Major Companies CUSTOMER Phone service or (LACK OF)

JayDee · Guru

Major Companies CUSTOMER Phone service or (LACK OF)

Dick0 · Guru

Yes, it's always a challenge to communicate by phone for assistance and Help Desk. Some sites now use a countdown... next available assistant ten minutes, five minutes, soon, soon, soon. Wait, wait, wait, then you get through and you forget why you called. believe me it has happened!

Are We Lost · Guru

I believe it is designed that way so that many people will give up on what they wanted or search online. So only those that really do need assistance bother waiting.

Then there are those places that make finding a way to contact them quite difficult, with no phone number at all. In some, even Live Chat is hard to find, and when you get there it is AI. But usually you can get to communicate with a real person by typing "Real Person" or "Error in bill" or even something nonsensical.

msg · Guru

AI has hung upon me a few times when I do that. Especially if I tell them they are useless. Then you get this long spiel about being nice to team members. That really puts me in a good mood.

JayDee · Guru

Also, I Googled to find an auto electrician, and when I tried to contact 3 of them, no phone number, so the only way was via an email asking for all the info. These people must not want our business. P.P. customer service says I. Jay&Dee.

JayDee · Guru

Also, I Googled to find an auto electrician, and when I tried to contact 3 of them, no phone number, so the only way was via an email asking for all the info. These people must not want our business. P.P. customer service says I. Jay&Dee.

Cuppa · Guru

'tis the way of the modern world it seems. Where the customer pays for everything.

Instead of paying aftersales service/support staff that cost has been shifted to the customer. It's cheaper because businesses & government departments don't place any value on the customer's time.

We, the customers generally have far better things to do than to sit on the phone listening to robot voices & deliberately loud and/or distorted music designed to make the experience unpleasant in the hope you'll give up & go away.

Recently I had to call a government department in the UK & spent almost two hours waiting for a human. I so wish I could bill them for my time that their systems waste.

SoloMC · Senior Member

I can't speak to to others but telstra advise that if you use the app it's fast. Yesterday I waited 72 seconds for a person to answer. I think that's pretty good

msg · Guru

I desperately need someone who can do a few maintenance jobs at home. No Hope.

As JayDee said just locating someone with a phone number is impossible.

I asked my electrician Neighbour why, and he said most tradesmen are working big contracts and have no need or time for small domestic jobs.

It took me over a year (and a lot of angst) through insurance to get my transit van repaired after hail damage (and its still waiting on a part that I'll never see)

Where have all the people gone?

yobarr · Guru

msg wrote:
I desperately need someone who can do a few maintenance jobs at home. No Hope.

As JayDee said just locating someone with a phone number is impossible.

I asked my electrician Neighbour why, and he said most tradesmen are working big contracts and have no need or time for small domestic jobs.

It took me over a year (and a lot of angst) through insurance to get my transit van repaired after hail damage (and its still waiting on a part that I'll never see)

Where have all the people gone?

What sorts of maintenace jobs are you wanting done? Where do you live, general area? Cheers

msg · Guru

ACT: Staining, repair Ceder exterior woodwork. Build a new pergola. Have already contacted those ones where you ask for quotes. No bites. They just want to paint everything staining is not in their vocabulary.

yobarr · Guru

msg wrote:
ACT: Staining, repair Ceder exterior woodwork. Build a new pergola. Have already contacted those ones where you ask for quotes. No bites. They just want to paint everything staining is not in their vocabulary.

Oh Dear! Unfortunately I have no contacts in the ACT so can't help. Sorry, but good luck with your search. Cheers

msg · Guru

I want to go away!!!! Now the weather is improving here looks like I will have to stay home and have a go myself.

Tony Bev · Guru

On some websites, at the bottom right corner, they ask if they can help you

When you click on that box, and ask if you can speak to a human, they give you the runabout, so you are obviously not talking to a human

Basher · Senior Member

Price, Quality or Service!
Pick any two, rarely do you get all 3, often not even 1
Sign of the times sadly
Basher

dorian · Guru

You've hit a nerve.

There are some companies that have multiple levels of menus, each with 5 or 6 options. Just navigating their menu system is enough to upset me.

Then there are those businesses (like my medical centre) that preface their menu with a warning that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated, presumably because they understand just how annoying their customer service really is. The call then launches into a spiel about their services which is continuously repeated until a human operator eventually takes over, often after a 30-minute wait. For some inexplicable reason, their web site, which used to accept online bookings, no longer does so, so this just adds to the frustration. Moreover, rather than repeating their stupid spiel over and over, they could make the experience a lot less painful by playing music instead, and periodically interrupting the call to inform the caller that they have progressed in the cue.

But my biggest gripe is that, if my call really is important to them, then they should phone me back when they are ready to talk to me. Courtesy works both ways.

Dick0 · Guru

dorian wrote:
You've hit a nerve.

There are some companies that have multiple levels of menus, each with 5 or 6 options. Just navigating their menu system is enough to upset me.

Then there are those businesses (like my medical centre) that preface their menu with a warning that abusive behaviour will not be tolerated, presumably because they understand just how annoying their customer service really is. The call then launches into a spiel about their services which is continuously repeated until a human operator eventually takes over, often after a 30-minute wait. For some inexplicable reason, their web site, which used to accept online bookings, no longer does so, so this just adds to the frustration. Moreover, rather than repeating their stupid spiel over and over, they could make the experience a lot less painful by playing music instead, and periodically interrupting the call to inform the caller that they have progressed in the cue.

But my biggest gripe is that, if my call really is important to them, then they should phone me back when they are ready to talk to me. Courtesy works both ways.

Up until Covid I too was able to book medical appointments at my Medical Clinic. Now it is by phone only.

My doctor can't/won't explain why this is so.

confuse

Cuppa · Guru

Re GP clinics.
Mine is a rarity in these days of the 'big business clinics' it seems. A proper GP who 'knows' me.

I had feared that Rod may have retired when we recently returned home after several years away & had to see an available '10 minute GP' at a multi GP practice. It was not a good, nor helpful experience. When I reconnected with Rod I hugged him, such a relief after the first appointment.

Rod's is a single GP practice. He is a good GP & my appointments are always 'long' ones, & I always get bulk billed. His books are full (not taking on new patients) & the practice is financially healthy as far as I can tell, although I cannot believe he would be generating the profit levels of the big business clinics, but I think it is 'enough' to support him & his family whilst retaining the ability to work with integrity.

When I phone to make an appointment I always get through quickly to Karen or Val, the two receptionists & can always get an appointment within a week.

Reminiscent of GP practices when I was growing up. Even the consulting room in an old house with it's gas flame fire & shelves of books has a warm & inviting nature compared to the hard clinical environments of the office-like buildings of many.

deverall11 · Guru

The ones who win the 'useless award' are the companies whereby you fill in their 'online' form, saves
having to send an email, but the A$$holes don't bother to check them. This is confirmed by a follow up
call where they deny all knowledge of said enquiry via their own online form.

Whenarewethere · Guru

Just look up the company ABN info & get the CEO's name & write a letter to the CEO.

Write a polite & firm, physical letter to the CEO. I have always got a response from one of the CEO's underlings. They are very helpful & you can have a constructive discussion with them. It probably will never solve the problem, but it is costing them far more in administration.

The other option, when paying a bill to Optus, they had closed the shop for a meeting, so couldn't pay the bill, it was the last day. So I lay down on the floor, pretending in fair difficulty the suffering & took my time pushing the exact sum under the shutter, together with the bill.

Half a dozen people in the Optus store pretended not to notice. But the entire shopping centre noticed, & I spoke to a few after the scene. Everyone was impressed. Took me a good minute to get up off the floor!

A good old fashioned physical letter gets you a lot further.

Cupie · Guru

Around 20 years ago when I retired I had a fair amount of interaction with Center link. I found them to be easily accessible, knowledgeable & very helpful.

Haven't things changed!!!

Recently, I wanted to amend my Asset List with them. I tried to do it on line but erroneously indicated that I had completed the changes after only the first of three. Buggar! The account was locked pending processing & I couldn't enter the other two changes.

So I rang them, but after waiting for an hour listening to crap music & all the usual messages, I gave up & had an early glass or two.

Next I went down to the local "CES" Office. Joy! no waiting queue. The person was very helpful, took copies of my documents & made an appt for someone to ring me in a few days. Sounds good.

Waited on the day at the appointed time, and waited, and waited, for a couple of hours. Watched a movie on my PC this time.

No Call & no subsequent communication to apologize or make another appt.

I put it in the too hard basket and did nothing for a couple of months.

A mate who works from time to time told me about how good the Centrelink App was, so this time I downloaded the latest App to my phone and was able to complete the remaining two transactions easily. It seems that the previous change had been processed & my account was 'open' again. But no advice to me of any sort even acknowledging my changes and any impact. There might be something lurking in their system somewhere if was savvy enough to find it.

We are considering 'Downsizing' soon & if we do go that way I just shudder at the issues that I will have with Centrelink as we go through that process ... something that has significant financial implications. I just hope that our Financial Advisor has a handle on the process. Time for him to earn his fees perhaps.

msg · Guru

I could do a lot of "what ifs" but no.

Gundog · Guru

I'm sort of totally reverse way of thinking, first off dont send me a snail mail, because I wont get it for months or maybe a year, dont try to ring me as more often than not I will have no phone receiption, secondly if I dont know how's calling me or txting me I wont answer, I'll just delete it.

The only way I require you to communicate with me is by email, I book caravan parks either by their online contact form or email, I use Health Engine or Hot Doc to find a GP and book appointments, never had a problem so far.

I donot give out my telephone number to just anyone, other than family and close friends, on a contact form I write my email address'.

I dont carry cash I have 1 Visa Debit Card which only has sufficient fund to pay for what I'm buying, and that money is transfered onto that card just prior to purchase, occasionally I will transfer fund to the card generally it will have no more than $50 for incidental purchases.

My last telephone conversation went a bit like this person answer the phone I immediatly say My I speak to your supervisor, then ask for my details anging the response was I want to talk to your Supervisor, and that carryies on untll I'm speaking to the department manager, so rather than put up with time wasting on the phone, an email is more efficient, you dont have to deal with minions along the way.

Brodie Allen · Guru

Doesn't it worry you that your:

Full name
Full address
Date of birth
Account no.
Phone number
E-mail address

All required before some goose in a foreign country will even talk to
you - even when there's no security involved like "how do I fix . . . ."

Often the country is 3rd world and who knows what motives they have.

Ask therm for their full name and employee number - get lucky!!!

Only need a usb stick and the will to download a few thousand customer's
and do whatever they want with it. The mind boggles.

No wonder we get so much scam!

Hate it!!!!

B

hufnpuf · Senior Member

What the morons (yes, they are morons) responsible for "customer service" don't realise is that treating people like machines and telling them to go away and try to deal with human issues on a machine won't make them go away and fiddle with a computer but will make them go away altogether.

And if your company is "dealing with a high number of calls" all the time, GET MORE STAFF!

deverall11 · Guru

Whenarewethere wrote:
Just look up the company ABN info & get the CEO's name & write a letter to the CEO.

Write a polite & firm, physical letter to the CEO. I have always got a response from one of the CEO's underlings. They are very helpful & you can have a constructive discussion with them. It probably will never solve the problem, but it is costing them far more in administration.

The other option, when paying a bill to Optus, they had closed the shop for a meeting, so couldn't pay the bill, it was the last day. So I lay down on the floor, pretending in fair difficulty the suffering & took my time pushing the exact sum under the shutter, together with the bill.

Half a dozen people in the Optus store pretended not to notice. But the entire shopping centre noticed, & I spoke to a few after the scene. Everyone was impressed. Took me a good minute to get up off the floor!

A good old fashioned physical letter gets you a lot further.

Like the initiative. Might try that one day if the need arises.

Derek Barnes · Senior Member

msg wrote:
ACT: Staining, repair Ceder exterior woodwork. Build a new pergola. Have already contacted those ones where you ask for quotes. No bites. They just want to paint everything staining is not in their vocabulary.

We live in the ACT and have also had problems finding tradesmen. Have you tried using hipages.com.au? We have had a lot of success finding people to do jobs round the house via them.

One request generated 3 tradies all wanting to clear stumps and create a caravan parking area for us. The one we chose did an amazing job at a good price. He cleared all 12 stumps, levelled the site, covered the site in a gravel mix, and rolled the gravel flat, all in one day!

Another request for a tradie to repoint our two storey roof (which no one else would touch) found a tradie willing to go up and he and his mate did the job in one day with no fuss at a good price.

msg · Guru

Derek, Thankyou I have. They were the ones who wanted to paint the woodwork.

Actually, I got another one in to fix some water damage to my van. Yep, he fixed it alright. Bashed it with a hammer until he put a great hole in it and then tried to run away. Who hits a piece of veneer with a claw hammer. Really, even I know better than that.

Luckily, Lloyds Caravans in Fyshwick saved the day and fixed it no probs. They were great. It was quite an innovative fix too. After the previous bloke's efforts, it was great that someone could think outside the box and save me a substantial repair bill into the bargain.

dorian · Guru

How do young people perceive today's customer service? Is it just us older folk that are complaining about the decline in the human-to-human interface?

msg · Guru

Dorian,
I don't know that the youngsters know any different.

They just accept it as normal. Although all those warnings about being nice to the staff and that you are being monitored must have come from general human attitudes. There's not enough of us left to cause such a widespread reaction. I even think those warnings are provocative. I get irritated just listening to them.