Bad Customer Service Stories.

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Evinta

118 posts

Master Geek

#14177 19-Jun-2007 22:35

I feel like having a good discussion on customer service.

So what was the worst customer service you ever had or more than one time at a time?

Or just in general?

Netgear Customer Service Callcenter

Before i start i must stress the following:
- We had the LAN cable connected to both said computer/laptop involved and to the new wireless modem.
- We had a [Rippoff] Xtra Boardband plan in place since well june i think of last year and we were using LAN till xmas when mum wanted to go wireless.
- English is not the staff member's first lanuage AND i came out of that thinking that she was reading from a manual and not really listening to what dad [who knows what hes talking about] and so did i. You will understand when i finished telling the story.

Now, at Xmas time my mum decided to go wireless since she found it much easier to work on her laptop on her bed but to do that would mean adding yet another LAN cable through the house and looks wise .. nah. So she and dad went to DSE and got a Wireless Router and two Wireless adapters since the two laptops already had wireless with them. All netgear.

Installing the wireless adapter was easy, no problems at all. Just put it in the PCI slot and install the program, easy as... chip.

Installing the Router however... was a different story. My dad went through the first steps pretty easly and didn't have any major problems till he tried to go online. Even though the right DNS settings were there, even though the LAN cables were connected, it wouldn't connect.

So dad rang Xtra. "Sorry" after ten minutes of waiting for someone to answer. "we only support D-Link"

Dad told me and i was like ... ha! thought so.

So he rang Netgear, first of all the phone call was charged because surpise surpise it was sunday and oh didn't know you it, call center for NZ wasn't open so we had to ring OZ. So we do so, get connected in five minutes and then dad explains. The woman then keeps telling us to go to a website. Dad tries to tell her that we can't connect yet no she wants us to go to a website.

A hour later same thing, We even changed computers from my mums to my laptop to see if anything. i took over and said to her ... Your router isn't connecting to the net even though everything was fine yet she insisted since the router was on that we can connect >_<

We said thanks, we will sort it out ourselves and we took back the netgear and got a D-link.

So what about you guys?

sneeble

29 posts

Geek

#75291 20-Jun-2007 09:46

it should read
Bad Customer and Service Stories.

Lets see.....

It was my turn for a random grocery check at the supermarket with the self serve scanners. Its 8am on a Tuesday morning (no whiny brats - normally), one person on the shop-n-go isle who is doing the rescan. This woman stands behind me for about 20 seconds, then says in her whiniest most annoying voice, "isn't anyone going to serve me". The checkout chick replies "yes ma'am, when I am finished serving this customer I will serve you". I have to admire the girl behind the counter, she wasnt taking any crap from this customer. The customer was served by another staff member in under 2 minutes, that did not stop her complaining as loudly and as obnoxiously as she could about useless staff.

It goes both ways, there are some useless CSR's but there are even more useless customers who often want a solution their way, not the correct way. Yes there is a remarkable amount of helpdesk staff who cant speak english, maybe the solution is to promote NZ as a place to outsource IT helpdesk to, considering the costs is not much more than India or Malaysia.

freitasm

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#75537 21-Jun-2007 15:15

On the other hand I have some good customer services stories. For example check this one out about my experience with Belkin this week...

kinsten

240 posts

Master Geek

#75538 21-Jun-2007 15:37

Yea, I work in the customer support office, and boy do we get some beauties.

But my most frustrating experience with customer service was when my mothers telephone stoped working. After spending 30 minutes frustrated with telecoms helpdesk (she is a very impatient woman) I took over the task to sort her out.
It eventually turned out, (1.5 hours later) that her number that was issued 2 months before hand, had not been logged as being used since 1984. So when someone else in the area got their line connected they reassainged the connection not realising it was already in use.
Needless to say she had to have a new number. I was lucky enough to have someone with a good sense of humor on the other side, so we pretty much just chatted while the situation got sorted out. haha. But the 1.5 hour support call and the situation in general was kinda rank.
Good one Telecom.

I usually end up calling help desk for my friends & friends families as no one can understand indians. I must be an authority on more than 5 internet & telecom accounts now. Fine mess I have got myself into. =)

ashtonaut

614 posts

Ultimate Geek

#75625 22-Jun-2007 11:44

To add to the good stories:

Since we switched our insurance to AMI, I have been hugely impressed by their new (since the re-branding?) approach to customer service. When you call the 0800 number, it is picked up within 5 seconds by a real live New Zealand human, who is able to deal with your enquiry then and there, without transferring you. There is no waiting on hold, and no navigating through touch-tone or voice recognition menu systems. I have consistently been impressed with this approach, and I only hope more companies realize how it can positively affect customer perception...

sneeble

29 posts

Geek

#75670 22-Jun-2007 16:17

oddly enough we switched from AA to AMI, best decision we ever made, it costs less with more insurance coverage and a lower excess than the previous policy which also had a long term member discount. AMI did not reject a glass claim for an oven I bought off trademe for $1 (it was humiliating enough to admit claiming a $200 piece of glass for it). The staff member I dealt with even found a way for it to go on glass cover as opposed to contents. Well done.

BTW the conversation went like this

"How old is the oven?"
"Approximately two years old"
"What is the brand?"
"Fisher and Paykel classique double wall oven"
"Where did you buy the oven"
"Trademe"
"And how much did you pay for it?"
"One dollar"

Although I was completely honest I felt like I was ripping them off, even if it was me who knocked the door off a bench onto concrete. I think this was payback for getting such a good deal.

kinsten

240 posts

Master Geek

#75671 22-Jun-2007 17:11

Winning Tip

When I was working for my previous employer, Smith & Smith Auto Glass, we would often be in contact with insurance companies for glass claims. During an insurance expo, there was talk about how to improve customer support. Turns out people talk more politely if they are smiling. So, how do you make sure everyone is smiling when on the phone, in a small cubicle, talking to somtimes disgruntled customers?

Put a wee mirror on their computer screen so they can see themselves while talking to you. Haha, true story, we gave them a bunch of mini mirrors to put infront of all the customer support staff. Whether or not they used them, well only and AMI customer support person would be able to answer that. =)

cokemaster

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#75672 22-Jun-2007 17:30

Worse customer experience:

Slingshot - poor customer service when troubleshooting bb connection
Telecom new and moves tier 2 - gave wrong info, TL escalation went nowhere (no callback or email as promised), under handed remarks about the size of my bill and 'what are you complaining about', no response with further emails to the group.
Vodafone - long queue times then being 'hung up on', people promising to do things but no notes and no action (repeatably). People are nice enough but if you want results... Whats happening with my bills, vodafone??
Noel Lemming - I had to get a laptop that was on promo. Went to the Napier store, was told 'out of stock'. Went to the Palmerston North store who said they had some... 'out of stuck but napier store have some'. Go back to Napier store - 'Oh, yes we do have a few....'

Best:

AMI - much cheaper than all the major players (including banks) for car insurance. Upfront IVR (none, just hold music), nice people.
Xtra bb - just asked for phone number, was able to use tool to see line state, whether modem was connected and what username it was trying to connect with. In the end had to get modem replaced but it made it a 5 minute affair, compared to previous attempts with Xtra and also Orcon (which from memory involved me calling someone at Dynalink at my own expense to get modem replaced).

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pinkpod

20 posts

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#76082 27-Jun-2007 06:42

wow those are some serious doozies...customers service just isn't what it should be today (not that all customers are good ones)...my worst experiences have been with airline customers service (those people aren't even in the same country I am in - nor is English their first language)...but I mean honestly they should atleast be able to help me!!!!

Batman

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#76240 28-Jun-2007 21:24

I WILL NEVER FLY AIR NEW ZEALAND. EVER.

The story began on the morning after. After the horrific South East Asian tsunami on Boxing Day 2004. We checked in our luggage after our honeymoon. We had our request for Business class rudely declined 30 minutes ago. A firm British accent echoed through the departure lounge, a woman was on her mobile to her husband, "why didn't you book us into Singapore Airlines? If i had to fly Air New Zealand again i won't go" ... i dare not catch the last part of the conversation.

Ah ... i remember. Midnight. On our honeymoon, flying Air New Zealand from Christchurch to Singapore. We thought we'd support the national airlines who wasn't doing too well. I was thristy so the buzzer was pressed to call for a steward. Ninety minutes passed, a blonde with pouted lips turned up at my seat and disabled the call. No questions asked. No drink either. NINETY MINUTES worth of $2400 NZD.

No apologies. No upgrades. No acknowledgement. Terrible, terrible, SHAME ON YOU AIR NEW ZEALAND.