The Counter Point

I have been meaning to do this post for ages now, either in video or written form but for one reason or another have not gotten round to it.  I have seen a couple of posts today in the same vein that I wanted to talk about so I cleared some time and got my typing fingers out.

 

What has been rolling around in my head?  Customers, customer service and how courtesy works both ways.

 

The original piece I saw was from  a few weeks back from the ever fabulous Sera talking about how the customer service industry has been in decline and how you just don't get the same level of polite service and helpfulness that used to be expected when going into a shop.  I wholly agree, some places you practically have to do a dance to attact attention and a "don't care attitude" is found in a lot of stores.

 

That said though, I wanted to add more to the subject.  Because I am a person at the other side of the counter.  I am not faced with customers in a shop, I have clients on the other end of the phone who require updates on claims and want their money, tomorrow.

 

I was always trained to be polite, courteous and try to find a solution to any problem that may arise.  I have always found that a conversation started with a smile usually tends to go well.  However, what I get back in return can sometimes veer from the rude to the downright horrible (see my previous post We Have a Soul Too)

 

When will people realise that shouting and rudeness doesn't work when you want to resolve an issue?

 

I recently had a huge problem when moving mobile networks.  You may have seen a few frustrated tweets about the subject as literally everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.  It took well over two hours on the phone and four visits to the store before the matter was rectified.

 

What I didn't do during any of that time was shout, be rude or be verbally abusive.   You can easily put your point across that you are unhappy with the situation with resorting to the above.  I raised my issues in calm manner, gained a rappour with every person I spoke to and was patient while they tried to figure out the issues.  Yes it took a long time, but the issues were technical glitches and none of the faults were due to the people who were trying to help me. 

 

As a result, my problems were resolved, I was more than adequately compensated and I would highly recommend their customer service support.  They bent over backwards to make sure that I was happy and more than one thanked me for being so understanding.

 

It's Christmas now and everyone is slightly on edge, running around buying last minute Christmas presents and wondering whether you are going to get everything done.

 

"Christmas isn't Christmas without presents" said Jo.

 

I just ask that you take a breath before you are served at a till, speak to customer representative or make a complaint because the chances are, you will get a far higher level of service if you do and it won't leave both parties wanting to bang their heads against a brick wall.

 

 

We have a Soul Too

This is a blog coming from the person on the other side of the phone.

In my line of work I deal with the general public on a daily basis, both on the phone and face to face.  I deal with people from all walks of life, from the rich to the poor, from the criminal to your average law abiding citizen.

What all of these people have in common is the inability to be polite on the phone.  Anyone who deals with the general public know the type.  The person who thinks that shouting, nastiness and general rudeness will magically make things happen faster, rectify problems and generally will get them what they want.  Let me give you a very large tip here, it doesn't.

Over the years I have been shouted at, verbally abused, sworn at, threatened and reduced to tears.  None of these things make me do my job better and they will not make me want to help you.

I know it is tempting when you have a problem and have to ring a company to chase a response or complain to shout at the person on the other end to get a more immediate response.  You may be angry about an issue, but believe me, shouting at the person answering your call is helping no one, except perhaps making you feel better.

When a person calls or comes into my office if they don't shout and say please and thank you like an ordinary human being then I will always go that extra mile to help them.  Obviously the nasty people are helped too, but I'm not going to bend over backwards to help someone who is shouting/verbally abusing me.

It is more often the case that the main result of an abusive call is that the caller themselves gets more angry, gets confused in what they are saying, goes round in circles and nothing is resolved anything.  Everyone loses.

What also irritates me is the amount of times that I will be shouted and/or sworn at by a client, and then once they are transferred to the person dealing with their matter, they suddenly turn into polite, well mannered people.  The monkeys deserve respect too, not just the organ grinders.

So next time you make a call to a company, customer services or whatever, please remember that it is actually a person on the other end of the line.  Because we have a soul too.  Take a breath before you call, don't swear, and we will get along fine.