Adventures In Customer Service

[neptunebob]

Whirlcool, I agree with you about books from the 80's - it seemed that decade created a lot of greed and other bad traits.

Panthera, are you some kind of professor? You sound like one. Do you ever teach any business or MBA classes? I had some business classes (human resoruces was the worst) and sometimes I felt like we were obnoxious people in training!

 

[panthera]

Bob,

You caught me out. Yes, I teach at a small technical university here in Munich.
The last two semesters were a break, this fall I shall again be teaching "Business English" to future MBAs in their larval form.
Nothing and no-one has done as much harm to the middle class and the capitalist system of value addition as has this MBA mentality of the last 20 years. What the god damned communists didn't manage to do, these assholes are doing.

 

[neptunebob]

Oh, I feel for you...

I have to ask, are most of the students in that class obnoxioius? Everyone I ever knew who had one of those degrees was a Mean Bear Always. I once had a director of a medical records dept with a degress in Health Systems Administration (sounds like an MBA) who still cannot spell so I wonder if you have a hard time teaching them?

Given a choice of classes, would you teach Business English to business people or Shakespeare English (or whatever it is called) to actors and actresses? At least the classes would have a lot more drama!

 

[panthera]

The folks coming back to school after several years working

re-entering the workforce after raising kids are all a dream. In their late 30's, 40's, sometimes 50's, they are mature, clever, creative and want the MBA so they can fight back on equal terms.

The BWL students (Betriebswirtschaftslehre=Business Major) are by and large the worst. The classes with engineers, former housewives, soldiers on their last tour of duty, Americans (get an awful lot of them, cheaper to study here) and, of course, the "hard" science background folks are fun. We are "per Du" and we all just have a wonderful time. They usually also go on to get the best marks in all their courses.
The BWL students are, with exceptions (one out of 500), pompous, resentful that they have to take English (they also resent all the other courses), insist on being referred to by their last names...so I make them use my full title, von und zu and may the gods help them if they forget it. The other classes get to ask questions, these folks have to enter their questions into the system and wait for me to call them up on the screen. I then decide whether they are of general interest and worthy of answer or not.
After two, occasionally three sessions of this, they lose the stick up their asses, we go to first names and they act almost human. Paradoxically, the BWL students, despite already having a business degree, have a consistently lower GPA at graduation than do the other groups.
As time has gone on, things have gotten better because my reputation proceeds me. They know that my students do well in the finals; they also know that you can't push me around. I once had an entire group of 17 cheat on an exam. They didn't think I would fail all of them, the paperwork would be prohibitive.
I failed them.
Enough about me, so tell me, what do YOU think of me?
Seriously, what's your experience been? You teach as well, no?

Oh, to answer the question. Hmm, I have coached actors upon occasion on red-nex accents (my natural English). They are usually quick studies and nice people. As opposed to stars. Guess I don't much care, 'long as I can learn something new at the same time.

 

[ptcruiser51]

retired after 31 years at the phone company

most of it in customer service. There isn't enough bandwidth here to share the abuse I received from both customers and the company itself! One has to realize that we dealt with the general public in the broadest sense: The cretins who cut you off on the exit ramp; the senile citizens with expired coupons in front of you at the supermarket; the scumbags responsible for 9/11 - yes, they all have phones. I at one time worked in the payment office (when we had them) where customers could also turn in/pick up equipment. Phones choked with roaches. Equipment thrown at me. Lactating welfare mothers paying their bill with wet fives pulled out of their bras. Children wetting (or worse) on the floor. Paint-peeling body odor. I've been called everything imaginable. Our office used to compile these atrocities in a loose-leaf book, when someone retired they got a xerox copy of it to remember "those good times".

Now I work at The Home Depot (selling appliances, of course) and it's truly a great place IMHO. Most customers are fine, some are clueless but do appreciate the help I offer. The worst experience in 4+ years was a slob who sneezed on me - got me from my hair all the way to my shoe. I left the floor immediately in my apron, drove home (1 mi.), showered and changed clothes. My boss was waiting when I got back, fuming. I vividly explained what happened and she visibly gagged. Not another word was said... It's a fun job when you love your merchandise!

 

[foraloysius]

I'm coaching unemployed people and have been in other jobs dealing with the public too for over fifteen years now. I can only say it never gets boring!!

In the building I work there is also an office that deals with people with debts. Most clients get a settlement with their creditors and they are on minimal benefits for three years. Last week there was noone at the desk and a client took the opportunity to climb over it and steal a bag that looked like a camera bag. He must have thought it was a big catch but the bag only contained some old Tupperware stuff. His whole action was filmed and his settlement was cancelled. He is not allowed to enter the building anymore and he is also not allowed to call. A complaint was filed to the police for stealing that bag. Boy, will he be sorry that he took that bag, his creditors will soon be all over him!!

 

[neptunebob]

No, I am not a teacher, but will try to explain...

Back when I was young I went to a community college, which is the first 2 years of a college education here and took general college courses like math, English, and some accounting. It was when I transferred to a small 4 year college outside of Pittsburgh that I ran into a bad situation that I did not know about until I started classes. I was thinking of business becuase I wanted to work in an office and wear a suit (people dressed better in the 80s) but a 4 year college is different. It is no place to learn a subject for the first time and if you go to less than the best high school or do not have experience I did have a hard time. I started taking businss classes with human resources - ohhh, was it nasty! Some of the classes were "circle classes" - everyone would sit in a circle with the teacher in the middle, often complaining about their management job at Westinghouse and the young students were lost. There was also a lot of the professor giving his opinion, usually a nasty one, about their work, the school, the goverment, etc. But his opinion is not on a test and a lot of people did not do well. THis was also when I lived in a nightmare of a dorm with constant noise, could not get any sleep, the food was horrid, and when my dad called the dean about this the dean told him he did not raise me properly!. That is when Dad let me out of there - he wasnted me to stick it out because his generation said that "when you start something you finish it" but this would have been like finishing a bad movie.

I later worked in medical offices and picked up medical transcription and am so glad I work from home now. Anyway, what I saw above is why I think that business people and MBAs are obnoxious people in training. It seems like you don't learn much because all you hear is their opinion so when the parents ask "what did you learn in school today" (which few parents ask but mine did) there is not much to tell them. Today, I see many ads in the paper for colleges to have people get their MBA and advance in the company, but no ad tells what subjects you might learn there, yet I am sure a lot of people will go. It's just that it seems that everyone I know who has this type of degree is just miserable and obnoxious, so I hope you are not teaching obnoxious people in training.

I later went back to school to study nursing and I noticed another obnoxious subject that makes me glad I don't have kids: Elementary schoolteacher students. Most of the girls who chose education would tell me it was "because chemistry is too hard" and some of them were first class b-----s!

 

[perc-o-prince]

In the building I work there is also an office that deals wi

"Most clients get a settlement with their creditors and they are on minimal benefits for three years."

I thought this was something that only happened here in the US. So, basically, I can go out and charge a bunch of stuff that I have, or can make, open credit for, then make a deal with the creditors to only pay part of it back. In essence, I get all the "stuff" for less than the price that was charged (made my own sale price), don't have to pay interest, and just have to be careful for a few years.

Whatever happened to paying for things you bought or they get taken away?

The other travesty is when I see the commercial for "local phone service" that you can get, and the offering company doesn't care if you have an outstanding bill with THE phone company. Wow!

Sorry if this was a little off-topic for the thead, but it still speaks to the rudeness, carelessness, brazenness and self-centeredness of some people.

Chuck

 

[foraloysius]

"So, basically, I can go out and charge a bunch of stuff that I have, or can make, open credit for, then make a deal with the creditors to only pay part of it back. In essence, I get all the "stuff" for less than the price that was charged (made my own sale price), don't have to pay interest, and just have to be careful for a few years."

No, it's not that easy. The creditors must agree with it. Only when the creditors agree it is possible to get a settlement. When they don't the client must pay all his debts off. Overhere in the Netherlands we hardly use creditcards so it doesn't concern that many people as it probably would in the USA.

 

[58limited]

As a veterinarian, my clients are usually great. However, I do have my problems too (often around full moon time). Mostly, the problem I encounter is either senior citizens who get upset if we forget to give them a senior citizen discount (which is really a courtesy, not a right by the way) or this: I can tell someone face to face the diagnosis, give reasons the problem might have occurred, and recommend a treatment plan. But instead of believing the doctor whom they are talking with face to face, they want to believe some crap they read on the internet written by someone they don't know and whose credentials are questionable. My favorite are vomiting cases - they read on the internet about some rare disease that only rarely causes vomiting, really harp on the subject, but then usually quiet down when I pull out my internal medicine book and show them a table that lists over 100 common causes of vomiting.

Every now and then I get someone who just doesn't believe my diagnosis and wants to argue with me. I have always advised them to get a second opinion if they don't believe me. I have almost (but not quite yet) asked them how many years of vet school they have had in order to arrive at their opinion?

The worst by far are doctor's wives - no schooling but they think they know everything, or think they should get special treatment since their husband is Chief of Neurology at the big hospital in town. OK, your husband is a big time doctor - what are you? Do you work or contribute to society in any way? Why are you important just because your husband is a good Doc?

 

[jamiel]

Update on the Hoover vacuum...vac store was able to locate a dust bin so I'm good to go.

 

[runematic]

Adventures in customer service

Where to begin?

From the business side: You would not believe how many people yelled at my brother & I for going on our 1st vacation in 6 years. People could not believe we would be going away and they could not get something taken care of instantly. My dad (all 67 3/4 years of him) was doing the road work, running the store & doing deliveries (with a buddy of ours who is currently "between jobs again"). He was busting his a$$ to keep everything going. Most folks were fine, but there were many that just were a*holes. I took a real beating before we left from one lady that we couldn't get to her washer for 4 days. I finally could not take it anymore. I asked her how long she waited for her doctor the last time she was sick. She was quiet and then said 5 weeks, but that doesn't mean anything. Ok, 4 days for a washer that worked but was really noisey, or 5 weeks for an illness. HMMM. I really must be missing something.

On the customer side: I absolutely despise the genealogy site "One Great Family." I joined for a free 14 day trial and cancelled that same day because the site was not what I was looking for. They had a yearly special for $59 for the year as well. Supposedly when you cancel, they send an email with a special 1-800# to finish the cancelation. It seems that part was buried. I never got an email from them. I assumed it was cancelled. When I got my CC bill for $79 (that's right, not $59 anymore) I called right in. They said I never called in & I politely told the guy on the line that I never received any emails from them. Well basically I was told tough shit. I did not call in. I talked to a "supervisor" and he confirmed that I emailed in my cancellation but never called in and that's too bad, enjoy the website. I went through many ugly emails from them for 2 weeks and got nowhere. Ugly customer skills and they ripped me off for an additional $20 to boot. My CC company investigated but did nothing. Stay away from One Great Family. Ripoff artists and horrible customer service reps.

Well I've gone on long enough, now I'm mad at that website again. LOL.

 

[toggleswitch2]

~Why are you important just because your husband is a good Doc?

Status by injection. That's easy; she channels his money out. and she MUST be important if she can find a catch that makes that much money. HA!

 

[oldhouseman]

Runematic

Don't pay for those genealogy websites. They are a ripoff.

You are better off to contact various State Archives direct for information. Genealogy websites charge you for information that is free if you visit an archives to look the information up yourself (they may charge for photocopies) and if you don't live in the state and can't visit there is usually a small fee to have something looked up for you through mail reference services.

Please email me and I will be happy to assist you with genealogy work. I work in a State Archives and have access to various records and websites that may be of help to you.

 

[toggleswitch2]

~Don't pay for those genealogy websites. They are a ripoff.

Te he he he.

My father legally changed his name (including his surname) to Anglicize it and otherwise make it pronouncable in English. (Well also to get into an Ivy-league school).

I laugh like hell when my legal/real last name gets some B/S story attached to it via those sites. Honey, it goes back two generations, period.

 

[runematic]

Oldhouseman, thanks. One day when I get a few free moments I'll take you up on that.

Here's another good customer service story. When I got back from vacation last week I was talking with a freind of mine who is a teller at my local bank. I was telling her about my being flogged by customers and she said well here's one that happened yesterday. She was being yelled at by a customer for the bank "stealing" here money. This went on for 10 minutes. She was ranting and raving. She didn't know her acount number but remembered she had her checkbook along. My teller friend looked at it and said M'am your looking for the bank across the street, not us. She said the customer stormed out and didn't even apologize. Some people.

 

[neptunebob]

So are you still there Panthera? I can tell more but that is about it.

 

[panthera]

Yup,

Sorry, Bob, my flights to the US were rather complicated. I kind of signed out on Saturday - preparing for finals - and won't really be back 'on line' 'till tomorrow. You'll hear more from me then and I do appreciate your writing back.
Have an interesting customer service tale to tell right now, tho'.

When I called to confirm my flights, the rep. I got was fighting a bad head cold or serious hay-fever. We worked through everything and I said thanks, get better soon.
She nearly cried. Said I was the first person all day to say anything nice to her - she'd been bitched at all day 'cause of being hard to understand. When the automated "quality assurance" asked me to evaluate my "experience" after our call, I said I had been very well taken care of.

Fast forward. I got to the airport on time - on time to hear that I had been bumped 'cause of overbooking. But not to worry, as a 'thank-you' for my feedback, the airline had up graded me to first-class and the special lounge.

Wow! Would have cost nearly $10,000 more (current price for that flight, I looked) and I got it for my $1700 ticket and being nothing more than polite and courteous.

There's certainly an interesting feeling in the air in the US right now - I don't think I've seen folks this 'questioning' in decades. Not going to comment on it here.

 

[neptunebob]

I believe you did the right thing, but from the things I hear in the news, I am almost afraid to fly because of the experience, not the safety. I would like to go to Disney World some time and wonder if the airline situation will get any better. Have you ever flown into Pittsburgh International Airport? USAirways used to have a Pittsburgh to Frankfurt flight but I don't think they do anymore.

Since you teach English, I have a question about actors: Have you noticed a difference between a regular actor and a Shakesperean actor/actress? The Shakeperean ones are more dramatic and I wonder if you helped with training them?

 

[jakeseacrest]

I work in an ER in Rhode Island that for some reason gets more than its share of drunks. Customer service goes out the window with us when they are spitting, swearing, and peeing all over my floors in the drunk tank. One nurse who finally had enough whispered to a completely beligerant patient the other day and he got very quiet after that. She told me that she simply stated that he was being a bad boy and showed him a LONG catheter that she was going to insert if he couldn't stop wetting his bed!