for call center workers!! some american customers are just so impossible!!
By dmanuel
@dmanuel (411)
December 16, 2006 7:52pm CST
i have been 3 yrs in the call center industry and my oh my! Americans are just so impossible! they are very sensitive with customer service and most often than not they are way out of line!! they want units to be replaced with brand new ones even if its 7 years old and out of warranty.. and if you decline the request they'll sue the company! how odd and weird is that?! sure, i know that they have extensive consumer protection..but sometimes..they are just impossible!
what's your story?
6 people like this
45 responses
@soonergirl980 (261)
• United States
17 Dec 06
I understand customers are annoying I work in a call center here. It's just as annoying when a cutomer (like myself) calls and it is quite obvious that the person is not in the U.S. I refuse to deal with anyone unless I am sure they are here. It is the one thing that I think should not be outsourced.
2 people like this
@dixielol (1579)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Yeah, I agree with you. When they have an accent & you have to ask what like 30 times & still dont even have a clue what they are talking about that just adds more frustration when you are already mad because your product is messed up. Or if they are rude or just dont have a clue what you are talking about.
@angeliamj (632)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Thanks for posting this!! Yes you can complain about the American's calling and such, but as an American, I feel that I have the right to speak to someone regarding customer service in the USA, that's actually in the USA, speaking clear, fluent English. Since I've moved back to the US, I have gotten on numerous occasions, someone who couldn't even form a complete English sentence wanting to know how they could help me. My answer, they can't. I'm not being rude or racist (so don't go there with me), and I know I'm not alone in this, but if you can't even say, "thank you for calling_________, this is John (which you know it's not), how can I assist you today", why the hell do you really think i'm going to be confident that you can help me. Enough said.
2 people like this
@ashiflett (1045)
• United States
18 Dec 06
I will tell you what is "impossible"...One thing that is impossible is that millions of Americans have lost their jobs in Call Centers due to the fact that companies decided to outsource to other companies that would do the work for less money than we would.
Another thing that is "impossible" is that you now have an opportunity to make a decent living and you are not even appreciative.
Another thing that is "impossible" is that you work in a call center and do not value Customer Service. This is why prices are so high on many things that consumers purchase...customers will leave the company for something like a customer service agent being rude and inconsiderate to their needs and wants in the service. As a result, it results in the products and services of that company increasing in their rates.
Most of my life in the workforce, I have worked as a Quality Assurance Agent in call centers. One of the best jobs that I had in the industry was yanked away as they shut down our center to outsource to the Phillipines. They did this because in the Phillipines, people work for less than we do. I would like to know that, despite the fact that we all lost our jobs and our community suffered, that the people that received our jobs would be at least a little appreciative of the work that was given to them.
1 person likes this
@ashiflett (1045)
• United States
18 Dec 06
Thank you, I am pleased to see that you are appreciative of the job.
@ivyhazel (5)
• Philippines
18 Dec 06
totally agree.
i used to grumble about irate callers and how "impossible" they can be at times. but, hey, we gotta start counting our blessings instead of whining about them. it's part of the package.
you just gotta learn to appreciate the whole deal.
thanks. well said, ashiflett.
@sevenseas (754)
• United States
18 Dec 06
I loved reading this post!! As an American who works in a service field, I totally understand what you are saying. I don't know why some Americans are so smart azzed...but they sure are!! They are MEAN to you and to us! If they orginate from a NORTHERN state or California, this is even MORE TRUE. I have no idea why....but what a bunch of jerks they are!!!
Great Post!!!
1 person likes this
@carlennj (589)
• United States
17 Dec 06
I have been on both sides. I have managed customer service/call service centers for 17+ years. People are very demanding. They don't care about your issues, they only are concerned with their question or issue. Imagine being on the phone as a customer and not having your problem dealt with efficiently. How would you feel?
Like wise, it is upsetting if your question is not being handled as efficiently as it should be. We deserve good service, less than good service is not acceptable. Look at it from a doctor perspective. Do you want a dr that performs an opperation where 50% are successful or 98% successful? In this example, people always choose with the highest satisfaction rate. Some people seem to not treat people as they would want to be treated. We all need to keep it in focus.
1 person likes this
@nirmalgold (295)
• India
17 Dec 06
not like that you see he may be in some tension at the same time some peoples call and ask to take loan or buy thier product.in that place what will you do
1 person likes this
@josan181237 (1204)
• Philippines
17 Dec 06
my cousin and my close friend both work in a call center. they have those problems too.
@raisushkr (1398)
• India
18 Dec 06
i thought call center job is easy .but reading ur experience i dont think so .hmm thanks any way
@ashiflett (1045)
• United States
18 Dec 06
Call Center jobs are relatively easy if you place value on your work and are appreciative of the work that you do. However, if you preceive a job to be difficult, it will be.
@Signal20 (2281)
• United States
17 Dec 06
You're right, us Americans are a difficult bunch. That's partly because over the years, we've been taught The Customer Is Always Right mentality. But now a days, that's changed, but our attitudes haven't. We used to be able to get products that lasted years. I have a blender, was my grandmas from the 1970's, real glass, even that ugly avocado green color. You buy one in the store today, it's made of cheap plastic, and lasts maybe 6 months.
But the flip side, not sure what country you're from, but a lot of us American's are getting tired of calling up customer service for some American country, and the dang phone call gets routed to some foreign country and the person we're talking too barely speaks any English. No offense or anything, yes some may speak English, but it's hard understanding some when they have a very heavy accent and broken English, and to top it off-my hearing's shot. That's frustrating as well for us, and I try real hard to maintain my temper because the person is usually very nice, but when I'm already frustrated, I want to be able to understand the person I'm talking too. I usually end up having to hang up because I have no clue what the person is saying.
@wildguy2 (1349)
• Canada
17 Dec 06
Just because you buy the product in America doesn't mean it is American, this is why you get routed, they are putting you to the country where the product is made, most of the time..the problem I have with this is companies today have there hands is so much stuff that they don't know what they are manufacturing anymore....so when you call about a product you get bounced all over the globe trying to get service.
@sweetieBerry (235)
• Philippines
17 Dec 06
signal - i like the way you said ur piece. you made us understand why americans are the way they are and considered the fact that not all of us are bad at english. i'm from the philippines and it is the largest english speaking countrly in southeast asia - i'm not particularly proud of that, though cos i would rather be known for a country that is proud of our heritage than proud of another country's languange - nevertheless, i'm just pointing out the fact that i CAN speak english and Filipinos are generally better at it than others. no offense though, ok?
i've worked in customer service for a year now and we do deal with other agents from other countries especially if we need to call the airlines (i'm an agent for a large online travel agency) to help us out with a few details and i do admit that talking with someone who can barely speak english is terribly frustrating.
for other agents too, i think that other than the fact that americans are used to top-of-the-line products - i guess you guys value your time and the money that you spend for the things that need more than other cultures do. my relatives who work abroad work 2 jobs 6 days a week...and i guess most americans are the same way, i should say.
maybe the only way to fix this is to train the agents from other countries to speak better english.
but please don't take away this job from us. in the phils, call center agents actually earn more than a college professor or nurse does...
that's already better than most.
@ipanks (890)
• Indonesia
17 Dec 06
i think it different in other country because their have policy.but if all country is the same way hows beatufill isn't?
@cloud9 (176)
• Philippines
17 Dec 06
I agree with you that customers would sometimes get too demanding. But this does not apply only to Americans. I work in a call center too for 3 years now. First year in a call center and it was really stressful simply because the product we handled were not that good as well. People (mostly Americans) would call in to complain. You just have to empathize with them and understand that they are calling because they have a problem. But there are other customers that can really be so rude. You know that they are angry with the company but they would curse at you even when you are already trying to help them. Plus, they always want compensation. But there would be others that would just vent out and even apologize to you if they are screaming and I always try my best to help these kind of customers. But again, not all Americans are like this as I handled other nationalities after my first year, this time mostly Asians and some are also rude. But they do not expect to be compensated if we failed to deliver the service they are expecting.
@jcvelina (1255)
• Philippines
17 Dec 06
same here dude. i have been working at a call center for more than three years and i understand your feelings. they are very dependent on customer service and i really do not know what would happen if they don't get in touch with one. some of those people don't read their bills and does not know the plan they have for their phones and when they call billing all hell would break loose because they want to get some credits. they want help for their internet connection but they are not in front of the PC. they are very good people but they are not that smart.
@Poison_Girl (4150)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Or... you can call customer service to ask why they turned your internet off and why they haven't turned it back on yet and the idiot in customer service says, "You should've gotten an e-mail. Did you get that?" "Well, now how the heck am I supposed to check my e-mail when I HAVE NO INTERNET BECAUSE YOU FRICKIN' TURNED IT OFF!!" It's not just the callers who are the morons...
@turtle11 (331)
• India
17 Dec 06
They are not always rude. If you are able to understand them, you wouldnt be saying this. Its all about understanding. They are so nice that if you are able to convince them they will be all your. They will walk with you and you would be appreciated for your kindness as well.
@atulperx (735)
• India
17 Dec 06
i have worked for ramadas , which is the worlds largest hospitalty group , that was very horable experience of my life , in inbound i used to recieve many funny calls , what american use to say that can't we take significant other in the place of out spouse for trip
@SerpentsTongue (67)
• United States
17 Dec 06
It is so frustrating when you call for support and the person answering the phone is in a foreign country and doesn't even know English that well. You can't understand what they say because of their thick accent. That makes me angry right off the bat. No wonder we tend to get testy with you guys!
@ozangel82 (753)
• Australia
17 Dec 06
I have worked in various call centres, and yes it is true that customers can be very demanding and insensitive. Makes you think twice about going off at the person on the other end of the phone when you have to ring about something, doesn't it?
@babs6219 (153)
• United States
17 Dec 06
Oh, absolutely! People don't watch out for themselves, keep no paperwork, don't keep up with things, and then yell at customer service when there is a problem.
I had a customer years ago, who'd been paying her bill for months with bad checks over the phone. Finally, her phone was tuned off and she called to make a payment using the same account info. Obviously, they wouldn't take a check, and she spent thirty minutes screaming at us. I think, we as Americans, tend to feel entitled to things...like getting our way all the time, even if it's not appropriate. Good luck!
@simonjohnsid (27)
• India
29 Dec 06
hey dude i have been in this industry for more then a year but i havent faced the problem that u have faced for a simple reason that is i have never been into customer service but always been into sales.......which is difficult trust me.....but if u love what u doing then u will love to talk to them for hours as i do....try to do one thing that is try and put yourself in their shoes and then try and think that mught help u in better way
@pramod05bc (235)
• India
14 Jan 07
hey i am frm bombay india...i have the same problem...its very difficult to make them understand of certain simple things in life...they will understand a givn fact but they will choose the most complicated way to understand things...
