Make sure you have a decent speakerphone.
Nothing makes those 22 minutes pass more slowly than a strained neck from pressing the phone against your ear. If you can move around while you're waiting -- say if you can fold the laundry -- the time won't feel quite as wasted.
I got my own explanation for this , while explaining to a customer about details on his internet connection , fiddle through your notes and draw your boss on a sketch pad , or draw your seatmates facial expression when he or she cries and gets angry , you won't even notice how time flies , 22 min. on ACD time :)
Set aside at least a half hour to confront the problem.
It's also important to be realistic about your time investment. If you're trying to challenge a hidden fee on your cell phone, don't place the call when you have to leave for work in seven minutes.
I have tried this technique , wasting 2 hours on a technical support representative that challenged me if I was fit for the job (Say what ? ) 2 hours and he won't give me his supervisor , I quit , but I couldn't sit up straight or even call up a client if I can't straighten things out, I called them up again , only to have another round of words and I was being called "egoistic" this time (crap ! ) , so then an egoistic me (so the rep. says) asks for a supervisor , he said he can't give me his supervisor because there is none , so then the challenge begins, I challenged , if you are working on a support industry , you should have a supervisor , I don't care if I waste 2 hours or 3 hours of my time just to get to the bottom of this , final point .... I was passed through a QA supervisor who assured me that the matter would be looked into. At last , but it did take me almost 2 hours to confront the problem.
Get a human.
I got into "trouble" almost for this type of argument , I was emailed automatically by our system , that my introduction was incorrect (dduuuhhh) . Well , at least I don't sound like a robot , I am human , in a human technology
Gather your evidence.
Dig ! Dig ! Dig ! it baby ! that's all there is too it , gather up , and be prepared to fire up when the time comes :)
Get a human, be human
Don't get a cheap energizer bunny , it would die down in the middle
Act like a human.
Don't blah blah blah your way through the phone , add some personal touch to it , say "How's the weather down there ? "
Have a Copernican Revolution.
Copernicus was the astronomer who first asserted that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Neither are you. However awful that unfair charge may be, it will only help your cause to understand the circumstances of the person you are talking to.
Compromise !
Know your enemy.
I haven't exactly read Sun Tzu's art of war book , but I am positive , this is one of them , (visit www.customerssuck.com)
Have a pen and paper
You might run into a power outage and you are still on the phone , better safe than sorry , write down small details.
Hang up and try another operator.
This technique I think everyone has tried , if you're not comfortable with the operator , go , look for the smooth operator :)
Run out the clock
Some customers tend to do this once they realized that they are talking to a contact center agent that is paid per call , at times , this works , sometimes it doesn't.
Do all you can to hold the line open.
Say you set aside this afternoon to resolve the problem and you really need to do it today. Adopt the same strategy the customer service representatives are taught.
Keep calmly repeating your story
Don't raise your voice or swear, which makes it easier for a service representative to hang up on you.
Say exactly what you want
Better negotiating , say exactly what you want , to the point, don't beat around the bush.
Never ask for a “yes” from someone who can only say “no.”
This I got to admit has a very big impact on us , according to a recent discovery by our QA / Training Supervisor (Miss G) , we Filipino's tend not to say "no" , we must learn to say NO , YES, that is all there is too it , if YES , then YES , explain why , if NO, then NO, explain why , fairly , that simple.
Make a business case for what you want, not an emotional argument
If you expect companies to be honest, be honest yourself.
Give and take :)
You might have better luck calling early in the month of a new quarter, or even early in the day
Early in the day , why ? because customer service agents are still fresh and upbeat on answering the phone , (like having their fresh cup of coffee and a toast)
Pull out a computer and type an e-mail to a company executive.
Uhhmmm.... that's tough , on both sides to the story , I would say , its positive if it would mean KUDOS to me (that means I'm 1K richer at the end of the month) :P
Here is what www.customerssuck.com has to say , its top 10 :
CustomersSuck.com's Top 10
But if you must deal with customer service, it’s best to know the enemy well. To that end, we asked the operators of CustomersSuck.com to provide their own top 10 list to consumers. Here’s what they came up with, compiled by site owner and anonymous customer service representative Rapscallion:
1: Be civil. We do understand that this is a frustrating problem for you, and your frustration is probably compounded by the wait you had to get through to a real live human being, but the more civil you can be (not abusive, sarcastic, profane or belligerent), the more likely it is that you will walk away with a satisfying resolution to your problem.
2: Allow the rep to talk. While this seems like an insignificant point, a good many frustrations arise because callers "talk over" a rep trying to explain something crucial. A good rep will let the caller have his or her say, and then explain the problem
3: Don't ramble. Jot down the salient points of the problem on a piece of paper if you know you have a propensity to ramble. It’s very helpful in allowing you to get right to the point, thus helping solve the problem quicker. The rep doesn't need to hear about all the details of your hernia operation when you are calling to dispute charges on your phone bill.
4: Don’t blame reps for corporate policies. The nature of call centers, etc, is that the employees within them are relatively low-level in the organization. They cannot change corporate policy no matter how much they are screamed and yelled at. If you are dissatisfied with an aspect of corporate policy, ask the rep (civilly!) for the address of the corporate office and the names of the customer services manager and head of strategy, and write to those individuals complaining about the policy.
5: Remember that the person you are talking to is just that -- a person. They are not a machine, or a mindless computer-generated voice. It could be your neighbor, your son or your mother working there. They are as frustrated as the caller by poor policies, but each caller only has to deal with the problem once. The rep has to hear the same litany of complaints over and over again. There is no reason to be deliberately unkind or upsetting to the rep; it just makes the caller look like a fool.
6: Demanding a supervisor will not always work. Doing so for a minor matter is insulting to the representative to whom you are talking, but there very well may be no supervisor available. Many 24-hour call centers have no supervisor at night, and there is often one supervisor per several dozen representatives. Supervisors have to
follow the same policies as the front-line representatives in most cases, and will often tell you the same thing. Demanding a supervisor for something the initial representative
is unable to do for you is tantamount to calling them a liar. A supervisor should only be needed if the representative doesn't have the training or knowledge to help you.
7: Be reasonable and retain a sense of perspective. Decide whether or not throwing a fit over a small inconvenience or 20 cents or so is worth losing your dignity, or the risk of verbally assaulting an innocent representative of the company. Threats of legal action go one of two ways -- either you're seen as blowing things out of proportion with an empty threat or you will be referred to the company's lawyers as it then becomes a legal matter for which the phone representative cannot help you.
8: Consider seeing a therapist if you find yourself screaming at a powerless representative.
9: Accept that sometimes you cannot be helped. There will be some circumstances when the entire company cannot do anything for you. Sometimes, the only answer the service reps can give is, "no."
10: Don’t tell us how long you’ve been on hold. We're sorry that it took us 15 minutes to get to your call, but you don't need to tell us about it-we know about it -- we've been answering calls non-stop during that time. Now, the extra 2 minutes you’re taking to tell us this is an extra two minutes that is spent not helping you and not helping others on hold.
