Bad Customer Service (Houston, Alamo, Converse: insurance, refrigerator, minimum wage)

[CollegePalooza]

I was just noticing and I wondered if anyone else agrees. Is customer service at business' getting worse? I cannot tell you how many times I've called 1-800-No Customer Service for various companies, banking, insurance, anything, and have experienced very rude, frank, and nasty representatives that work for those companies.

What are y'alls thoughts? Have you noticed this too? Where do you find it most common....retail stores, 1-800-No Help....?

[Willsson]

My experience has TXU as the absolutely worst, if not non-existent customer service for existing service.

Tho'... and I don't really mean to defend but... Call Centers are absolutely some of the most disgusting places on the planet to work. Sure, there are some really awful jobs... coal mining, oil rigs and I give them their due. But Call Centers are driven by numbers and the people you talk with are pushed to make calls shorter, resolve any and all issues in one short call and all the while make you think they really care. And that's just for the call.

A call center rep is tethered to a phone for 7.5 hours daily. They get an unpaid lunch but two 15 minute breaks. Otherwise it's TAKE A CALL... usually for about minimum wage to about $10 bucks an hours. Unless, of course, it's a union shop then it's more like $15 or so, but those would be the telephone company or other regulated industry. Gotta pee? Try some personal regulation.

[jimithing78]

Call centers are usually understaffed because management thinks call centers don't generate revenue. It's true that most don't directly generate money unless it has to do with renewing some service contract or something but I think most companies don't realize how important call centers are to customer retention. If I get poor customer service then I'm changing to a competing company at the earliest possible time. Conversely, if I get good customer service I will pass the word on to my friends and family that I had a good experience with that company and recommend their services.

Big businesses are all about the bottom line so unless they start losing customers and they can directly attribute it to poor customer service they won't care.

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by tofurkey

My experience has TXU as the absolutely worst, if not non-existent customer service for existing service.

Tho'... and I don't really mean to defend but... Call Centers are absolutely some of the most disgusting places on the planet to work. Sure, there are some really awful jobs... coal mining, oil rigs and I give them their due. But Call Centers are driven by numbers and the people you talk with are pushed to make calls shorter, resolve any and all issues in one short call and all the while make you think they really care. And that's just for the call.

A call center rep is tethered to a phone for 7.5 hours daily. They get an unpaid lunch but two 15 minute breaks. Otherwise it's TAKE A CALL... usually for about minimum wage to about $10 bucks an hours. Unless, of course, it's a union shop then it's more like $15 or so, but those would be the telephone company or other regulated industry. Gotta pee? Try some personal regulation.

If I gotta pee I'm gonna pee even if I have to pee on the bosses desk top...

[CollegePalooza]

Originally Posted by Houston3

If I gotta pee I'm gonna pee even if I have to pee on the bosses desk top...

lol. Make sure you put that on youtube. You will be a celeb over night!

[catman]

"Customer service"? What is that?

[Rakin]

Many places have bad service but many have good, not much has changed there. I do hate to have to tele prompt 15 times and never talk to a live human.

I believe in this day of instant communication, spoiled kids and the I want it now mentality that it is more the people who have become very demanding and much more rude to others.

The internet and assorted modern conveniences have conditioned people to expect things to happen almost instantly. People were not this way 20 years ago.

So anyone who thinks service is bad should also look at their sometimes rude demands and have a little patience. It don't always happen right now.

JMO

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by catman

"Customer service"? What is that?

Think it's bad in Texas? Wait until you get to NM.....and no, I haven't gotten used to it taking 2 or more visits to get things done right.

Had a minor issue with Sears/refrigerator in CO......called this morning at 10, and they were out here at 1:30 the SAME day doing the installation. Took them 15 min all told (not including driving time).

The mixup occurred because the painters had moved a couple of my small boxes in the space, so they didn't install the fridge then.

In NM (and particularly Alamogordo) it would have taken several days, if indeed they'd even bother coming back out at all.

But...having said that, I'd agree that customer service, on average, is worse in Texas and probably most other places than in years past.

[catman]

Well, when one calls Customer Service and has to try to make out the poorly spoken English from someone in a call center...seems like that would transcend what state one lives in. But I can see that we are discussing different sorts of things. On a purely local level, I haven't had huge problems.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by catman

Well, when one calls Customer Service and has to try to make out the poorly spoken English from someone in a call center...seems like that would transcend what state one lives in. But I can see that we are discussing different sorts of things. On a purely local level, I haven't had huge problems.

That ticks me off big time, too, and it's all too common.