That's it! I'll never buy from you again!

I certainly don't aim this at you Michelle, I bet your lovely in your job. But I've had some pretty unpleasant experiences with folks in call centres.

One which springs to mind is this one. I was on the phone to my bank (Santander) a few weeks ago and after going through the various menus which is a killer in itself, I finally got through to a human who then promptly managed to disconnect me as he was putting me through to another department.

When I rang back, I mentioned to the call centre person what had happened and asked if he would be careful not to disconnect me and to my amazement he started ranting and raving at me. (I was gobsmacked). lol I can laugh about it now, but I was furious (and upset) at the time.

Told me I had no respect for him, to stop being abusive etc. (I've never been abusive in my life).

When I demanded his name and asked to speak to his supervisor he told me to F--ck off and demanded why I wanted to speak to him (huh)!!

He then finally put the phone down on me...

I wrote a stinking letter complaining about his attitude, but needless to say I've never heard anything back. I guess he had a bad day :rolleyes:

Cheers
Kim


edit
Sorry Sam I think I hijacked your thread

I guess it could be the law of attraction working its part. If we think people are stupid we will attract stupid people. If we thought people are lazy we attract lazy people. We as marketer attract people the way how we do business. And how we do business depends on what kind of business we are in, how we construct our sales letter or interact with them.

Just take a look at the majority of how IM sales letter are constructed? Most of them hypnotized people into buying thing they are not supposed to buy in the first place. And we marketers learn all this from our experiences after some years.

We have the power to set our own life environment. If we want positive environment create one. If we love negative be in one otherwise move out.

Stay cool.

Red

Dean sounds like a no-nonsense fellow! I like it!
But if I was Dean, I'd have to tried to impress the staff even further by yelling obscenities into the phone and then issuing a challenge to meet the customer in person in a parking lot so we could settle this like MEN!
I bet the women would really be in awe! Women love guys who come to their rescue and can kick butt for real! :p
Alright...back to reality...

Heh, I like that

I think everyone deserves to be treated with respect, whether you're buying off them or selling to them. And to be blunt, business is far more enjoyable when everyone treats each other well.

I know that sounds a little "hippyish", but I think the way you treat other people is a true reflection of your core character.

cheers
Sam

(Oh, and being nice to people burns FAR less bridges and sacrifices FAR less future relationships - a person you flame today may have been a lost business partner of tomorrow)

Whenever I've been in such a situation, I've found that it's because they're just basically angry and have to vent. They don't want explanations or excuses or apologies. They just want to rant and rave until they feel better.

The method that always works for me is to agree with them - tell them they are absolutely right. Makes no difference to you if you agree, right? That's all they really want. Someone to agree with them. The sooner you do, the quicker they will calm down and shut up.

Short and sweet, then shut up. Don't get angry back or you will feed his anger which in turn will feed yours... ad infinitum.

In my experience, some of them have actually apologized after the rant and we've both come away relaxed, instead of tense, stressed and angry.

Now, when I say agree with them, of course I don't recommend admitting that your product or service is garbage.

Sam, in your case, you might respond by telling such people that "You are right, I agree (even if you don't)" and recap what they said. "It would be better for people like you to have more time to download." and leave it at that.

Or you could "suggest that you contact the person who sold you the product and tell them you need more time..."

Funny how misery loves company.

Where's Jerry Seinfeld and his wit when you need him? He'd have the perfect phrase for such people.

Sylvia

You, my dear, have framed it perfectly. Thank you!

Unfortunately, customer service levels have declined in a lot of areas AND customers demand more now than ever. Plus, people are just more impatient and rude than ever -- on BOTH sides.

It makes for a disastrous situation.

Customer service reps may often be rude. I work for a highly professional, Fortune 500 company. The call center is in-house, not outsourced and I live and work right where my customers live and work. (I'm American and a native English speaker.)

I could NEVER speak the way the rep spoke to you Kim and keep my job. ALL calls are monitored and if we're rude (i.e. deliberately speak to a customer the way he spoke to you), we're out the door, no questions asked. If I ever went off on a customerr -- or if I ever hung up on a customer -- I'm out, no questions asked. Period. There's no disciplinary process for that. You're just out.

At the same time, customers come in demanding, rude, etc. They really believe that just because they're the customer, they're right and they have the right to treat reps as a doormat. I've been in tears more than once. But it's a job, however unpleasant it may be.

We're supposed to show empathy for the customer and be nice. But I've NEVER been talked to by anyone (personally or professionally) the way I've been talked by the customers of this company. And the fact that I can do NOTHING about it, not even hang up on them! I'd NEVER tolerate that kind of thing personally, in any other capacity.

The fact that my hands are tied is what angers me so much. I have NO empathy for stupidity and it's hard to be nice when people are so unconscionably rude and confrontational. Yes, I know they're talking to the company, not Michelle Nightengale. It's not personal, I know.

Yeah, right. People MAKE IT PERSONAL, casting personal insults and confronting me PERSONALLY, not the company. In a rational moment, I understand that they're just frustrated, feeling like the little guy against the big, bad corporation. But really, I no longer have sympathy for that anymore either. Talk to me like that and I have NO SYMPATHY for you, period.

(And when they demand a supervisor, I can say "I AM the supervisor!" I am, but then they basically call me a liar and still demand to talk to someone else. Grrrrr!)

I've hung on for several reasons: I have good benefits, there's lots of room to move up, they pay for my classes (and my degree is a priority right now), etc.

One of the most important ones is that I'm not a quitter. I've wanted to quit so many times. But even in a good economy, that's not always the wisest decision. I want to leave on GOOD terms, not out of pride or anger and anything like it.

But the stress has become unbearable and I'm on the edge now. Strike that, it's PAST unbearable.

I've made some money in IM. Not a lot, but some. I want to target offline businesses for online services, but have held back for a number of reasons. One of the biggest ones is fear that if I made a big splash locally and my employer found out about it, I could lose my job before I'm ready. In a rational moment, I don't think that's too likely to happen for that reason. It's a HUGE company and they know a lot of their employees have side jobs.

But I'm on the edge of losing my employment as it is, so the way I see it, it no longer matters. I'm jumping in in a BIG way in 2010 and to heck with anything else.

I've been on the verge of quitting several times, most recently on Feb. 1, 2010. (It was a very BAD DAY.) I went back to work on Feb. 2 and decided that I'm not going to quit (yet), they'll have to fire me. and if so, then so be it.

I'm DONE stressing about this job.

I'm a professional and a business-minded woman. I understand business needs and customer service. But at least I'll have the power to fire problem customers if the situation warrants it. I'll NEVER take the abuse I've taken in this call center. Uuugggh!

Thanks for letting me vent!

Michelle

Michelle - You need to have a talk with management. Most don't allow customers to abuse employees. It's really difficult to try to placate an angry person over the phone unless you are allowed to be firm about it.

Although I've taken my part-time job down to 1-2 days a week (usually 1) I deal in a casino - and I've seen dealers verbally abused to the point of tears many times. Sometimes the player just needs someone to know he's upset and acknowledging that you understand he's not happy may provide all the attention he needs. Sometimes they just need to be teased a bit or totally ignored until they shape up - just depends on the customer.

Because it's in person I have a better sense of "where" they are so I might give a dead stare and say "that needs to stop now" or I sometimes say (to men, of course) "Now that I know you better, the wedding is off" (that one works well). When women are endlessly complaining I tell them they are getting on "my last nerve". I say it with a smile but they get the message.

I hadn't given rude customers much thought when I began dealing and the first time a "loser" started with the "f-u" toward me I stopped the game and told him his behavior was not acceptable and I wouldn't tolerate the language.

He apologized. Another high stakes player who is well known for getting rude when he's losing demanded another dealer - I called the supervisor over - who told him to lift his behind off the chair and move to a different table if he wanted a new dealer. He stayed and calmed down.

Often if you respond calmly and firmly, complainers back down. I've seen it again and again - and there are few complaining louder than losers on a casino game. People will push you to the limit - and my employer allows me to set that limit. I have to do that or other players will be bothered by the rudeness of one whiner.

I think sometimes people feel they need to be "in your face" to get attention. Sometimes they do not realize they come across until they are told it isn't acceptable.

....and sometimes they are just plain too stupid to deal with.

kay

Customer service Yuck.

Well at least Sam, you don't have to worry about him buying from you. He is someone elses customer to deal with.

How could this happen?

Guy sets up DLG to protect his product.
Sees the setup for how long to make the download time limit.
Says hmmm a million people could download this in 72 hours. Don't want that.
Lets set it for 2 hours.. yeah that works

Customer orders, not at home will download it later tonight.

12 hours later, download doesn't work. ARGGGG
Sends email to customer support. Waits 24 hours for a response ARGGGGGG

Rants at marketer, threatens marketer.

Marketer says to himself. OOPS made that time limit too short. DANG IT
Whats the easiest way to avoid saying I blew it. Sorry? no that doesn't cut it.

Sends email to customer.

"so sorry about the delay, but it wasn't my fault. Its the _____ software my Webmaster used to build the site. It sets the time limit automatically. I need to get that fixed a.s.a.p.

Heres your product and thanks for your order and patience. I will get that fixed on that _____ software.
Would you like to buy the ONE TIME OFFER upsell for another $990 ? Heres' your link!

p.s. remember to check your email and download immediately, it'll take my webmaster a week to figure out how to fix that ______ problem

That's what my excuse for a supervisor was doing to me in my old job. Anytime I complained about being overworked, I'd complain to him and all he'd ever say in his monotone voice is "You're right...I agree 100%, Yes...absolutely true......"
Of course, he never did anything whatsoever to remedy the situation but regardless, it shut me up for a bit.
But then again, he had no power to do anything anyway. The fault belonged to the Boss for having no control over his employees who just ran rampant and threw their work on others. Strangest company I ever worked for.:confused:

Welcome to the club, Nightengale! I've been walked out a few times now but I always got what I wanted out of the companies I worked for. When I worked in the warehouse, I met some cool people with far worse problems than my own AND I actually enjoyed operating the trucks and forklifts.
My design job was good too, people were nice enough and I created a killer portfolio and also dealt with some very cool clientele.
But we have to move on to bigger and better things eventually. Just have to see where life takes us.
Your termination just might be a blessing in disguise like it was mine and many others on here.

Thanks. That means a lot.

As I said, I've cried today, but I'm swinging between panic about losing my job and relief that I no longer have to do it.

Emotions aside, I know the best thing is to take ACTION. If I ever wanted to make it big in IM, now's my chance. I'm trying very hard right now not to let my fear and panic paralyze me. All I really want to do is cry and sleep all day and all night.

But that would be self-destructive and non-productive. So I'm trying to get a jump on it and get a move on -- NOW while I still have a little money coming in. If I let myself think about my upcoming bills, I'll become paralyzed with fear. And paralysis is counter-productive.

So here I am, asking for support and help.

All of the Warriors here are incredibly generous and supportive and I've really appreciated it so much. Hopefully, that support will help me get going in a big way, NOW, BEFORE I panic and get seriously behind on my bills.

Now's my chance to become the next "I was broke and unemployed and now I'm an Internet millionaire!" story.

Again, thanks for listening.

Michelle

I think a lot of the aggravation people feel when they are calling about a problem are the telephone systems. By the time they reach the person who can help they have often gone through many "press one for.." "press 2 for..." I had an insurance problem last week through someone's error. I had to call civil service in a state, and without exaggeration I must have made 10 telephone calls before it was straightened out. People kept giving me the wrong extension; I had to repeat my story over and over; sometimes the telephone extensions didn't work; they would ask me the information I had just given over and over; some who answered the phone didn't speak English as their main language and were hard to understand, etc. I am normally very easy going, but by the time I reached the correct person I was short-tempered to say the least!