Call centres now consumers' last resort

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StarBlazer

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#167415 12-Mar-2015 19:27

Saw this on Stuff

I guess this is a sign of the times where more people need help as things get more technical, and we own more technology.

I think it's a cop-out for what is poor customer service and poor delivery/quality of products.

If things work as they are supposed to, and admin don't cock up your bills, then we don't need to call. When a company (eg Vodafone) is complaining that they have overworked and under resourced staff, wait times are going to increase, which unsurprisingly will result in more complaints and customer churn. I've found it easier recently to deal with non critical issues by email. I don't want to use Facebook to complain or ask for help. How do you feel about using social media for getting customer service. I've also used live chat on websites for assistance, this I like.

This is not specifically a whinge at Vodafone (I've done enough of that already recently) which is why I've put it here. I've heard and had some good call centre stories and some bad.

Let's keep this constructive, if you've had good call centre experience, share it. If it's bad, what could be done different.

EDIT should have proof read my own post.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

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#1257425 12-Mar-2015 19:51

Livechat is good both parties can do something more productive at the same time.

In consumer customer support most of the time is taken up by a small minority of people who want to tell a very very long story.

shrub

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#1257440 12-Mar-2015 20:15

I get so angry waiting on hold for things that I should be doing online like changing account type or data caps etc.

Vodafone has been getting a slamming lately but alot of that is there own faults. The merger with telstraclear just confused everything and all staff should of been trained rather than running 2 call centres.

StarBlazer

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#1257470 12-Mar-2015 20:59

shrub: I get so angry waiting on hold for things that I should be doing online like changing account type or data caps etc.

Vodafone has been getting a slamming lately but alot of that is there own faults. The merger with telstraclear just confused everything and all staff should of been trained rather than running 2 call centres.

Agreed that this is special to companies who go through acquisition and merger, but not this long after. My experience was waiting on hold about an hour to be told they can't deal with xTCL customers and so I got transferred and spent another 45 minutes on hold before giving up. Live chat here would have been great.

Procrastination eventually pays off.

Fred99

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#1257477 12-Mar-2015 21:09

When you need to talk to a real person for customer service, call the sales department, then get them to transfer you through.
Works for me.

Sideface

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#1257483 12-Mar-2015 21:15

Fred99: When you need to talk to a real person for customer service, call the sales department, then get them to transfer you through....

... and then you wait and wait and then they cut you off after 10-30 minutes.

You can't beat the system.

Sideface

richms

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#1257520 12-Mar-2015 22:22

"live chat" is usually just a front for an advanced form of script to get the answers and then its pushed to a real person to read thru and respond. For people that dont like to search knowledge bases etc.

Richard rich.ms

Geektastic

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#1257550 12-Mar-2015 23:03

I don't like call centres much, personally.

I especially do not like the fact that they insist on recording everything whether you like it or not (for 'training purposes' - Tui moment! If you want to use me for staff training, my rates are $100/hr). They don't 'record conversations for training purposes' if you pop into a physical shop (assuming that is an option).

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Geektastic

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#1257551 12-Mar-2015 23:05

richms: "live chat" is usually just a front for an advanced form of script to get the answers and then its pushed to a real person to read thru and respond. For people that dont like to search knowledge bases etc.

I don't mind a bit of KB searching, but that only works if the KB is any good. I find many just direct you to unhelpful things or appear to completely misunderstand what you are trying to find out.

Apple's live chat is excellent, as is Amazon.com's.

richms

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#1257555 12-Mar-2015 23:14

I quite like it when call centers say that I may record the call for training purposes. Training them to not screw up what I ask them for. But I record all calls on my voip regardless of if they give me permission or not, as its my right to.

Richard rich.ms

mattwnz

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#1257565 12-Mar-2015 23:34

Geektastic: I don't like call centres much, personally.

I especially do not like the fact that they insist on recording everything whether you like it or not (for 'training purposes' - Tui moment! If you want to use me for staff training, my rates are $100/hr). They don't 'record conversations for training purposes' if you pop into a physical shop (assuming that is an option).

I believe you can opt out of having your call recorded. I hate call centres personally, as I find it a huge waste of time. I prefer just to fire off an email. The problem is that many of these companies no longer have email as an option. They have livechat, which I find a step below call centres, all contacting them via soical meida, which is filled with people complaining, and is not a constructive environment, and prevents you discussing account matters.

BTR

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#1257859 13-Mar-2015 13:25

richms: I quite like it when call centers say that I may record the call for training purposes. Training them to not screw up what I ask them for. But I record all calls on my voip regardless of if they give me permission or not, as its my right to.

Yes its your right to but you cannot use it for anything legal against the company as you have not disclosed it. Why would you record all of your calls anyway, are your calls that interesting?

richms

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#1257865 13-Mar-2015 13:29

What do you mean I cant use it for anything legal? I sure as hell can go thru and transcribe the exact name of the person, date and time, and what they promised would be a resolution to the problem when I have called.

I record all the calls because it is a tickbox in 2talk to have them all recorded and its easier than thinking, Oh, I am calling the insurance company, I should turn the call recording on for this call.

Richard rich.ms

graemeh

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#1260070 16-Mar-2015 10:29

BTR:
richms: I quite like it when call centers say that I may record the call for training purposes. Training them to not screw up what I ask them for. But I record all calls on my voip regardless of if they give me permission or not, as its my right to.

Yes its your right to but you cannot use it for anything legal against the company as you have not disclosed it. Why would you record all of your calls anyway, are your calls that interesting?

Yes you can.

ubergeeknz

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#1260075 16-Mar-2015 10:35

mattwnz: I believe you can opt out of having your call recorded. I hate call centres personally, as I find it a huge waste of time. I prefer just to fire off an email. The problem is that many of these companies no longer have email as an option. They have livechat, which I find a step below call centres, all contacting them via soical meida, which is filled with people complaining, and is not a constructive environment, and prevents you discussing account matters.

They can also opt out of providing you with service, which in many cases is far easier for them (and less legal risk) than having an unrecorded call.

trig42

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#1260078 16-Mar-2015 10:43

BTR:
richms: I quite like it when call centers say that I may record the call for training purposes. Training them to not screw up what I ask them for. But I record all calls on my voip regardless of if they give me permission or not, as its my right to.

Yes its your right to but you cannot use it for anything legal against the company as you have not disclosed it. Why would you record all of your calls anyway, are your calls that interesting?

I think you can, only one party has to know the call is being recorded I believe. IANAL, but that is what I thought the law was/is.

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