Posted by Mike Smith :: April 7, 2008 @ 7:17 amCustomer service seems to be getting worse as time goes by. Many consumers get so frustrated when calling customer service phone numbers that they give up before getting satisfaction. Here are some tips for getting great service over the phone.
Know How to Call
To save yourself time and aggravation, you generally want to speak to an actual person as quickly as possible. It’s a rarity today to be able to get right to a customer service representative (CSR). You’ll usually have to navigate through an automated system first. It often seems like such systems are designed to make it difficult to speak to someone. To find the best number to call and the steps to speak with a CSR, lookup the company you’re calling at gethuman.com.
(Members looking for assistance with their P2P loans can call Lending Club at (866) 754-4094 to be connected directly to a CSR.)
Know When to Call
The most experienced CSRs tend to work during normal business hours. New hires get stuck with the less desirable shifts. So even if it’s less convenient to call in the morning on a workday, odds are that you’ll get a more knowledgeable CSR than if you call after hours or on the weekend.
Keep Things Positive
Starting a conversation out by screaming profanities may relieve some of your stress, but it isn’t likely to help your cause. Staying calm and polite, even when using a firm and assertive tone, will increase your likelihood of a positive result.
Ask for a Supervisor
This tried and true tip works best when the CSR says that they are not allowed to do what you are asking. Every rule has its exceptions, so speaking to the person with the authority to grant that exception is often critical in getting what you want.
Wait Them Out
Customer service calls can be expensive for companies. Dragging the conversation out may be in your best interest. Eventually, giving you what you want will look like the easy way out of the call to the CSR. Many CSR are evaluated based on average call time, so they’ll want to keep the call as short as possible.
Threaten to Cancel
Another common tactic is to threaten to cancel your service if you’re not getting the response you want. This works best if it’s not an empty threat, but rather backed up by some substantiating information. Threatening to cancel because you’re holding an offer from a competitor providing similar service for less money is a great negotiation tactic.
Hang Up and Call Back
If all else fails, I’ve found hanging up and calling back to be effective as well. It may be that companies only allow certain CSRs to grant customers refunds, credits, etc. So if you’re not getting satisfaction, simply hang up and call back. If you are calling a large company with many CSRs, you can probably call right back. For smaller companies, wait a few minutes so that you’ll be less likely to get the same CSR.
These tips should yield a more favorable outcome for your next customer service call. You may only need one of them to get what you want, but using a combination of them usually proves to be most effective. What are some of your tips?
2 Comments
I worked in call centers for 10 years. You can never get anything done efficiently over the phone. While i understand you're trying to help people. Your tips are useless.
I'll refute your numbers easily.
#1 This doesn't save you from the random transfer of someone who just doesn't want to work.
#2 The reps working at night are light years ahead of the day shift. The reason it takes longer to get through during the nights is we're cleaning up the day shifts mess. Also during the day shift there is massive socializing because call centers are basically meet markets.
#3 Staying positive really doesn't matter. Before you called I wasn't working. You've called, now I am working. No matter how pleasant you are the rep will always resent you for calling.
#4 Asking for a supervisor never gets you a supervisor. You will never be called back by a manager. Most companies form an "escalations" department which is just 1 level about the regular floor reps. They really have no authority to do anything. (however sometimes they do, but i wouldn't waste my time doing this)
#5 If you try to wait them out you'll most likely be hung up on. Call centers offer bonus's to keep call times low. These can be anything between 6 minutes and 12 minutes for caller. All call centers (minus computer tech support) consider 12 minutes to be excessively long. This is why you enter transfer / disconnect hell.
#6 I canceled thousands of accounts at for a wireless company after people made this threat. Companies used to have retention departments, but like allowing customers to speak to real supervisors this was costly and in the companies eyes inefficient. If you do use this bluff and they don't have a retention department, be aware you get to use it once, after that the reps don't care.
#7 Reps always try to back other reps, but since you're calling the incompetent day shifters, you're probably getting a new rep who doesn't have the skills to read the notes on your account, tells you they'll do what you want, then finds out after the call they can't and instead of correcting the error, they move on to the next call.
My recommendation is NEVER to call an 800 number.
It's a one sided record that's a legal document in a court of law. You have no say on the input in this document, only the representative gets to record history.
The Bonus structure leads to customers being disconnected, yelled at, or randomly transferred to keep times within the bonus range. This results in lower quality service.
In a pinch if you can find a non 800# sometimes you'll get through to a corporate office and they'll be willing to help you. (I just did this with BFG Tech today called the 847 (indiana not 800) after wasting 5 minutes with a 800 rep (Even though I know better I hope that things will change... they haven't)
The best thing to do if you need help is pick up a pen, a piece of paper, and locate the address of a CFO or a CEO or any real human being that you have a last name for. Send them a certified letter detailing your issue, why you haven't contacted customer service, or how you've been treated by customer service (THESE PEOPLE WILL TAKE CANCELLATION THREATS SEROIUSLY)
Letters are always treated as #1 Priority because it means this person has extra energy, they could take the time to fight us in court, contact local news, and otherwise make life a pain in the ass for the business in question. Also you can get a certified notice from the post office stating your letter has been received.
Jared,
Thank you for your contribution to this discussion. While you may disagree with my suggestions, the fact they have opened this dialog shows that they are not useless. In fact, I have found each of them to be true from my personal experiences. Your inside perspective is insightful as well. While I'm sure that not all call centers work the way yours did, due to size differences, management styles, and customer satisfaction goals, hearing about life in one call center still has value. Your tip about writing a letter is a good one, though some of us might not have the time or energy to do so in every situation. I wish that I could follow your advice and never call an 800 number, but sometimes it is necessary. I have resolved issues successfully in the past using these methods and I hope that some of our readers will benefit from their use as well.
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