Customer Service - It's a Myth! - Part Three

Pretty amazing isn't it?

Customer service has gone right down the tubes. Ironically, since this incident, I have made two contacts at different wireless companies (Cingular and Sprint.) Quite ironic, since I met them via a mutual friend. Had I only known.

So what has happened with customer service? Simply, from an executive point of view, customer service is a loss leader. Since we are locked in to a typical 3 year contract, they know they are getting the profit from us. It's not like we can cancel it with out major costs of lawyers (which would cost more than the duration of the contract.) I wish I could *afford* to have my principles, but until that long lost aunt or uncle pass away and leaves me a bazillion dollars, I'm just going to have to "suck it up."

So much customer support has been outsourced (not necessarily offshored) but outsourced. Quality measurements (or metrics as the executives like to call them) are simply that. They are statistics. And as we all know, stats can be made to say anything. I'm a white 6'5" male in a committed relationship. I drink occasionally, don't smoke, love sci-fi, and enjoy heading out to movies and such. But you know something? Statistically speaking I don't have two legs. Which to look at me, at 6'5", yeah, compared to most, I should have more than two legs (at least 2 and a half, maybe even three, I have long legs if one didn't guess) but using stats in the demographic of others on my apartment floor (6 apartments), I don't have two legs. I only have 1.91 of a leg. Hmmm, perhaps I should try drawing on disability since I statistically I don't have two legs. Do you think it would work? Nahhh, I didn't think so either.

So what do we do about it. We can write, and complain, but that tends to fall on deaf ears. We can blog about it, but only a small percentage will really see it (those stats again.)

I've got it!!! The next time I have to call customer support, I'm going to use their own tricks against them. When I finally reach a CSR, before I even give them my name, account number, or phone number, I'm going to say:

"For your information, this call *is* being recorded for my quality control purposes. If all goes well, it will be sent to your company and be used for training purposes, specifically for what *not* to do."

It makes me wonder how that will go over? I makes me wonder if it would work. Would I get any better customer service out of it? I would hope so. The legalities of it? They way I see it, it's no different than them possibly recording the call for their quality control, or training purposes. The only difference is, they *know* it's being recorded. (For the record, I am not a lawyer, so if you plan on doing this, make sure you check your legalities, but from my limited understanding, it is legal as long as one of the parties are aware of it, which is you, and you've also made them aware of it also.)

So, there hasn't been a need for me to call back yet. Hopefully there won't be, until my contract runs out. Then again, I do have two contacts now with two major wireless carriers. I've got an "IN" and I'm not even with Verizon.