I work in a call centre (not one of the big ones), and here are some of my grievances.
1. People who start the conversation by demanding to know my name. Hey, you’re calling me. Why not start by giving me your name, and telling me why you’re calling? I’ll give you my name, gladly, if the situation requires it. But when you start out by demanding it (not asking for it politely), you’re starting off on the wrong foot.
2. People who don’t listen. If you keep asking me to repeat myself, to tell you the same thing over and over again, I’m liable to think you’re a bit stupid. Again: you called me. So pay attention, please, when I’m answering your questions.
3. People who assume I’m stupid. I’m not. You don’t have to tell me the same thing over and over again. I heard you the first time.
4. People who don’t know where they live. My job requires me to ask you for your address, and this isn’t a trick question. If you don’t know the name of your street, or your postal code, don’t get at mad at me when I tell you I can’t help you without that information. It’s not my fault you don’t know where you live.
5. People who curse at me. These are easy to deal with: I hang up on them. But, seriously, you call someone to ask their help and then you curse at them?
6. People who refuse to accept “yes” for an answer. I agree with everything you’re saying, I’ve admitted we’re at fault, I’ve promised to make sure it doesn’t happen again, why are you still complaining to me? Why are you telling me the whole story again?
7. People who think “call centre employee” is the same thing as “bitch.” I am not your bitch. Don’t treat me like your bitch. Be polite to me.
8. People who demand (again: not ask, demand) that I break the rules for them. What is wrong with you?
This article appears in May 1-7, 2008.
I’ve always felt bad for call centre employees. People tend to be complete assholes to them. When I used to work customer service for a retail company, I would ‘accidentally’ hit the wrong button and hang up on the complete pricks. I don’t know why people just don’t understand that the nicer you are to a person, the nicer they will be to you. And if all else fails, they should just call back and get a different call centre employee if they are not satisfied with the results…
I worked in call center hell for a while too. The thing that always amazed me the most was that almost nobody seemed to understand that they were calling a CALL CENTER. People actually think they’re talking to someone who works for the company they’re pissed at. Everything is outsourced, folks. EVERYTHING. If you’re calling “customer service”, you’re calling a call center.
I have one to add to that since I also work in a call centre. People who call in and say… just a sec… then continue the conversation they have going on with whoever in the background for like 10 minutes. Do not be surprised if you get hung up on. That’s asking for it.
I wonder how many of the people the OP is bitching about have tried several times to get service done competently, and have had to hang up and try again.Everyone would be a little testy after their tenth call. Of course I have no sympathy for the dense ones who just don’t get that “I’m sorry sir/madam, we can’t do that.” means just that.
I’ve worked for a call center, and had some of the worst companies that I had to answer the phone for, so I definitely hear where you are coming from. Only I worked nights, by myself, so if I hung up on them, they’d call back, and get me.But I’ve also been on the other end of a call center call where the person just has no idea what they’re doing. I generally look on the internet for answers before calling anyone, so when I am on the website of the company, and talking to the person in the call center, they should at least know what the website is telling me. I’ve read parts of their own website back to them on the phone and have them tell me, no, I don’t know what you’re talking about, we don’t do that.But because I’ve been on the other end of the phone, I just have to keep saying to myself, they’re just working a job, they don’t care about this business, they just need to pay rent. Keeps me from getting too upset with them.
I work at a call center, as well. And it is so true that people don’t know what they want: People need to formulate their questions before calling. I don’t like playing 20 questions! The amount of people who think that yelling at me, will make me want to help you more, you are wrong. And if you curse me, I’m allowed to hang up on you. Remember that.Also, when I tell you to do things, do them. Don’t give me a hard time about it. I don’t ask you to do thing just for the fun of it. I am not bending the rules for you, no matter how sweet you are or how much you yell at me. If I bend/brake the rules, I am held accountable. I’m not going to risk my paycheck for you 🙂
I too work at a call center and generally I LOVE IT, HOWEVER, I hate to say it but it’s the idiot Americans that I HATE dealing with, everything is my issue and or problem and they have NO CLUE where NS is, I mean come on LOOK AT A MAP WE ARE NOT PART OF PEI….But I am lucky enough to work in a GREAT environment with GREAT co-workers and staff!! I just wish the IDIOTS on the phone would have HALF A CLUE sometimes!!
jenn, before you call them Idiot americans, did you know that in a recent study of canadians, 2/3 of them……… and in a study of ameriacans……. all aged between 19-25,(100,000 in each sample taken) the common thought is there is 52 states. Reality is that many do not know any geography beyond where they live. Reality is you know as little about them as they do about you.Take this test without googling.What city south, the capital of Minnesota or the Capital Of Oregon?What state has ski runs and regular 100 degree F weather? What is the capital of New York State?Those are things many amricans could answer, but i doubt with out googling you knew that the answer was Portland, California and Albany? does that make you an idiot that you might have got many of those wrong?
whoops, that should be 57.7% of americans thought that stuff too
Homie…Sorry but it’s just the “American Idiots” that I have to deal with in my job personally, so I’m just speaking on personal experience…
And Homie…Sorry to say but I work for Tourism and since you inserted your own answers to your questions I guess you didn’t give me a chance to answer anything!! I know more about the states because I want to be informed when someone from 1 of the 50 states calls me about NS
got it jenn….because YOU know about all areas that you visit, and YOU must know the ways of life and all the factoids about everywhere you go, therefore you think EVERYone should be like that?Funny, you calll them idiots, part of the reason for vacationing is to go and learn things. You do realize working for tourism, people are going to ask questions about the region you are working in. If you were a teacher, would you call the students idiot for not knowing the information they came to learn?please ease up on the pompus attitiude. Most canadian are just as ignorant about other parts of the world as they are of here.
No No Homie…You are the resident expert of all that is good and whole in the world…
And if I had to deal with Canadians that were acting like idiots then I would extend the insult or observation to them as well…
One call….”Oh why would I need a passport to come to NS…Canada is another country???” No not idiots, just trying to learn about where they are visiting…and this came from an American citizen…
for the most part, americans didnt need a passport to enter canada. That is a new thing. Rather pompus of you to call someone an idiot because they dont know ow about the region. VERY arrogant of you to suggest they should learn before they get here. Having travelled the world for work, i knew nothing of the countries i was going to. If me not knowing shit and asking questions that might seem simple to the locals makes me an idiot, i guess i would have to be among them idiots. I never claimed to be the expert on what’s good and pure, but you sound like a brat that has a standard of knowledge that ALL others should have, especially when visiting YOUR province.
The idiot comment would be to the part of the statement that asked..”Oh Canada is another country??” Yeah I would say an American thinking Canada is part of the US…YEAH IDIOT…Pompous or not….
My apologies Jen, ye of never asking stupid questions.Gotta love the perfect people like you. Can you proof read all my questions prior to entering other countries so mistakes like that might not come out.To plays devil’s advocate on the question, perhaps her wording of the question might have been wrong? Or do you just past instant judgement and feel superior? and if you want to qualify a potential slip of the way one words things as being an idiot,….. could you be called an idiot for a statement like… ” I hate to say it but it’s the idiot Americans that I HATE dealing with”.clearly you know all americans arent idiots. However your statement could be interpreted that you called all of them idiots. That in turn would make you the idiot.
LOL Homie, LOL, I am sure that high horse that you have sat on before is dressed and mounted, I’m taking my “brat ass” back to the phones to deal with the “IDIOTS” whatever nationality they may be…You should go outside and enjoy the beautiful sunny day…And her wording of the dumb ass question wouldn’t have helped…she worded it just like she thought….And proof-read, nah, I don’t think I would have the strength to get through all the dribble that are in your PERFECT POSTS, of your PERFECT OPINIONS!! Here’s to you Homie!!
my posts are hardly perfect, and i very rarely give opinions as i have pointed out before. Calling you a brat, that was an opinion. I am not ashamed to admit that i dont know about things, and i can see here that many dont know a lot of things, but i am not going to call someone an idiot for that lack of knowledge. Oh, if you are actually typing to me to go enjoy a sunny day, that means you are not doing the same thing. So take your own advice. Ps – im on my back deck getting work done and am on my laptop, ENJOYING THE SUN
I’m glad to hear that you are on your deck enjoying the day Homie…Remember to apply sunscreen it might get pretty hot out there today 🙂 Have an AWESOME DAY!!
YOU ARE AN IDIOT JEN….just because it is sunny, and what not, you should know there is little to no need for a black person to apply sunscreen. Come on you idiot, how could you not know that? RESEARCH COMMENTS LIKE THAT….lol ….. just kidding. have a great day yourself (sidenote) i can have conversations where i agree with you and other ones that i do not. I dont take this shit personally and hold zero grudges like others do here.
I hold no grudges either Homie, this is a great forum to get a look at others opinions, and on a side note….I am a brown girl, I hate the term black, and I do burn in the sun 😉
Homie…on my lovely walk home from work I was thinking about my comments on this thread and enjoying the sunshine I decided I would try to clarify a few points on my behalf…I guess I should have been more clear in my response about dealing with “idiot Americans”, the ones that call and ask me my opinion on all the things they can see and do in NS, I LOVE talking to them…The ones that call to ask questions, whether I think they are stupid, obvious questions or not, like oh will I be able to Ski Doo in July when I come visit, I chuckle in my head, as I probably might think somewhere in Colorado I can ski all year…It’s the (in general) Americans who are rude and abrupt in the idiotic questions like Canada being another country,and the way they present themselves to me on the phone…I honestly love answering questions about this great province that I live in and I get excited when people describe the “down home” feel they get when they come here, and I like educating people on NS whether it be the climate or the culture or the people. It’s the attitude that I am confronted with by Americans if it takes me 3 minutes to find the right information out for them, or if they argue with me when they ask how to pronounce something, I tell them and they tell me I’m wrong, it’s the Americans who won’t spell an 18 letter last name for me but they will spell B-L-U-E like the color…and the ones who ask if Canada is another country…those are the ones who generally get me going…and I think are “idiots” but ya know what…I think my 17 yr old is an “idiot” sometimes too.
OK, I understand about those people who work at call centers and they deserve some respect (as we all do!), but what about those people who work at a call center who call me REPEATEDLY, asking for me to make a payment when my payment has ALREADY BEEN MADE and I’ve even faxed proof to this call center that my payment was sent 3 weeks ago, yet they still harass me, calling me every 3 days, demanding payment???Yes, Royal Bank Student Loans Center, I’m talking about YOU!!!!!
Molly…sounds to me like you’ve got a good topic to bitch about…or a good bitch to post!!
Molly:That obviously sucks and I know the frustration that causes but try to remember that it’s not the fault of the person on the other end of the phone. I’m sure it was a different person that called you each and every time and it may be the fault of the records system itself for losing your payment. Obviously, if they seen on your file that you made the payment, they wouldn’t have called you. Just ask to speak to someone higher up before you blow your top on the poor sap that had to call you and blow your top at management; it’s much more satisfying anyways 🙂