on the other phone without the timer for 12-15 minutes, but who is counting. (I AM!!!)
After I quickly tell the woman about my former experience of trying to get my points worked out, she goes out of her way to help me. I also told her that I was on hold for far more than the 2-10 minutes the recording stated. Naturally she apologizes before she sates the different “plans” the organization she works for offers.
We settle on an agreement of sorts. Before we hang up the woman says to me,”It sounds like you are the type of person who values her time. Next time you need to contact us, just go our website.” That was the wrong this to say to me.
Did I rip into her? No. I did, however, inform her about a few things. One was that every organization/corporation wanted people to go to their website. What I didn’t tell her was that her job was going to obsolete before she knew it and that I knew that organizations keep us on hold as long as they do, because they want us to go to the web site so they can save money by not paying customer service representatives because labour is the highest expense every employeer has. The other was that organizations/corporations want to charge for things they never charged for before, like my bank statements.
By now I have been speaking to the woman from my phone with the timer, for 31 minutes and the 12-15 minutes on the phone without the timer or 43-46 minutes. I NEEDED to get on with my day and get to the bank before my favourite teller left for break.
Once there, I tell my her about the points program people. She was impressed that I was only on the phone for little as I was. Her experience lasted over 1.5 hours! Then she told me that when she did speak to someone, they told her that next time she should go their website and that her address was wrong. After a discussion which only added to her frustration she called the Canada Post.
Yes it was true, the point people were right, her address was wrong. Why? Someone somewhere changed the name of her rural route address to something else but didn’t think it was important enough to tell her! “And then they told me not to worry about it because I’ll still get my mail even if it’s the wrong address. What is going on lately? First the point people telling me to go to their website and then that. I told the point people that I serve a lot of elderly people who don’t have the Internet and asked them what they are supposed to do?”
I shrugged my shoulders and said, “Customers Servicing Corporations. I changed my phone and the company that I changed my phone number with didn’t even know my new phone number, because I didn’t call to them and they are the ones that changed it! If the customer doesn’t follow up or check up on things a few times, they are in for a boat load of problems, and it is just getting worse.”
The above are just a few of MANY examples of why every one of us has to be more proactive with the organizations/corporations that we chose to deal with.
For anyone who is interested, here is link to a blog I posted which includes three links for the three part documentary called, The Corporation, http://arebelsrant.com/the-corporation-links-d/ . I highly recommend your watching all three. They are a real eye-opener as to how corporations work.
Thank you for reading, A. Rebel’s Rant! ;D
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