Poor customer service

[Steroid_Virgin]

Does any one besides me wonder what in the hell ever happened to the concept of customer service? No matter where I go, what I buy, the service i have gotten over the past 3 months has completely sucked ass, from buying food, to installing cable, sucky sucky sucky, what gives?? Is this a national or local phemonina? help a bro out, share some of your lousy customer service experiences.. maybe we call all boy cott the fuckers who piss us off... power in numbers right?

 

[AGENT SHAGWELL]

ever stop to consider the asssholes those people have to deal with everyday?.....They deserve to be moody

I saw an old man bitch out a little girl in the grocery store because they didn't have the sale item that was advertised because they sold out. And all she could do was apologize for something that wasn't her fault and take the bitching. I wanted to bitch slap him, but his walker scared me

 

[frorider6]

people are shitty on both side of the counter. Napalm should come in a small aerosol can like mace.

 

[TheSalami]

ever stop to consider the asssholes those people have to deal with everyday?.....They deserve to be moody

no they dont cause its their job. i demand to be treated with respect!!!!

 

[the Prince]

Yes! I wonder about it every time I go into a store.

 

[AGENT SHAGWELL]

Personally I feel you should give respect to receive it. But most people treat customer service people like crap, cause they know its their job to take it. Its their job to provide you service, not be your personal bitching bag.

 

[Bull69]

Try being openly pleasant and nice to start out with, and you would be surprised at what kind of service you receive.

 

[plifter]

I work in technical customer service. If you only knew the idiots I deal with you would completely understand. For example I once had a gut yelling at him becasue he bought a book that came with a CD ROM and the CD wouldn't work. He was telling me that I was a fucking moron and bla bla bla... Well to diagnose the problem I first asked him what his operating system was. He responded by saying that he didn't know. I said do you have a Macintosh or IBM PC. He then says "Huh, I just stuck the disk in my stereo's CD player". Try getting a few of these each day and you'll see why customer service people a grumpy.

 

[big4life]

Treat people with respect and they
generally treat you the same.

Remember everybody has a
bad day every now and then.

 

[Y_lifter]

People in the customer facing role these days think you have no choice but to do business with them.. WRONG in most cases.

I'm with plifter on this one having worked in an IT support role for years.
There is a fine line between taking a customers venting as part of your job, and being treated badly and not having to take it.
We teach the phone analyst's to recognize when the douche bag has crossed the line and how to deal with it Professionally.
The thing you don't want to do is join them in being a dickhead.
Offer to help them only if they are willing to calm down and if not, get them with a Superv.
Usually when they speak to the Boss they suddenly turn as sweet as sugar...
Lot's of company's talk the talk.. Few Walk the walk but they are out there.
When you find them, do business with them exclusively.

 

[BackDoc]

I could generally care less if someone's being rude as long as I get what I'm paying for. Rip me off and it's a whole different story.

 

[theoak01]

i totally agree Shags
when i worked at mcdonalds i had a manager call me a idiot for making something wrong,thats when i threw my apron at her and told her to eat my ass and quit


then when i pumped gas i had people bitch to me about high gas prices,its like i pump the gas i dont make the price,cuz quite frankly if it was up to me id be raping you outta that money more then the gas company is now

and with my current job there was a bug in the water cooler one day i wasnt working and then later in the week i go into work and some asshole bitches to me about that

gotta show respect or us service people will fuck you over one day

 

[Warik]

no they dont cause its their job. i demand to be treated with respect!!!!

Minimum wage laws make that impossible.

I wonder if people would still be inclined to disrespect their customers if they knew that their pay could drop below a measly 5-something an hour.

-Warik

 

[FrankRizzo]

The absolute worst are flying waitresses and waiters or stewardess/stewards. (I refuse to say flight attendent) Those are the nastiest bitches I have EVER been subject to.

Running a close second would be the large ladies down at Dallas city hall. I had to go and pull a building permit a few weeks ago. I was nice as pie and the fat bitch started right off being mean. The biggest part that I didn't underdstand was how the next customer in line was treated so nicely. You see, he and the fat bitch clerk were of the same race. If that had all worked out in the other direction there would be lawsuits and riots.

I just don't get it.

 

[AGENT SHAGWELL]

i totally agree Shags
when i worked at mcdonalds i had a manager call me a idiot for making something wrong,thats when i threw my apron at her and told her to eat my ass and quit

/B]

lol....you should have smuggled the MCdonalds game pieces like that guy did instead

 

[Milhouse]

I work with customers as my carreer and honestly 95% of them are great.
The other 5% bitch moan complain about anything and everything. The funny part is that 5% is usually the ones who buy the least, or owe money on the recievables half the time.

My $10000 a month average clients give me a tenth of the grief as my $200 every 3 month clients. Trust me one day I will bust one of them in the mouth.You asshole type customers who feel it is your right to degrade, insult moan bith and complain need to get a life and fuck off.
We dont need your business that bad and frankly our time would be better spent financially dealing with the good clients who have respect.

And hey its my fucking birthday today.

 

[Steroid_Virgin]

You fuckers are all just lucky then... no matter how nice I am, I still get fucked most of the time.. I think its a regional thing

 

[Dexter]

Tom Peters, love him or not, wrote two fantastic books in the 80's: "In Search of Excellence," and "A Passion for Excellence." While some of the companies he described turned out to become later on not so excellent, many of his ideas about customer service have been models for those companies who took them seriously.

One of his questions (paraphrase): "If customer service is a commodity, then anybody can do it. So why aren't people doing it?"

Because it's one of the fundamentally difficult things a business can do, and it starts from the top with managerial leadership.

Customer service, or customer care, in general, sucks.

And I think it always will, except for those few who get the point, something so idiotically obvious that one SHOULD understand: That customers are those who produce revenues that lead to profits, and excellent customer service is the way to secure and retain recurring revenues and keep customers actually HAPPY.

Dex

 

[velvett]

There was a time when it used to bother me that I had to sit around 7am-7pm waiting around for the phone company, cable guy, plumber, electrician, etc....

After arranging furniture deliveries and cabinetry installations for a few years where customers say, "weeeeeeeeeeeeellll... can you have them come next thursday between 1pm and 2:30pm or tomorrow morning - OH YES tomorrow morning between 9-9:30 would be just perfect for me."

KISS MY ASS!


When there is an opening (no, NOT tomorrow) you will be given an appointment and YES you or someone you will pay to sit around all day will just have to wait 1-12 hours for someone to get there. (And NO we will not leave it with your doorman)


Is that sort of calm customer service you were talking about?


Our expectations are too high for the short amount of time available for everyone to feel that they are the best served, fastest, and first served. This is a ME ME ME world and those listening to the morse complaints of the MEMEMEMEMEMEME people have stoped listening and responding.

Sad really.

 

[Jimsbbc]

Someone needs some lip service...

 

[gymnpoppa]

It's all

about RESPECT.....the lack of it. Nobody cares enough to make a change

 

[musclebrains]

Chicken or egg? Does the customer come out of the box bitchy or do we get bitchy from sitting on hold for an hour, then talking to a series of people who shuttle us around and then, finally, send us to a voice mail announcement that has nothing to do with our problem?

Granted, many times customer service types are operating at terrible handicaps imposed by their loser companies (short staffing, etc.), but the truth is, no matter the explanation, service sucks bad.

 

[Rex]

It varies from person to person, but it comes from both sides:

Customer POV: If you're job is something like bagging {I worked at an Acme}, then people think that you are below them and believe its their job to disrespect you just b/c.

Employee POV: I'm getting paid one way or the other....so go fuck ya self. And Acme was a union job, so their asses were there to stay for a while.

When I was a bagger at Acme I believe I only received 2 thanks you's in my 3 month time frame that I worked there. Fucking ingrates.

 

[Laserdude]

I get there respect everytime I walk into the store with my .357 at my side.

Then I explain what I want and that it is in the cash register. They will comply, or they will be assimilated by the .357 without a doubt. Resitance if futile.

ERRGGGGHHHH!

Shit I miss Starfleet Academy.

Dammit Jim he's dead!

 

[KConan]

The worst service ever in my opinion...

First: Post Office - Every time I go to the post office for something (passport, stamps, etc..) they are rude.

Second: Eckerds - I had an evil bitch store manager one time grab my arm while I was holding a drink because she thought I stole it. I had purchased it at a vending machine across the street and had been drinking it while waiting for a scrip to be filled. Most Eckerds are the same way. The pharmacy people are usually good, but retail can be iffy (some good, some bad).

Third: DMV - I hate the employees, I hate the clientel, I even hate myself when I'm at the DMV. EVERYONE is pissed in this place.

 

[MP5]

I have been unfortunate enough to work customer service for the last 14 years. The best way to get good service is to be nice and friendly and joke around with the employee. I hate it when someone comes in and talks shit to me and I have to sit there and apoligize knowing if I was not at work I would literally be ramming their face into the concrete. Then you get the person that is funny and cool and really makes the job better. As a teller at the bank people are cocks cause they have to wait in line etc, but when I am doing loan officer bullshit people kiss my ass, it is awesome! I hate customers, I decided I want a job that did not have a name tag. Customer service is like being a cop, you work with the scum of the earth sometimes and you don't get to pick your clients, so give us a break.

 

[the People's Champ]

Napalm should come in a small aerosol can like mace.

I heard that

 

[Roadblock]

I work with selling spareparts. You wouldn´t believe what assholes come in. People whining about prices, people wanting discounts because they know a neighbour who has a son who´s been working in a place i never heard of, people wanting to return used spareparts, people giving wrong info about their cars and when we pick out the wrong spareparts it´s all our fault... I could go on and on. Even though customers suck I still try to do my best to be as polite as I can.

Our best defense is to explain to customers that they are complete morons in a way they understand it and agree with it

 

[Dexter]

Hehe. Roadblock, I think you broke the code, bro. You obviously understand customer service.

Customers can be a royal pain in the ass...yet they are the ones paying for whatever. And as crazy as some of them are, the challenge of customer service is indeed to leave them happy.

And sometimes the really complaining customers are the best ones. At least they care enough to complain, and there can be some good lessons for improvement. Most customers just simmer in hateful silence or never return.

I've seen the most totally wacked-out, off-the-wall, certifiable customers come in and bitch with the weirdest stories and the foulest mouths. And I've seen them leave with thankful and happy faces, because somebody took the time and effort (a hard job) to explain in a diplomatic and friendly way just what an asshole they really are. And the next day, I've seen them return with chocolates and flowers for the customer service rep who was tortured by them.

Dex

 

[plifter]

I deal with customers via e-mail. It's much easier to tell them they're wrong when you don't have to listen to them scream.

 

[cm3504jm]

I always treat anyone I deal with with respect. Sometimes they return it, sometimes not.

Guess who gets the generous tips and compliments?

I even write letters to companies praising those individuals who go the extra for me.

Plus always remember that the toes you step on today may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow.

 

[Roadblock]

Sometimes a smile is all that needs to make a bitching customer insecure and sometimes even make them regret their behaviour.

 

[Steroid_Virgin]

See, most of you are misguided by terrible customer service, or, you have a terrible customer service orientation..

THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT...

There is never a reason to be days late on delivery, or not make it to an appointment within a window (why else do they call it a window?) I'd never have half of you work for me if you think its ever ok to give less than 100% effort to a customer.. EVER!!! Man O man...

 

[BackDoc]

I agree SV. There is continual victimization on both the part of the customer and the customer service personnel. Everyone wants to play victim and act like the evil is on the other side of the road.

If someone posted a thread asking "Should rich people be treated better than poor people?" there would be cursing and namecalling to anyone saying yes in ANY possible situation. People want equal rights and will cry to the high heavens when they don't feel they are being treated equally (of course, by equal, everyone wants equal good fortune, which is statistically impossible). However, the people on here who have said things like: "yeah, but they only work for 5 dollars an hour" or "they make pitiful wages" are justifying that it's okay to treat people badly if there is nothing in it for them personally. By saying it's okay to act the way they soemtimes do because they don't make much money is the pretty much the same thing as saying it's okay to treat people differently based on ability to pay. Kindness and courtesy are not measured in dollar degrees and when they are, it's a violation on the same level as treating people differently based on ability to pay.

It all boils down to selfishness and what's-in-it-for-me metality. I have no sympathy for the problems occruing on the path a person has chosen in life. Of course, I'm not including things they cannot control. But if they don't like the work they do or take it out on customers rather than seeing it as a problem to be solved then that is their right, as it is the right of the company to decide if they want to lose customers over this bad example.

I have no time for that. Justifying that bad service or a rude person is okay given their unique circumstances is unacceptible to me. Business is business and emotions and problems in life should be checked at the door. If the employee cannot make the best of their situation and do a proper day's work and greet customers appropriately, then they are not welcome to work in my office. Customers are paying for the right to complain (not curse or name call) but they have every right to say they don't like something...that is their PAYING right. If the customer service person doesn't agree, the manager or supervisor should be called in to see what can be done to keep them as a customer. If the customer is still not happy, they can either deal with it or go elsewhere.

I understand that things can be tough in life and that it can be a problem dealing with certain customers. Anyone who owns their own business is in the customer service line of work. You reap what you sow. Kindness and courtesy given to someone who is not returning it is noble and sometimes it is rewarded. A good and righteous person accepts blame when it is due, does not accept it when it is not, and does not lower themself to the emotion and situation of those who want to take it out on them. This is reality. It is sad but true.

 

[Y_lifter]

BacKDoc, Put a binding on that post and you could sell it as a Customer Care bible..
Well said, especially:

A good and righteous person accepts blame when it is due, does not accept it when it is not, and does not lower themself to the emotion and situation of those who want to take it out on them.

 

[velvett]

"How much is that console?"

"$3,275."

"Oh. Well, could I have the same thing but 2" deeper, 4" more narrow and witha stone insert instead of copper?"

"I would have to have that priced out for you."

"You mean you'll have to get back to me? How long will that take?"

"Depends on the manufacturer and how busy they are."

"Well, if I take this one how much of a discount will you give me?"

"It's new piece there is no discount."

"Well why should I have to pay more for something that is not right for me?"

"You could order a custom piece that is made to your specifications."

"But then I would have to wait."

"Yes, that is what normal happens with custom pieces."

"I'll take this one then."

"Where would you like to have it delivered?"

"Southampton."

”Ok, your total is $3634.75.”

“You’re changing me for delivery? Crate and Barrel doesn’t charge for delivery.”

”We’re not Crate and Barrel.”









I have customers that come into the retail shop that spend thousands of dollars on furnishings but piss and moan about the 75-100 bucks in delivery charges. So they will even pick it up themselves and push and shove it into their SUV's to then try and return the piece after they scratched it trying to take it out.

Yeah, yeah the customer is always right.

 

[BackDoc]

Thanks for the kind words Y Lifter.

Velvett...YOU CHARGE OVER 350 BUCKS FOR DELIVERY???!!! RIDICULOUS!!... just kiddin'! That sounds reasonable for quality delivery.

I know what it means to have to deal with people who whine about the smaller bills. However, I would rather deal with them and even come to some sort of agreement AND get their business rather than have them storm out mad. I won't shoot myself in the foot. This occasionally means I have to eat a bill on the customer's behalf just to keep getting their business. I look at it like a wholesale account: being given one check for the full asking price is not worth them never returning. I'd rather feel bad about getting 10 discounted payments than feel good about one payment sometimes. Every situation is unique. The customer is not always correct in their understanding of the situation, I didn't mean to imply that, nor do I want to imply that the employer should always eat the bill when a customer complains. Rather, they are deserving of respect and fair treatment. I won't discount a bill just because someone's not happy, but I'll do what I can to make them satisfied that they got what they paid for. In the case you mentioned, I wouldn't discount a dime when it's clear the customer is not altogther rational or reasonable.

 

[Y_lifter]

If you are in the CS business, you know you are going to always get people that are just Pains in the Ass.
Now that you know you are going to have them, the trick is being able to handle them.

I heard the CEO of Southeast airlines say the customer is NOT always right.
He was referring to Customers that get on his planes and were verbally and physically abusive to his Employee's.
He didn't want their business.

 

[plifter]

customer service jobs are a lot of fun after you've decided to quit. I worked for a credit card company once. On my last day some old man that couldn't remember his name told me I was a "dumb motherfucker" and that he never requested his account to be closed. He had called the person beside of me a few minutes before screaming that he wanted his account closed. I replied "yes you did request it closed sir, you're just too stupid to remember it". He just paused and then hung up. People really don't know what to think when a customer service person tells them off.

 

[Y_lifter]

LOL... Been there in a Supervisor role.
I would pull them off the front lines if I even suspected they were going to quit...

 

[velvett]

Thanks for the kind words Y Lifter.

Velvett...YOU CHARGE OVER 350 BUCKS FOR DELIVERY???!!! RIDICULOUS!!... just kiddin'! That sounds reasonable for quality delivery.

HHAHAAHA!

$75 for delivery - the rest was the 8.5% tax.

 

[BackDoc]

$75 bucks is a great deal if it gets there in perfect condition. That guy must have been a real moron. LOL! Did he want you to take the tax off of the final price too?!

 

[plifter]

LOL... Been there in a Supervisor role.
I would pull them off the front lines if I even suspected they were going to quit...

Yeah, I'm in sort of a supervisory position right now with e-mail technical support. I have a lot of people under me that simply don't know what they're doing. We train them and train them some more but they continually make the same mistakes. I have pre-written responses for a lot of common situations and all they need to do is copy them but they still manage to screw things up.