Tweet
After nearly seven years working at a call center in the wireless industry you'd think there would be anything left that can surprise me, but you'd be so terribly wrong.
It has been awhile since I posted, but here's my latest set of stories. As a reminder, I work on a team that handles escalated complaints. Customers are already pissed off by the time they get to me.
But it's NOT the right amount!
A golden rule we have at <Red Checkmark> is that we can NOT and do NOT give customers precise, to the penny quotes of what their monthly bill will be. Sure, we can give you a pretty accurate guess but because some of the taxes and fees are percentages based on your city/county/state/etc., it's all but impossible to give a precise number.
This lady did not understand that.
Two months ago we'd made some changes to her account and told her the bill would be (pay attention to this phrasing) in the range of $180 / month going forward. Did you catch that? IN THE RANGE OF. Could be $174, could be $178, could be $185. Simple enough.
The problem is that this lady perceived what we told her was that her bill would be EXACTLY $180 / month...and she's currently pissed because her current total is $183.40.
We've already helped this lady out a few times in the past year and I did NOT want to give her a $3.40 credit out of principle. However, my manager overruled me and told me to do the credit. Okay, fine, but you better believe I put giant ALL CAPS notes in her account saying customer does NOT have a $180 / month rate guarantee, she has only been told her bills would be around that amount.
Of course Mrs. SC vowed to complain next month if the bill was not EXACTLY $180. Go right ahead lady, I'll be here waiting. And you're getting nothing next time. NOTHING.
That's not how any of this works
This guy claims that one of our customer service reps told him that, because two of his phones got stolen, we would waive all the remaining payments on them so he could get new ones. Now, our customer service folks sometimes leave a little bit to be desired, but there are usually limits to how ridiculous they get. And this is stretching them.
It's been <Red Checkmark> policy for over a decade that if your phones get stolen, you still gotta pay for them. That's why people carry insurance and protection plans. There's no way customer service told you that. This dude is either trying to get us for free phones (how do I know they actually WERE stolen?) or thinks we're just gullible as hell.
So I explain to him that no, we're not going to be waiving anything. If you have a car note and your car gets stolen, do you think the lender will just happily waive the balance for you? I think not. Cuss me out if you want to, but this is not happening.
Strike 1...Strike 2...Strike 3...YER OUTTA THERE!
One thing I like about this job is if we tell a customer "no we're not giving you xxxx" and they file another formal complaint...that complaint usually comes right back to me.
Hello again, ma'am, no our decision hasn't changed. No, sending more paperwork my way won't make me more sympathetic to you. No, you won't be getting the $3000 credit you're looking for but thanks for playing. Buh bye now.
90 cents...90 freaking cents!
Several months ago, <Red Checkmark> raised one of our surcharges slightly. For this customer that meant his bill went up 90 cents. This so infuriated him that he spent what I have to believe was at least 30 minutes to an hour typing up a THREE page complaint letter. He then put a stamp on that letter and sent it our way.
The surcharge is MANDATORY. There was a notice on your bill last month that it would be going up. You never look at your bills? Well, hey there's your problem.
Guy hung up on me in a rage. All that time and energy expended over NINETY CENTS.
Some people...
Just get to the damn point
We get so many long, meandering complaint letters from people that contain so many useless details and background info that is totally irrelevant to the issue it drives me completely nuts.
All I need to know is:
1. What's the problem?
2. What do you want <Red Checkmark> to do about it?
I don't need to know about your cat or your bitch of an ex wife or your Uncles cancer treatments or the problems your kid is having at school or what color drapes you just installed in the living room. Seriously, it doesn't matter and I DON'T CARE.
It has been awhile since I posted, but here's my latest set of stories. As a reminder, I work on a team that handles escalated complaints. Customers are already pissed off by the time they get to me.
But it's NOT the right amount!
A golden rule we have at <Red Checkmark> is that we can NOT and do NOT give customers precise, to the penny quotes of what their monthly bill will be. Sure, we can give you a pretty accurate guess but because some of the taxes and fees are percentages based on your city/county/state/etc., it's all but impossible to give a precise number.
This lady did not understand that.
Two months ago we'd made some changes to her account and told her the bill would be (pay attention to this phrasing) in the range of $180 / month going forward. Did you catch that? IN THE RANGE OF. Could be $174, could be $178, could be $185. Simple enough.
The problem is that this lady perceived what we told her was that her bill would be EXACTLY $180 / month...and she's currently pissed because her current total is $183.40.
We've already helped this lady out a few times in the past year and I did NOT want to give her a $3.40 credit out of principle. However, my manager overruled me and told me to do the credit. Okay, fine, but you better believe I put giant ALL CAPS notes in her account saying customer does NOT have a $180 / month rate guarantee, she has only been told her bills would be around that amount.
Of course Mrs. SC vowed to complain next month if the bill was not EXACTLY $180. Go right ahead lady, I'll be here waiting. And you're getting nothing next time. NOTHING.
That's not how any of this works
This guy claims that one of our customer service reps told him that, because two of his phones got stolen, we would waive all the remaining payments on them so he could get new ones. Now, our customer service folks sometimes leave a little bit to be desired, but there are usually limits to how ridiculous they get. And this is stretching them.
It's been <Red Checkmark> policy for over a decade that if your phones get stolen, you still gotta pay for them. That's why people carry insurance and protection plans. There's no way customer service told you that. This dude is either trying to get us for free phones (how do I know they actually WERE stolen?) or thinks we're just gullible as hell.
So I explain to him that no, we're not going to be waiving anything. If you have a car note and your car gets stolen, do you think the lender will just happily waive the balance for you? I think not. Cuss me out if you want to, but this is not happening.
Strike 1...Strike 2...Strike 3...YER OUTTA THERE!
One thing I like about this job is if we tell a customer "no we're not giving you xxxx" and they file another formal complaint...that complaint usually comes right back to me.
Hello again, ma'am, no our decision hasn't changed. No, sending more paperwork my way won't make me more sympathetic to you. No, you won't be getting the $3000 credit you're looking for but thanks for playing. Buh bye now.
90 cents...90 freaking cents!
Several months ago, <Red Checkmark> raised one of our surcharges slightly. For this customer that meant his bill went up 90 cents. This so infuriated him that he spent what I have to believe was at least 30 minutes to an hour typing up a THREE page complaint letter. He then put a stamp on that letter and sent it our way.
The surcharge is MANDATORY. There was a notice on your bill last month that it would be going up. You never look at your bills? Well, hey there's your problem.
Guy hung up on me in a rage. All that time and energy expended over NINETY CENTS.
Some people...
Just get to the damn point
We get so many long, meandering complaint letters from people that contain so many useless details and background info that is totally irrelevant to the issue it drives me completely nuts.
All I need to know is:
1. What's the problem?
2. What do you want <Red Checkmark> to do about it?
I don't need to know about your cat or your bitch of an ex wife or your Uncles cancer treatments or the problems your kid is having at school or what color drapes you just installed in the living room. Seriously, it doesn't matter and I DON'T CARE.
, apparently because he thought we wouldn't believe him.
Comment