Why?

[Graham F]

Why do some people think that it is their GOD given right to be rude to call centre staff?

I have had 3 people on the phone today f'ing blinding at me then have they have the check to say that they think i am being rude to them

Hopefully all 3 of them post here and they can apologise to me in here

NUMPTY'S the lot of them

[bopdude]

feeling better now

[Chris]

Possibly - and I don't offer this as any kind of an excuse - because a lot of people call the call centre after something has gone wrong, and so are already in a foul mood. Then the poor sod who answers is seen not as a human individual but somehow as the company itself incarnate. They therefore have no problem telling the company exactly what they think about it.

What tends to get me annoyed when dealing with a call centre is the growing suspicion that I am being fed a script, with the response that appears to best match the last thing I said being offered in lieu of the CSR actually listening, thinking and responding appropriately. I know that in such cases the CSR is only doing what he's told, but I don't appreciate being treated like a moron, much less when after a couple of minutes of conversation it ought to be obvious that I'm not one. Well I hope so anyway ...

None of the above, by the way, is meant to imply that I think it's acceptable to be rude to people. Insistent and firm, perhaps, when things go pear shaped, but not rude.

[Graham F]

I do understand all the above points Chris, but to be swearing down the phone at me is not on regardless of whats gone on, then to say when they don't get their own way i'm being rude is outrageous!!!

they should speak to people they way they would face to face, very few people face to face would give the abuse you get over the phone. I have worked in retail and faced abuse face to face, but its a lot fewer and further between.

[punky]

Originally Posted by Scooby

Why do some people think that it is their GOD given right to be rude to call centre staff?

I have had 3 people on the phone today f'ing blinding at me then have they have the check to say that they think i am being rude to them

Hopefully all 3 of them post here and they can apologise to me in here

NUMPTY'S the lot of them

My old man has a saying which I think fits: If you get people like that treat them like mushrooms - keep them in the dark and feed them s**t.

That said I have chroniclly nice to call centre staff, and it doesn't always get me where I need to go. My mum tends to be more firm n' fair and does better.

[Russ]

When I call HSBC and get through to some idiot in Bangalore who doesn't understand UK law, I get angry.

When I get put through to the wrong department, I get angry.

When I want to make a complaint to a supervisor and get told "it's HSBC policy for supervisors to not take calls directly from the public" I get angry.

When I finally speak to someone in authority and they try to fob me off so I ask for their superior's names and they say to me "you are not obliged to go any higher than me", I get angry.

Then I get through to the part-time junior YTS saturday boy who has only just started and hasn't got a clue.

It's often very difficult to stay calm with these people.

[Escapee]

Originally Posted by Scooby

I do understand all the above points Chris, but to be swearing down the phone at me is not on regardless of whats gone on, then to say when they don't get their own way i'm being rude is outrageous!!!

they should speak to people they way they would face to face, very few people face to face would give the abuse you get over the phone. I have worked in retail and faced abuse face to face, but its a lot fewer and further between.

I can honestly say I have never been rude to anyone in a callcentre, although I have experienced very poor service, that cant be directed at the individual.

I am however more likely to get worked up face to face, I have done in a couple of situations where retail employees have been less than helpfull, and I have felt they have been damn rude. I prefer to deal with companies face to face because it is easier to get some action, a person in a call centre who has no concience can fob you off and put the phone down, and thats a very good reason for not being abusive to them.

I have had genuine customers be a little abusive to me, but they have usually settled down when I have had a chat and explained that I was there to have a look at the problem, sometimes it's difficult when half a dozen engineers have already been to the customer and failed to cure the fault.

On the other score, I will hold my hand up....I had a few abusive customers when I worked at ntl who would not give me a chance to sort out their problems, as a result they did not get sorted, most of these customers ended up disconnecting.

[Graham F]

Originally Posted by Russ D

When I call HSBC and get through to some idiot in Bangalore who doesn't understand UK law, I get angry.

When I get put through to the wrong department, I get angry.

When I want to make a complaint to a supervisor and get told "it's HSBC policy for supervisors to not take calls directly from the public" I get angry.

When I finally speak to someone in authority and they try to fob me off so I ask for their superior's names and they say to me "you are not obliged to go any higher than me", I get angry.

Then I get through to the part-time junior YTS saturday boy who has only just started and hasn't got a clue.

It's often very difficult to stay calm with these people.

sorry Russ, angry is fine, i don't have a problem with that!!

Being sworn at and talked to like a bit of s**t is not!!

I would not of thought you would be someone that does this?!?

Also what aspect of Law do you expect them to know?

[Russ]

Originally Posted by Scooby

I would not of thought you would be someone that does this?!?

Why not? I get angry like anyone else.

Originally Posted by Scooby

Also what aspect of Law do you expect them to know?

Theft.

When the idiots at Welcome Finance took money off my debit card without my consent I phoned my bank to report it as theft and fraudulent and spoke to some brain donor in Bangalore who told me he was unable to do so because he was not familiar with UK law.

[etccarmageddon]

Originally Posted by Scooby

Why do some people think that it is their GOD given right to be rude to call centre staff?

I have had 3 people on the phone today f'ing blinding at me then have they have the check to say that they think i am being rude to them

Hopefully all 3 of them post here and they can apologise to me in here

NUMPTY'S the lot of them

the last call centre I rang was Orange and the staff there have been honest in the past and told me they are kept in the dark/the last to know what's going on.

with regards to your apology - it reminded me of an often used term "we can only apologise for that sir" usually used by staff where there is a corporate policy which is resigned to failure and the belief that 'I can only apologise for that' is the standard pre-programmed phrase.

I find the best way for successfully dealing with a call centre is to be pleasant and appreciate the staff arent paid enough to endure cruel words.

Although if I get to a call centre overseas and experience the kind of laughable stuff Russ experiences then perhaps I would blow my top!

[etccarmageddon]

Originally Posted by Russ D

....and spoke to some brain donor in Bangalore...

[Graham F]

Originally Posted by Russ D

Why not? I get angry like anyone else.



Theft.

When the idiots at Welcome Finance took money off my debit card without my consent I phoned my bank to report it as theft and fraudulent and spoke to some brain donor in Bangalore who told me he was unable to do so because he was not familiar with UK law.

I would not expect anyone to swear on the phone to anyone. Simple as that really, whats the need to? what do you think you achieve by swearing at people?

As i said angry is fine, i don't have a problem with it, swearing and people talking over me i do have a problem with

[Russ]

I didn't say I swear at them, I just said I get angry.

[Stu038]

When I used to do service calls, there would occasionally be comments on the work order such as ca meaning customer abusive.
In the majority of these cases when you actually knocked on the door the person answering was polite and friendly.

There are always exceptions though and I would agree with Chris that some people take their frustrations with a company out on the person in a call centre because they don't really perceive them as being "real" people but faceless minions.

In my experience the worst offenders tend to be either the more intellectually or socially challenged individuals.

[Nugget]

Originally Posted by Russ D

I didn't say I swear at them, I just said I get angry.

And, in all fairness to Russ, Welcome Finance are enough to make the Pope swear!