call centers
Tmobile Call Center Bans Kleenex
Update on that outsourced Tmobile call center that banned paper and pens earlier this week: our insider reports that Kleenex is now verboten as well. He furthermore notes that, “paper and pens, if they are to be used, have to be signed out from a supervisor. When signed back in, the paper is shredded by the supervisor.” Any reps feeling the need to cry about their vaporizing dignity can use the back of their sleeve, after their request form is approved. A comment from our previous post explains why this might be a bad idea…
Stressful Call Center Allegedly Kills Verizon Employee
I’ve heard anecdotal evidence of increased numbers of heart attacks at call centers due to stress, but here’s a local new story from WYFF so now you know it’s true:
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Definition: “Zero Outs” – What call centers call…
5 Confessions Of An Apple Tech Support Supervisor
A tech support supervisor, from what we figure to be Apple, has stepped forward to break down some behind-the-scenes workings with his underlings who sometimes make both his and consumer’s lives difficult. For instance, one of the reasons you might be on hold so long is agents using fake work codes to avoid taking calls. Also, we know that metrics rule the call centers, but, in one of the confessions, he talks about how not only is it important to not go over your average handle time, you also can’t go too far under. Just strive to be perfectly average, and you’ll go far…
Please Hold, The Terminator Army Will Be With You Shortly
I’m working on a Powerpoint to be delivered later this week about “the 5 things you can learn from a Consumerist” and I wanted to share this slide of with you guys. I think it expresses what we all sometimes think is underneath those shiny voices and looping musical medleys: a killbot army that wants to get you off the phone as soon as possible. “It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”
7 Confessions Of A Verizon DSL Tech Support Rep
A former employee has stepped forward to tell us what it’s like to work as tech support rep in a Verizon DSL call center. Learn about how the supervisors aren’t really supervisors, the numbers and call times the reps have to meet to keep their jobs (and the sneaky tricks they use to meet these numbers), and more…
Asking For Lower APR Gets Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA Card Closed Against Man's Will
Thomas writes:
If you don’t use your Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA (issued by Barclay’s) for an entire year, they close the card and report to the credit agencies that you requested to close it. I’ve learned that when I called to inquire about a lower rate on 2/26, the agent canceled my account.
Convergys To Move Call Centers From Canada To Overseas
Convergys is a major supplier of outsourced call center services to big companies (Comcast is one of their clients) and it looks like times are tough for them up in Canuckiztan:
Convergys chief executive David Doughtery told analysts “most notably we’re being hurt today in Canada and we are taking action to close centres there and move work to other geographies.” Many of the Canadian jobs will likely go to the Philippines and possibly India..
Which we suppose qualifies as a resounding yes to the question, “can customer service get any worse?”
Sprint Invents New "Concerned Department"
It’s good to know Sprint is taking your concern very seriously these days. When Peter tried to get a corporate discount for his company, Sprint told him sure, then told him no because he already had a discount with them. He wrote back and pointed out that he was told the corporate discount would be in addition to the existing one, at which point he received the following helpful email.
Comcast Call Center Sales Contest Sheet: "Don't Let These Freeze Masters Get You"
From inside a Comcast call center, we got a sales goal sheet designed to excite call center reps to sell more new customer bundles using with four cartoons icons of cold; Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat,, Mr. Freeze from Batman, Frozone from The Incredibles, and Ice-Man from X-Men. The flyer exhorts: “ANTI FREEZE INCENTIVE. Don’t let these freeze masters get you…Sell some bundles and protect yourself from the cold!!!” If you’re in the top three of your department, the flyer continues, you can win $250, $150, or $100 for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, respectively. Exciting. What is the symbolic function of the “freeze masters” as a performance incentive? What does, “the cold” represent? Left out in the cold? Given the cold shoulder by your peers if you’re not contributing enough to the 2000 bundle goal? An inability to pay one’s heating bills? We have no idea, we’re just glad we don’t work in a call center, we’ve never been too good at winning knife fights. (click to enlarge).
Verizon Call Center Manager Found Asleep On The Job
This is a picture of a Verizon call center manager sleeping on the job, according to The Call Center Blogger, who writes:
Mr. Operations Manager with last name Changco ( previous from Sykes! Anybody know him? ) is always in the habit of sleeping on the floor during work time and could care less if others, especially his agents, see him on the floor dozing off to Lala-land. My friend says he also has a penchant of passing his deliverables to his subordinates while he comfortably takes his shut-eye. He also reminds the poor agents to submit the reports to him instead of his boss supposedly so he can take credit for the agents’ work! Ang sabi pa “Ang dali lang pala nito!” Nyahaha!
If you’ve ever wondered why outsourced customer service sucks, maybe it’s because they’re hiring jokers like Corey Changco to run their call centers.
Sometimes Apple Customer Service Ain't That Amazing
You know what, Apple has this titanium image like they have the awesomest customer service in the world, and sometimes you call and get the really great and quick ninja Apple Care reps, but sometimes when you call Apple Care you get what sounds like are the outsourced guys and they’re very stupid and not helpful and difficult to understand. There, I said it.
How To Mind Control Customer Service Reps
Reader Lona says that people in her family have called her a consumer advocate since she was sixteen, and now she is going to share with us 2,177 words on the customer service tactics and techniques she uses to get satisfaction. She writes, “in 99% of situations, it allows you to reach an agreeable solution to almost any problem. It is something I do for family and friends, and for myself.” Some of her methods have been mentioned in various ways on the site before but others are completely unique. And by the time you read her true success story at the end, you’ll swear she has Jedi mind-control over customer service reps. It boils down to, without raising your voice, asserting control over the conversation from the beginning and then never relinquishing that power.
What's Wrong With Sprint's Customer Service? We'll Tell Ya.
Sprint has a new CEO, and, you know, it’s a tough job being “the new guy” and being charged with turning around a poorly performing company. So we thought we’d give Dan Hesse a hand and tell him what’s wrong with their phone-based customer service, seen as being one of their major weaknesses. We asked our readers for their thoughts and they had lots of neat ideas why Sprint customer service sucks. Some of them even have worked on the call center side of Sprint; their insights are especially revealing/frightening…
Canon's Customer Service Is Helpful, Painless
A reader writes in to commend Canon for their efficient and—brace yourselves—helpful customer service: “I was on the phone less than two minutes beginning to end.” Among the surprises: the customer service department was based in the U.S., he was called back when a rep was available instead of being abandoned in an endless hold loop, the people he spoke with seemed motivated to help him, and the Canon rep had enough autonomy and intelligence to come up with an alternative solution when the original problem couldn’t be solved.
