Can you hear me now? Good.
Ah, good customer service. How rare thou art.
All I want is a bit of help with my problem, only a few minutes of your time, tops. I wish that I could solve this myself, really. That way, both of our days would be as pleasant as possible.
But, alas, that little number on my cellphone company’s website directs me to you, and all you seem to do is go through a script that makes me feel as though I’m a number on your screen.
I’ve done customer service. I actually enjoyed it quite a lot. There’s something empowering about helping someone resolve an issue and getting a “thank you” at the end. Most people are pleasant over the phone/email/instant messenger. Sure, you get a jerk every once in awhile, but those are the best people to deal with. They’re like a difficult puzzle that you just need to work at in order to solve, and when you do, it’s oh so satisfying, especially when they’re grateful that you at least tried your best. Tried. Very important.
Do you really want me to?
Yet most customer service reps that I speak to sound like they’re ready to cut their wrists . . . or wouldn’t care if I threatened to cut mine over the phone. They don’t go the extra mile to assist me, like get up and speak to someone who can actually help. They seem much more willing to say that there’s nothing they can do, and you as the customer have to pull out the old “I want to speak to your manager” routine to get anything done. Is that even necessary?
Look, Mr./Ms. Customer Service, I know that the company probably doesn’t mean much to you–even though you are the face of the company, the person who I will talk to more than anyone else there, and who will help form my lasting impression about the company as a whole for years to come–but can you at least pretend? Or maybe get another job and give someone else who actually enjoys interacting with people a shot?
Much obliged.
What’s the best/worst customer service experience that you’ve had?
Mike_Reverb 