As a former CSR, I was explicitly told that even though certain actions were easily done by the supervisor, the reps had to basically deny customer requests to perform these actions (mostly unlocking accounts). So if the customers didn’t raise a stink, they would not get their issue escalated.
Yeah I worked at a place that had a policy that was basically “you’re not allowed to escalate the call until the customer asks specifically, twice.” We were more or less told to tell customers things that were very much possible, were not.
There were tons of things I was not allowed to permit but a supervisor could do quite easily. The “supervisor” was just someone who sat right next to me but had slightly more training. So basically it just guaranteed that you were going to get berated several times a day.
Just before I quit I was reprimanded because one day I just decided I’m not going to be an obstacle anymore and I would just transfer anyone who would ask immediately.
I am certain the majority of call centers have policies like this solely for the reason of saving money from customers who refuse to fight with customer service.
Sure, if you're calling AT&T or somewhere trying to get your account cancelled or unlocked - by all means, shout 'supervisor' over and over into the phone.
But if you're chatting in asking "how do I do x" and the CSR tells you "there's no way to do X. Here's a work-around you can use to achieve a similar result, but there's no way to do what you are asking specifically" and you just say "I WANT TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER" you're getting the wall in my ideal world
actually either way, you still get the wall even if I worked at a place where escalations were mandatory for anything - which I don't, as mentioned the supervisors don't know shit and don't have any special powers.
Of course and those people are assholes. The way I tried to think of it was that many people need to vent their anger and you just happened to be there at that moment. Almost all of it was misdirected. People are stressed out, they feel cheated by a system and they feel like they can’t trust anyone.
However, if there is one thing you have near absolute control over in your life is how you treat others especially those who can help or be gatekeepers to that help.
Customer service taught me a lot empathy and patience and I wish more people knew how it actually worked and experienced the other side themselves. The mental and emotional toll of not only explaining the same 8 things a million times in a million different ways but also the verbal abuse I received even if it was a minuscule part of it still stuck with me. I worked retail before that and I think customers have the idea (an idea borne of material reality) that you are subordinate to them in every way which gives them a free pass to be assholes. It was bad 20 years ago and it’s worse today.
I’m sorry this customer sucked. They probably know they suck and they were always going to a pick a fight first.
As a former CSR, I was explicitly told that even though certain actions were easily done by the supervisor, the reps had to basically deny customer requests to perform these actions (mostly unlocking accounts). So if the customers didn’t raise a stink, they would not get their issue escalated.
Yeah I worked at a place that had a policy that was basically “you’re not allowed to escalate the call until the customer asks specifically, twice.” We were more or less told to tell customers things that were very much possible, were not.
There were tons of things I was not allowed to permit but a supervisor could do quite easily. The “supervisor” was just someone who sat right next to me but had slightly more training. So basically it just guaranteed that you were going to get berated several times a day.
Just before I quit I was reprimanded because one day I just decided I’m not going to be an obstacle anymore and I would just transfer anyone who would ask immediately.
I am certain the majority of call centers have policies like this solely for the reason of saving money from customers who refuse to fight with customer service.
Completely different thing.
Sure, if you're calling AT&T or somewhere trying to get your account cancelled or unlocked - by all means, shout 'supervisor' over and over into the phone.
But if you're chatting in asking "how do I do x" and the CSR tells you "there's no way to do X. Here's a work-around you can use to achieve a similar result, but there's no way to do what you are asking specifically" and you just say "I WANT TO SPEAK TO A MANAGER" you're getting the wall in my ideal world
actually either way, you still get the wall even if I worked at a place where escalations were mandatory for anything - which I don't, as mentioned the supervisors don't know shit and don't have any special powers.
Of course and those people are assholes. The way I tried to think of it was that many people need to vent their anger and you just happened to be there at that moment. Almost all of it was misdirected. People are stressed out, they feel cheated by a system and they feel like they can’t trust anyone.
However, if there is one thing you have near absolute control over in your life is how you treat others especially those who can help or be gatekeepers to that help.
Customer service taught me a lot empathy and patience and I wish more people knew how it actually worked and experienced the other side themselves. The mental and emotional toll of not only explaining the same 8 things a million times in a million different ways but also the verbal abuse I received even if it was a minuscule part of it still stuck with me. I worked retail before that and I think customers have the idea (an idea borne of material reality) that you are subordinate to them in every way which gives them a free pass to be assholes. It was bad 20 years ago and it’s worse today.
I’m sorry this customer sucked. They probably know they suck and they were always going to a pick a fight first.