Crappy help desks I have experienced

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nunz

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#208473 13-Feb-2017 18:58

I reckon one of the worst part of my job is dealing with crappy help(sic) desks and support staff. what really ticks me off is the number of "services" that are now pushing clients to use forums and removing access to technical support.

Two cases in point:

1 - Avast - The NZ number tells you to go online and send a ticket (still waiting)

2 - Drop box - sends you to forums or asks you to send a ticket - that it then forgets, doesn't answer or closes before actually fixing the issue.

Both are paid services / products. Both promise what they cant deliver nad after spending hours getting no where it's cheaper to go buy something else and lose the money spent on the original product.

Sending people to community forums and dumb ass help systems that do everything possible to keep you away from talking to thier help seems to be a more and more common practice.

This is why cloud services will fail - they cant afford to charge as low as they do and provide decent support.

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#1719655 13-Feb-2017 21:01

Quote

they cant afford to charge as low as they do and provide decent support.

Pick one, or pay

SepticSceptic

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#1720013 14-Feb-2017 13:44

The OP indicated that he paid for the services ?

Avast, I would have thought, would have started out as providing proper support for their paid product, but are now advising logging a support on-line, and have NO phone support ? For the same price ?

A cost cutting measure ?

Geektastic

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#1720071 14-Feb-2017 15:28

Logitech.

Their help service is just hopeless.

mattwnz

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#1720079 14-Feb-2017 15:38

Adobe these days isn't great either, last time I had a problem getting my software authenticated. Supposedly these are anti piracy mechanisms, yet legit buyers are the ones that get inconvenienced with poor call centre experiences. The thing is they used to be really good. IMO there is no excuse for poor cusomter service from these large companies.

I am also finding banks are doing really poorly at the moment . One bank I was on hold for over 45 minutes before my call was answered. Then another I was on hold for 45 minutes and then got a message to say the call centre was now closed, and it hung up on me. Even though it said on their website that it would be open for another hour. Another I was told they would contact the branch about the issue I had. 4 days later I contacted the branch, and noone had made contact with them, so I had to reexplain it all over again. It seems to be all down to outsourcing. A pity companies aren't required to have minimum levels of service.

richms

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#1720081 14-Feb-2017 15:41

I get so angry at places when I have to re-explain problems because their useless systems mean that they dont have notes on previous calls. These days with dirt cheap cloud based CRM systems it is inexcusable.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#1720083 14-Feb-2017 15:44

richms:

I get so angry at places when I have to re-explain problems because their useless systems mean that they dont have notes on previous calls. These days with dirt cheap cloud based CRM systems it is inexcusable.

I would have expected NZ banks should be doing this. Supposedly they do also record all calls anyway.This is actually why I prefer email support, as it only needs to be explained once, and you get the reply in writing. So it ends up being far quicker. The problem is many businesses treat email communications very poorly, and can take days/weeks to reply. They instead treat phone calls as priority.

Geektastic

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#1720084 14-Feb-2017 15:45

NZ mobile operators who outsource help desks to places where English is not the first language. It can be hard enough trying to get the person on the other end to grasp the issue properly without that added barrier to communication.

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tdgeek

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#1720093 14-Feb-2017 16:01

Geektastic:
NZ mobile operators who outsource help desks to places where English is not the first language. It can be hard enough trying to get the person on the other end to grasp the issue properly without that added barrier to communication.

What if the CSR is here in NZ and English is their second language?

lNomNoml

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#1720094 14-Feb-2017 16:05

Microsoft and Google are my favorites

Geektastic

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#1720295 14-Feb-2017 22:39

tdgeek:
Geektastic:

NZ mobile operators who outsource help desks to places where English is not the first language. It can be hard enough trying to get the person on the other end to grasp the issue properly without that added barrier to communication.

What if the CSR is here in NZ and English is their second language?

It depends how well they speak it.

The example I had in mind was in the Philippines and 'not terribly clearly' would be the answer to that question in this particular instance.

Geektastic

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#1720296 14-Feb-2017 22:42

I'll give you an example of one (not exactly a help desk but kinda) that is the total opposite:

I had a question about Breitling watches. The local dealer could not help to my satisfaction. I rang the Australian office which handles all of Oceania. They could not help to my satisfaction.

Frustrated, I emailed Breitling in Switzerland with my question.

This evening, I got a call on my mobile from an ineffably polite Swiss gentleman, at Breitling in Switzerland, answering my question personally! My gast was well and truly flabbered.

geocom

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#1720311 14-Feb-2017 23:05

Acer are totally hopeless if your question is not on their sheet.

I rang them up to find out where i could buy a adapter plate for the second m.2 slot in my laptop told the first guy what my problem was and he passed me onto his supervisor who then proceeded to do the exact same process as the person before until she realised that it was not on the sheet and told me i should ring the acer service center to get them to find out more.

So i rang the number and it directed back to the same call center i had just rung before. At first i though she had just given me the wrong number so i asked the person on the line if the number i had been given was correct only to be told that the only way to talk to the service center through the acer support desk.

I was then told i need to get in contact with the company that i brought the laptop from and get them to do a warranty claim why they would do anything when the part has never been included in any box sold was beyond me but at this point i was so sick of going around in an endless loop for an hour i just gave up.

After that I did a bit more searching and found on acer's own site a list of parts suppliers. Flicked the one in NZ an email and had the part ordered without any hassles.

Geoff E

tdgeek

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#1720312 14-Feb-2017 23:09

Geektastic:

tdgeek:
Geektastic:

NZ mobile operators who outsource help desks to places where English is not the first language. It can be hard enough trying to get the person on the other end to grasp the issue properly without that added barrier to communication.

What if the CSR is here in NZ and English is their second language?

It depends how well they speak it.

The example I had in mind was in the Philippines and 'not terribly clearly' would be the answer to that question in this particular instance.

So, your not interested in the inherent capability of the CSR, but more that they speak english in a way that suits you? That smacks of the "R" word to me.

Geektastic

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#1720313 14-Feb-2017 23:12

tdgeek:

Geektastic:

tdgeek:
Geektastic:

NZ mobile operators who outsource help desks to places where English is not the first language. It can be hard enough trying to get the person on the other end to grasp the issue properly without that added barrier to communication.

What if the CSR is here in NZ and English is their second language?

It depends how well they speak it.

The example I had in mind was in the Philippines and 'not terribly clearly' would be the answer to that question in this particular instance.

So, your not interested in the inherent capability of the CSR, but more that they speak english in a way that suits you? That smacks of the "R" word to me.

No, I'm interested in their ability to communicate adequately with their customer. Don't infer imaginary agendas.

tdgeek

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#1720314 14-Feb-2017 23:13

Geektastic:

I'll give you an example of one (not exactly a help desk but kinda) that is the total opposite:

I had a question about Breitling watches. The local dealer could not help to my satisfaction. I rang the Australian office which handles all of Oceania. They could not help to my satisfaction.

Frustrated, I emailed Breitling in Switzerland with my question.

This evening, I got a call on my mobile from an ineffably polite Swiss gentleman, at Breitling in Switzerland, answering my question personally! My gast was well and truly flabbered.

Example of what? You just showed that its more important to you that "how well do they speak it" (English) Now you give an example of great customer service. I could call a third tier Apple reseller and ask a question or I could call a top tier support at Apple, Cupertino and get better support. Clarify the relationship between "how well do they speak it" and support

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