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Is Customer Service Dead?
Posted by baldeagle • 6/11/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: customer service
I had a web service cut off my account without so much as an email telling me they were going to do it. The only communication I received was an email telling me they deleted my account.
Is customer service a thing of the past? Maybe I'll sit down with my grandchildren one day. "I remember when you could get someone on the phone, and they were genuinely interested in helping you. That gave way to outsourcing and email. Now, nothing."
User Comments
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I have to say it's certainly on the endangered list!-
It certainly feels like it died a long time ago.
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yea agreed. everything is expected to happen instantaneous now-a-days. So they sacrifice good ol' fashion manners just to keep their own interests intact.
Even restaurants now are starting to slip with their customer service. -
That is horrible. We always email customers their invoices and if we get no response call them. Sites don’t get suspended unless they hit 30 days past due, and they are not deleted off the server for another 30 days after that.
IMO it's partially the consumers fault - they go for the 3.99 a year web hosting service and expect someone to be there 24/7 to baby-sit their stuff. While we may charge a higher price for our services, we are there to answer the phone (no, press 1 to reach....) and handle urgent matters immediately. Customer service should NOT have a price tag associated with it - it does seem to be a factor in most cases.
We never hang a client out to dry, so to speak. Even if someone chooses to do business elsewhere, we back up their site, burn it to a CD and send it to them (or zip it and email it) so they can have a seamless move.
It's better to part on good terms, Just in case you may want to come back, besides, it's just good manners.-
Where I work at, I get paid to perform eight hours a day at a desk with computer and phone. Therefore, I believe they are both tools that should be utilized.
The first thing I was told when I started was do not put your direct telephone number on your e-mail, and always give out a queue line.
That makes no sense to me, in my particular department. I always have bandwidth to take a phone call to assist someone. Not because I am a "company" person, it's just the way I am.
By the way, I put my number on every e-mail, and verbally give it out to anyone I think can use it in the future.
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Hi Bald Eagle.
Good old customer service is alive and kicking thank you very much at Fabulous Photo Gifts - perhaps that's why so many of our customers come back and order again.
There's really no excuse for not keeping customers informed - especially in this day and age, and it's something our customers often comment on as a reason for using us..... -
Customer service is in critical care. The great thing is that those who don't bring it back to life will be the ones on the endangered list. -
Especially if it's Dell or any type of internet service.-
Dell is the worst. I get tons of promises of how things are changin from my reps and I get the same old, same old.
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There is no doubt that it is dead and buried. -
It was never actually born in England, The first time I went to the states I was amazed that people kept wanting me to have a nice day and fill up my coffee cup for free! But after a week of taking twenty minutes to order a salad I was pining for my usual bad service.-
Really? I used to be a manager at a resteraunt. It takes a lot to be that polite. A customer threatend my life over a tomato on a sandwhich once. I did everything I could offered free food, offered to have her speek w/ the head manager, even the 800 number. She told me to ___ off. I hated that job. So, believe me what you see and what the cashiers are thinking are two different things. They would love to tell you off but "the customer is always right." -
In england the traditional view is the customer is always wrong, so it was like being in some weird parallel universe.
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Lol! When they train you here they make sure to tell you "the customer is always right." I have worked for more than one resteraunt and it's everywhere. I once got so angry at a customer I ran to the freezer because it's sound proof and screamed came back w/ a smile and no one knew any different.
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Dead and buried. It is hopeless with the overseas outsourced customer service. Everything has become disposable, including customers. Comsat is my worse nightmare - and they actually called up the other day, to ask me if I wanted to switch to their broadband service. I gave them a piece of my mind - what's left of it that is. -
Yes. -
Sometimes I think that too. But then yesterday I ordered a digital camera, and the webshop where I ordered it responded to an inquiry by me at lightning speed (had a reply within 15 minutes) and when I ordered the camera I immediately received a phonecall from the shop owner telling me the colour I wanted was not in stock, but if I would be happy to receive it in a different colour he could send the product over right away. It totally made my day! -
It's asleep. As the economy worsens and peoples buying power is lower, and more people have to work for fewer jobs, I don't think stores, etc. will have any choice but to battle each other with service. -
Only if you pay for it, then it is not dead... You only get good
customer service these days if you have a warranty. -
I agree with those who have said it's endangered. There are still stores out there that offer great service - in my experience they are the mom and pop places that don't have the capital to allow service to slip to such dismal levels. They can't afford to lose customers.
Meanwhile large companies are having fun "firing" their customers, instead of working to provide them with quality service.
For example, cell phone companies and credit card companies (among others) have begun tracking customer's behaviors, and if a customer makes "too many calls" to customer service, they get "fired" or dropped at the customer's expense. Of course, I say if they provided better products and services, people wouldn't have to call customer service so much
Stores are also tracking customers who return or exchange items purchased at the store. Too many returns? They can deny you, and prevent you from being able to return an item. Supposedly this is to curb fraudulent behavior, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it's about more than that.
Outsourced customer service personnel is dreadful because of language barriers and automated systems. You can't talk to real people who can actually do anything for you, provided they can even understand what you're talking about. Companies that provide complex services such as loans or finances should not outsource to countries where the employees don't speak English. It's complicated enough as it is!
The average employee at your average corporate store barely gets paid a living wage - do you think they are interested in actually helping you? Or those who work on commission often get screwed by the company, so they "help you" to death and still make nothing but angry customers.
Blech. I like my local places. The owners are working there, they know you by name, and are very friendly and actually offer real service! -
Customer Service is nothing like it used to be.. The customer is becoming less valued as time rolls on. -
As companies get bigger and bigger it becomes harder to keep your business away from them as punishment for poor customer service. They all seem to be owned by the same corporation.
Example: Ever eat at IHOP? Lousy food and service. They own Applebees. Decent food and decent service...but by eating there you are rewarding IHOP.-
Yup! Same goes for conglomerates like the Limited, Express etc... Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic and so on.
Essentially, corporations have found a minuscule loophole around the monopoly laws. Same goes for telephone companies, cable companies, utility companies Oil companies....
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I agree customer service is very frustrating. Every time I call up any company for service I become so frustrated by the menus that by the time I get to an actual person I have almost forgot what I called for. Not to mention that my attitude has taken a serious dive. By the time I get an actual person on the other I usually would not want to be that person. -
I prefer patronizing local businesses. As a small business owner myself, I understand the pressure and the value of each and every customer. Small business owners who work directly with their customers and are intimately involved in the day to day operations of their company are very keen on making sure their customers are satisfied. Because of this, I choose to work and patronize local, small businesses. While it may cost slightly more at times, I still choose to do so. In the long run, being treated respectfully is worth a little extra money in my opinion. And, it's also my way of letting the corporate big box stores and restaurants know that I don't like them, hehe... -
Don't you hate it when you accidentally hit the button twice?? "Nothing to see here...move along."
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Yes. - Nards
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yes more times worse than others deepasubbaraman.blogspot.com/2008/08/agitated-customer-of-banks-financial.h... -
and some others..tho more India related customer service deepasubbaraman.blogspot.com/2008/07/same-brand-different-levels-of-service...
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I hate calling a number and hearing 'press 1, press # twice, press *, press 3, state your name then press # three times
It gives me anxiety!!! -
There are days when I think customer service is dead too, but recently I had a wonderful experience with the local mechanic shop. I make a 100 mile commute to my job three days a week and I was on my way one morning around 9am to give a final exam when my oil light came on and the alarm started sounding. I was about 30 miles from home when this happened so I called the mechanic who services my car to ask what the problem could be and if the car was safe to drive.....to which he replied a resounding "No!" Within 45 minutes he was there with a tow truck to pick up my car AND brought me a loaner to drive on to school.....all at no charge! Needless to say, I will continue to use this shop for all my car service and repairs. -
It's kind of 50-50. I work in customer service and sometimes it can be very frustrating. But I enjoy what I do because the company treats me well. Getting good customer service depends on whether the company values their customer service team. If they treat them well, it reflects in the service they give. So yes, experiencing poor customer service can often indicate how much the company actually values you as a customer. -
I worked in customer service before transfering to technical support and i believe there are people payed to do their job and do it well...there are those who do it for the sake of getting the pay and treat customers like statistical data. i hate that. i think companies should strenghtn their training when it comes to new employees. -
yes. Except here at BC... they offer you coffee or juice when their servers go down
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Nah, I've always had great experiences with customer service even these days. My only bad experiences come from Fry's Electronic stores. Their employees give the worst customer service on the planet. I'm almost against going to their stores anymore because of it.
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