Yes, you did, and yes, I missed it.
Apologies for being redundant.
Bah. On second thought, please forgive my ire; I’ve gotten far too emotional about this.
I’ve just reread the thread. I stand firm that the CSR is not at fault for the actions of his company at large, and thus should not need to bear verbal abuse for them, but I can hardly fault anyone for levelling a simple, evenhanded suggestion that the phone system could stand improvement, monotonous for the rep as it may be.
I’ve been in many an argument with folks who’ve had no problems positing that hour-long tirades of profanity were perfectly in order – virtuous, even – in situations like these, and it was during those encounters that responses like those I’ve levelled here were formed. In retrospect, no one in the thread has come close to this, and I apologize for my overreaction.
That said, if you personally do go berserk on CSRs for things they didn’t do and can’t fix, please raise your hand. Those with hands raised, please distribute my wrath amongst yourselves, as you were its proper target to begin with.
You’re only saying that because you just remembered that this thread may be monitored for quality assurance purposes.
And the reason, once the call has been answered, you can’t get back to wherever you left your card or your pen is…what exactly? Generally, the pen at least isn’t the first thing needed when the CC rep answers so while you’re asking how the rep is and not meaning it and complaining about the hold time or whatever, you could at the same time be walking back to wherever you left your pen and paper so that you will at least be in their general vicinity.
And there seriously is no excuse for calling a credit card company when your card isn’t even located in the same building as you. You’re on hold for an hour? Sorry about that, please take two minutes of that hour to haul yourself out to your car and get your card, because when you’re calling your card company there’s a good chance you might need it.
Oh my god, fuck you in your crepey neck with your ugly cousin’s warty cock, you expired douche. Forgive me if I should dare to vent once in a while about my job, the same way pretty much every other Doper does. Pardon me if out of the 750-1000 customer calls I take a week one occasionally moves me to open a Pit thread. Feel free to employ your no-doubt fully functioning mouse to scroll right past any threads I start or any posts I make.
My neck is not that crêpey.
You haven’t figured out that us customer service people aren’t allowed to complain about our jobs on the Dope? Even if we’re perfectly polite and nice with the same customers that we bitch about elsewhere because it’s our job to help them even if they’re assholes? Because, see, we’re supposed to bend over and take it and like it because they’re CUSTOMERS. :rolleyes: I’m polite and helpful with them because they’re customers, yes, but I still think you’re an asshole (if you are, obviously) while I’m being polite and helpful.
When I worked for Walmart I’d tell people if they really had a problem with something corporate did (like making us move shit around so nobody, including staff, knew where it was because it was right there yesterday and today isn’t) they really needed to call corporate because people like me could do absolutely nothing about it. Not that corporate would, either, probably, but it was a much better bet than bitching at me. I almost always sympathized with what their complaints were, might I add. If I told my managers I’d had a customer complaint, guess what would happen? Nothing. Nothing at all. They didn’t care about what we thought, ever. I’d have had to go up about six or eight levels of management before hitting somebody who might actually pass the message along upstairs to people who could, conceivably, do something about it – and that was only if they were having a good day. I’m guessing this is true of most big companies.
Most customers are okay. The ones that aren’t can really poison your day, no matter now nice you fake being after running into the asshole. At least now I work at a place where, at least on rare occasions, customers have been uninvited to return. The big corps never, ever do that. Nope.
I always answer our line on the first or second ring.
And I won’t even ask you for your account number!
Of course, I am required to ask if you are seriously considering committing suicide. I ask in a calm soothing voice too :).
I think most people are taking issue with categorizing people who make perfectly ordinary observations and have the nerve to not be carrying a working pen at all times as assholes.
Well…yeah. I guess I got pissed and a bit sidetracked because this is far from the first thread I’ve seen when a CSR is chewed out for daring to complain about the all-holy customer.
I don’t get people who don’t have the info they need at hand when calling a company, though. I really don’t. And I hate giving my information twice, but it’s not the fault of the guy on the other end of the phone, so I don’t get pissy with them for that. And if I’m upset with a company, I don’t take it out on the front-line CSR either. Some people think if they don’t come up with Full-Frontal Asshole behavior, they’re not going to get anywhere. Oddly, I find the opposite is usually more true…
I did customer service for UPS for 4 years. CSRs were NOT ALLOWED to give out a corporate address or telephone # if a member asked for it. The last year I was there even supervisors were not allowed to give it out, the call had to be escalated to a manager. The idea is, keep customers away from corporate at all costs.
I thought you knew me well enough by now to know I was being sarcastic. 
Detente in a customer service thread - who’da thunk it :). I completely agree with you. Even were the CSR responsible for the phone system, verbal abuse would be out of order. There’s just no call for that shit, especially over what is a fairly minor inconvenience.
Of course there is no reason to scream and swear at the CSR, but they are representatives of the company, and if people don’t let them know they are unhappy with the company itself or the CS process, how will anyone in the company know? I would hope if enough people have a gripe about something, that information will eventually be kicked upstairs.
I think too many people have the mindset that “the big company” is a faceless automated machine, which isn’t really true. At some level, someone can make a decision. For example, I think too many people accept “my computer won’t let me do that” and the customer goes along with it, “oh yeah, I hear that, I have trouble with computers too.” Even if the statement about the limitations of the computer is true, it doesn’t mean someone shouldn’t know that the computer system is flawed, and they should consider changing it up.
Yes. I know. That was exactly my original point.
I need to step in and defend eating on the phone…
Not all customer service centers are open 24/7. For those that have business hours:
I get a 20-30 minute lunchbreak. I need to spend a few of those minutes getting all of the “necessary gear” together for you, so I am an efficient customer. I need to spend some of it getting to a place where my cell phone has clear enough reception to work in your voice recognition program. I don’t know how long I am going to be on hold, and I must get my lunch in my body somehow.
Oh, and while I am at it - for those CSR’s who answer on the first few rings - some of us have been on hold for a half-hour just waiting to get in the call queue. We realize YOU are answering fast, but we’ve already lost our only free time for the day, so please understand if we are a bit testy.
Thanks.
I cannot help but note that you make no mention of your ugly cousins warty cock 
One thing to keep in mind for those of you frustrated by long hold times.
In the center I work in, we almost always pick up right away. No hold time at all. If you’re on hold for five-ten minutes. . .I guarantee you, the person who eventually answers your call is just as annoyed by this as you are.
Also. . .if, when you give me your account number, and I tell you that your account is not serviced here, and offer to transfer you/give you the correct number, please give me the benefit of the doubt. No, I can’t answer a “general question.” Well, I could, but seeing as your account isn’t with our company, I’ll probably be wrong.
I notice you’ve responded to the comment calling you out for general bullshit on this topic, but not to my comment calling you out on the specific bullshit you wrote in this thread. Care to?
The bumpiness of cock warts just intensifies the pleasurable sensations— am I right, ladies? <high-five>