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Yeah, we have monkeys...flying monkeys
A couple of days ago, there was a problem with the online feed. That day's death notices didn't go online. They ran in print--which is what we charge for--but not online. We heard about it all day, but overall people were not too upset about it. It was fixed. Or so we were told.
Along comes today...
A guy called in right after we opened, ticked off that his relative's notice (running Tuesday) wasn't online. Co-worker apologized, said she'd let the IT people know. She also notified our supervisor (IT & super weren't in yet). An hour or so later, the guy calls back, gets another CW. Here's where the fun starts. He started out nasty, asking if we "have monkeys working there". CW told him the problem was being fixed. His response: "When, in a year?"
I don't think you can usually give a timeframe for this kind of thing...am I right, IT people?...but most important, we weren't given an estimate or any kind of timeframe to convey to customers. All we can do is apologize and tell them--again--that it's being addressed and will be fixed as soon as possible. And those of us on the phones are just as unsatisfied as they are, because we can't tell them anything more definite.
15 minutes later he posted nasty comments on facebook, everybody's favorite place to act like they're the center of the universe. Besides other nasty, snarky comments, he said we were "understaffed" (true enough) and "under-qualified" (like he would know). What really ticked me off, though, was his comment about it being "a hassle" to place the notice, and bitching about the "automated call system."
Let's recap:
Monday: You called after 5 pm. Most businesses are closed then anyway. You apparently called the wrong dept. (a little research could have prevented this). When you called our dept. you got through immediately. I know this because we did not lose even one call between 9:15 am & 5:15 pm, and your notice was saved into our system at 5:13 pm. The rep who helped you did everything correctly. She had no way of knowing the online feed would go down again. The reps you spoke to this morning had no more information to give you other then, "It's being fixed" because the techs cannot give a definite timeframe, and if they had and it wasn't fixed by that time, you would have said we were lying. Oh, and the phone system? I haven't called a business in the last decade that doesn't use an automated system.
Lastly, gripes about the cost of the notice are without merit. You are placing, in essence, a paid ad. If you really want to see high costs, check out the papers at the other end of the state. Best part: The situation was corrected within 15 minutes of his second call, I think before he even posted his rant on facebook.
Along comes today...
A guy called in right after we opened, ticked off that his relative's notice (running Tuesday) wasn't online. Co-worker apologized, said she'd let the IT people know. She also notified our supervisor (IT & super weren't in yet). An hour or so later, the guy calls back, gets another CW. Here's where the fun starts. He started out nasty, asking if we "have monkeys working there". CW told him the problem was being fixed. His response: "When, in a year?"
I don't think you can usually give a timeframe for this kind of thing...am I right, IT people?...but most important, we weren't given an estimate or any kind of timeframe to convey to customers. All we can do is apologize and tell them--again--that it's being addressed and will be fixed as soon as possible. And those of us on the phones are just as unsatisfied as they are, because we can't tell them anything more definite.
15 minutes later he posted nasty comments on facebook, everybody's favorite place to act like they're the center of the universe. Besides other nasty, snarky comments, he said we were "understaffed" (true enough) and "under-qualified" (like he would know). What really ticked me off, though, was his comment about it being "a hassle" to place the notice, and bitching about the "automated call system."
Let's recap:
Monday: You called after 5 pm. Most businesses are closed then anyway. You apparently called the wrong dept. (a little research could have prevented this). When you called our dept. you got through immediately. I know this because we did not lose even one call between 9:15 am & 5:15 pm, and your notice was saved into our system at 5:13 pm. The rep who helped you did everything correctly. She had no way of knowing the online feed would go down again. The reps you spoke to this morning had no more information to give you other then, "It's being fixed" because the techs cannot give a definite timeframe, and if they had and it wasn't fixed by that time, you would have said we were lying. Oh, and the phone system? I haven't called a business in the last decade that doesn't use an automated system.
Lastly, gripes about the cost of the notice are without merit. You are placing, in essence, a paid ad. If you really want to see high costs, check out the papers at the other end of the state. Best part: The situation was corrected within 15 minutes of his second call, I think before he even posted his rant on facebook.
i wouldn't be so eager to repair access to someone bitching about it. Be NICE to IT!! and everybody else too 
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