The 'phone rang at work today about two minutes before clocking off time...
Man: I'm calling from the AA to do a customer satisfaction survey. I believe your car broke down at the weekend and we'd like some feedback. Do you have a few minutes to spare?
Me: Yup, that's me. I've got two minutes, make it quick.
Man: [Does the whole "This call may be recorded..." spiel] Can you confirm the first line of your address for security purposes?
Me: Why? You know my name, my telephone number and the fact I had a breakdown at the weekend, why don't you tell me the first line of my address for my security purposes?
Man; OK, thank you for your time *click*
Shame really. I've no doubt the call was genuine; the actual real life AA man was quick to appear and most friendly and efficient, so I wouldn't have minded bigging him up accordingly and generating a few pence commission for the poor sod in the call centre. Ah well.
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On the topic of cars, Her Indoors drove round her new box which goes forward for a couple of weeks and then decided that it just wasn't the same as her old car. She just couldn't build up that emotional rapport with the new one.
So she took the first new one back to Car Giant, sold it back for a £1,000 loss and tracked down another 4x4 exactly like her previous one (except a bit newer and black) and bought that one instead. The new, new one cost £1,000 less than the refund she got for the soulless box, so all's well that ends well, I suppose.
The new, new one promptly conked out the very next day, requiring a new battery, and in the mean time one of the side lights has gone. But I prefer it to the old 4x4 because the radio/CD player display defaults to the clock, which is always very handy in a car.
Monday, 23 May 2011
Cars: Pointless telephone conversations and Her Indoors' new car
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10 comments:
Whenever I've asked banks, or what have you, how they are going to identify themselves to me, they've been very hoity-toity. They must be managed by bloody fools.
D, I can't disagree with your view of the management but the problem is as much that the call-centre staff aren't trained particularly well to deal with non-standard responses. Their "on phone" performance is recorded, monitored and logged and they aren't encouraged to get into debates with folk because it can only ever work against them. They're heavily scripted and ad-libbing isn't necessarily seen as a Good Thing.
I strongly suspect that - were I in the position of having a computer deliver calls to me without respite for several hours a shift - I too might develop ways of cutting short a call which didn't go exactly to "script". It's a self-defence mechanism.
My elder son is doing call-centre work for a bank to help pay his way through Uni and provide some pocket money - fortunately he's personable enough to have the inner resources to get along with folk; some of the others, though, have a very hard time of it.
Yes, but the sort of manager who doesn't anticipate that the customer might demand some ID is the sort who needs a swift kick uo the jaxi.
That's why I don't disagree with you! De-skilling works at all levels........
I have to know - what type of car did she originally have and what did she not take to and what did she end up with.
(I have a theory about people and the cars they drive)
D, FT, so why doesn't the script have a default that if the customer refuses to confirm first line of address, then they just skip to the next question?
They were ringing my official phone number as known to them, so unless my phone had been stolen and some joker was merrily ad-libbing details of his car being fixed, what is the loss to them?
L, first a Ford Maverick ca. 2003; then a VW Golf ca. 2005 and now Ford Maverick ca. 2006.
You could do what I did when I wanted to leave feedback for the nice man who changed my tyre for me - email 'em! :)
JM, I tried that and got a reply saying "We can't help you until you learn to accept that you have a drink problem".
MW...there's just something about a Ford...
L, call me a chav, but I really like it. The downside is, the fuel consumption is measured in gallons-per-mile rather than miles-per-gallon.
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