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It seems like every place I turn the customer service is terrible and I am a fairly easy person to get a long with. If it is not extremely long hold times, then the people in question are just not doing their jobs at all. Here are a few examples.
I had an old 457 account at my previous employer that I could no longer contribute to, so I decided to roll it into my current retirement plan. I would call and call and stay on hold until the line would hang up. It was super annoying. So I talked talked to the previous employer who provided me the paperwork and she helped me complete it. Well Mission Retirement sent a part of my funds to my current company and the other half directly to me. I had to chase them down again over the phone to get them to cancel and re-issue the check and at this time, the other company still has not received the rest of the funds.
Back on MLK day, I sent my Beneficiary change form to my insurance 2 times and kept following up on the status of it being processed. I finally call in and was informed that it was rejected because they needed me to send a copy of my DL as they needed to verify the signature. (when I signed up for the policy, I did it online electronic signature) so I followed back up and learned it still had not been processed. I talked with someone last week and she said she would take care of it over the phone. I asked her for confirmation of the change and she said she would send it via the secure portal and I never received it. I called again to follow up and the person on the line said it had been changed and when she verified the new name, it turned out that she spelled the name wrong.
Finally, I ordered something from Con Air on 2/23. I called to get the status of the product and was told it should be here on 3/7. She provided me the shipping number. I looked up the shipping number last week and it turned out that my package was returned to sender although I had the correct mailing address as it shows it on my receipt. I have been trying to call all day today but not having any success.
I do not expect CSR's to cater to me or give me the golden treatment, but I do expect basic service. It seems like Customer Service has become absolutely abysmal with reps being downright terrible.
I remember in the past when you could call and talk to someone in a reasonable period of time and if the issue was not too complicated, you could get it resolved. Now it takes me having to call during my lunch hour and then I may not get through.
Sometimes. I’ve been lucky that there has been a seasoned rep nearby or with the associate. When I’ve asked about a particular item, the young one just says they haven’t seen it while the seasoned rep, mentions to that person to look it up [on one of those machines that they usually carry around on them].
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57734
With so many people refusing to work, replacements are at best reluctant and inexperienced in many cases. That applies to retail, restaurants, banking, and the worst, customer service for phone/cable/internet providers where it's hard to get past the robots and when you do the humans are even less helpful.
It seems like every place I turn the customer service is terrible and I am a fairly easy person to get a long with. If it is not extremely long hold times, then the people in question are just not doing their jobs at all. Here are a few examples.
I had an old 457 account at my previous employer that I could no longer contribute to, so I decided to roll it into my current retirement plan. I would call and call and stay on hold until the line would hang up. It was super annoying. So I talked talked to the previous employer who provided me the paperwork and she helped me complete it. Well Mission Retirement sent a part of my funds to my current company and the other half directly to me. I had to chase them down again over the phone to get them to cancel and re-issue the check and at this time, the other company still has not received the rest of the funds.
If I get a call center worker who speaks English, I consider it my lucky day.
It seems like every place I turn the customer service is terrible and I am a fairly easy person to get a long with. If it is not extremely long hold times, then the people in question are just not doing their jobs at all. Here are a few examples.
I had an old 457 account at my previous employer that I could no longer contribute to, so I decided to roll it into my current retirement plan. I would call and call and stay on hold until the line would hang up. It was super annoying. So I talked talked to the previous employer who provided me the paperwork and she helped me complete it. Well Mission Retirement sent a part of my funds to my current company and the other half directly to me. I had to chase them down again over the phone to get them to cancel and re-issue the check and at this time, the other company still has not received the rest of the funds.
Back on MLK day, I sent my Beneficiary change form to my insurance 2 times and kept following up on the status of it being processed. I finally call in and was informed that it was rejected because they needed me to send a copy of my DL as they needed to verify the signature. (when I signed up for the policy, I did it online electronic signature) so I followed back up and learned it still had not been processed. I talked with someone last week and she said she would take care of it over the phone. I asked her for confirmation of the change and she said she would send it via the secure portal and I never received it. I called again to follow up and the person on the line said it had been changed and when she verified the new name, it turned out that she spelled the name wrong.
Finally, I ordered something from Con Air on 2/23. I called to get the status of the product and was told it should be here on 3/7. She provided me the shipping number. I looked up the shipping number last week and it turned out that my package was returned to sender although I had the correct mailing address as it shows it on my receipt. I have been trying to call all day today but not having any success.
I do not expect CSR's to cater to me or give me the golden treatment, but I do expect basic service. It seems like Customer Service has become absolutely abysmal with reps being downright terrible.
I remember in the past when you could call and talk to someone in a reasonable period of time and if the issue was not too complicated, you could get it resolved. Now it takes me having to call during my lunch hour and then I may not get through.
What gives?
I agree. I used to use Walgreen's mail order pharmacy, but no matter how many times I ordered, every time I would get a recorded call that they need more information and to call them. I'd call back and end up navigating a maze of menu options and sitting on hold forever. So even when they call and you answer the phone, it's not a person anymore.
Had to call my credit cards recently (two different issues), both had live people pick up very quickly with a minimum amount of phone tree nonsense. No issues.
I can't think of much else. Bass Pro Shops had plenty of floor staff and they were helpful, not just pointing but walking me to what I need.
Had to go into a bank for the first time in ages to get different denominations for a trip to a country that uses US script. Minimal wait and perfectly helpful.
I am not seeing an issue, but I don't mailorder generally if I can help it.
Had to call my credit cards recently (two different issues), both had live people pick up very quickly with a minimum amount of phone tree nonsense. No issues.
I can't think of much else. Bass Pro Shops had plenty of floor staff and they were helpful, not just pointing but walking me to what I need.
Had to go into a bank for the first time in ages to get different denominations for a trip to a country that uses US script. Minimal wait and perfectly helpful.
I am not seeing an issue, but I don't mailorder generally if I can help it.
I don't see the issue with banks or credit cards or certain sites like Amazon. I see it more with businesses that don't care as much if you leave...for instance Verizon and Xfinity both know I'm probably not going anywhere, so when I call them, I have to navigate a maze to get a person, and I have to fight their trying to make me use a chatbot instead of waiting for a person. Xfinity asks me if I want to use the chatbot, and I say no, and then she says "I just sent you the link" anyway. Finally I scream "Agent!!! Representative!!!" then it says "to help me get you to the right person, tell me what you're calling about. You can say things like "check my bill", "service is out", etc. But I already know my issue doesn't fit neatly into any of those boxes. So I try to bypass picking a topic, but it won't let me. So finally I just pick one, even though it's not the reason I'm calling. So I pick one, "technical support". But instead of passing me to someone then, she tries to say "did you know you can get technical support using our chatbot, would you like me to send you the link?" and by that time I'm frustrated and boiling. By the time you get to a person it's hard not to bite their head off because you've been on the phone 20 minutes already.
And when my cat's microchip company Home Again withdrew funds from my CC for my yearly subscription 3 times in a month, I called multiple, multiple times and simply no one answered the phone, no matter how many times I called. I had to dispute the charges with my CC company and that as easy, but then I have to worry if my pet is missing and I call them (they are supposed to send an alert to all area shelters and vet offices, as well as make a "Missing" poster with the photo they have, that you can print out), no one will answer.
Today I made a 7:55 doctor appointment before work, figuring I'd still get here relatively on time. I walked out of there at 9:40. That to me is poor customer service, too. And you can't call any individual office anymore. I hadn't been to this complex before, never saw it (I picked an office near work, not home) and suddenly Waze announces "you have arrived", except it was a hospital in front of me, not the medical offices. So I try to call to see where they are in relation to the hospital. But even though I dial the local number, I get a centralized call center that covers all of the facilities in the state. But even then it's not a person. Just options to make an appointment, pay a bill, etc. But even when I get a person, she's somewhere else, and has no clue where I am or the office. So I have to park at the hospital, no close spots, freezing cold today, and walk in to try to get directions.
Same with Walmart. I had a Walmart delivery text that said my grocery order was delivered (it was only one bag) except it wasn't there. But when I try to call local Walmart to see where the guy left it, it turns out they can't talk to me about it there, they tell me I have to call the 800 number. But when I call them, they just want to refund my money, not help me find the package.
It is most definitely worse than in the past. But more obvious in certain industries, where I don't think they worry as much about people leaving. Walmart had great customer service for grocery pick up and delivery before Covid, but it changed completely during it and after.
I don't see the issue with banks or credit cards or certain sites like Amazon. I see it more with businesses that don't care as much if you leave...for instance Verizon and Xfinity both know I'm probably not going anywhere, so when I call them, I have to navigate a maze to get a person, and I have to fight their trying to make me use a chatbot instead of waiting for a person. Xfinity asks me if I want to use the chatbot, and I say no, and then she says "I just sent you the link" anyway. Finally I scream "Agent!!! Representative!!!" then it says "to help me get you to the right person, tell me what you're calling about. You can say things like "check my bill", "service is out", etc. But I already know my issue doesn't fit neatly into any of those boxes. So I try to bypass picking a topic, but it won't let me. So finally I just pick one, even though it's not the reason I'm calling. So I pick one, "technical support". But instead of passing me to someone then, she tries to say "did you know you can get technical support using our chatbot, would you like me to send you the link?" and by that time I'm frustrated and boiling. By the time you get to a person it's hard not to bite their head off because you've been on the phone 20 minutes already.
And when my cat's microchip company Home Again withdrew funds from my CC for my yearly subscription 3 times in a month, I called multiple, multiple times and simply no one answered the phone, no matter how many times I called. I had to dispute the charges with my CC company and that as easy, but then I have to worry if my pet is missing and I call them (they are supposed to send an alert to all area shelters and vet offices, as well as make a "Missing" poster with the photo they have, that you can print out), no one will answer.
Today I made a 7:55 doctor appointment before work, figuring I'd still get here relatively on time. I walked out of there at 9:40. That to me is poor customer service, too. And you can't call any individual office anymore. I hadn't been to this complex before, never saw it (I picked an office near work, not home) and suddenly Waze announces "you have arrived", except it was a hospital in front of me, not the medical offices. So I try to call to see where they are in relation to the hospital. But even though I dial the local number, I get a centralized call center that covers all of the facilities in the state. But even then it's not a person. Just options to make an appointment, pay a bill, etc. But even when I get a person, she's somewhere else, and has no clue where I am or the office. So I have to park at the hospital, no close spots, freezing cold today, and walk in to try to get directions.
Same with Walmart. I had a Walmart delivery text that said my grocery order was delivered (it was only one bag) except it wasn't there. But when I try to call local Walmart to see where the guy left it, it turns out they can't talk to me about it there, they tell me I have to call the 800 number. But when I call them, they just want to refund my money, not help me find the package.
It is most definitely worse than in the past. But more obvious in certain industries, where I don't think they worry as much about people leaving. Walmart had great customer service for grocery pick up and delivery before Covid, but it changed completely during it and after.
It's why mass shootings are up.
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- but they owe me almost 2,500 hrs. of phone time! 