subject: Customer Service Reps Are Sworn To Secrecy About This [print this page] Trying to accomplish something or get a question answered with customer service over the phone can be such a headache. You're re-directed and re-questioned a dozen times, sometimes before you even speak to a live person. While you may be thinking, "How stupid of this company" it actually might all be part of their plan.
They are allowed to hang up
If a customer service representative hangs up on you, you may think that gives you double the authority to speak to the manager. But, you know that little disclaimer prior to talking to a rep that says the call is being recorded? Well, it really was. And if you screamed at or were inappropriate with the rep, the manager will witness all of that over the recording and probably not talk to you. They won't be yelling at the rep, that's for sure.
Twitter is has the power
Some companies are so wary of their reputation that they have staff whose sole job is to monitor things said on Twitter or Facebook about them, all day long. If your complaint isn't being handled well over the phone, get on your Twitter. You might soon get a direct message offering help from the company.
They're forced to keep it short
Notice how often you are redirected? My good buddy was once a phone rep for a company and one of her least favorite parts was how impersonal the job was. That that was because the company put a limit on how long reps could be on the phone with one customer. Today she is a voice coach and she loves the personable aspect of teaching people how to sing. Nobody is standing over her shoulder, making sure she keeps singing lessons short. But that definitely happened when she was a phone rep!
You might talk to a fake manager
Do you realize how many people ask to speak to a manager every day? But realistically, a company does not have enough money to pay that many people a manager's salary. So frequently when you're put on the phone with a manager it's not manager at all but a regular rep pretending to be one.
The robots determine your fate
You know how you have to answer a dozen automated questions before ever getting to speak to a representative? That's because the company is trying to minimize resources spent on representatives. So, only the very important or the totally helpless customers get to talk to a person.
