Call Centers and Customer Service
Customer service was once considered the defining difference among companies. Slogans like the customer’s always right and other such ideals drove the business focus in previous years. Today however, little can be defined as customer service anymore. Fact is, many of the customer service issues of yesteryear are now handled through impersonal call centers. These call centers have people answering the phones all day attempting to satisfy callers, placate complainers or answer questions.
The problem however is that no matter how much the fine people who work in the call center want to help, they’re tethered to the limitations of the computer screen in front of them. These people typically cannot deviate from what is allowed on the screen. Ask for something out of the ordinary and many of these customer service workers are lost. They are not paid to think for themselves and cannot help you with problems that aren’t in the computer. Of course, they can forward your call to another person who may have different authority but for the most part, these people are not trusted by the company to do the right thing, regardless of the claims from the company.
Bottom line is that we shouldn’t get upset or angry with the person on the other end of the telephone when calling into a call center. They’re just regular folks like you and me who are trying to do the best job possible given the limitations of the company.
Remember that the reason why you called was for additional information or help with a problem.
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