Comments on: Cheaper isn’t always better

By: Amy Scott

Amy Scott — Tue, 14 Feb 2006 20:40:04 +0000

Thanks for the feedback. I happened to post something today elaborating a little more on the service side of things. It’s the lack of follow-through that I was intending to talk about, but after rereading, I realize I didn’t. For example, I didn’t mention that the Indian tech promised to call me back in 15 minutes, but never did. Even if he didn’t fix the problem, he could have still followed through. (BTW, Molly, his name was Steven… )

I detailed this frequent occurance in the KitchenAid posts. Anyway, thanks for the input, and glad to know nobody’s messing with a pregnant lady on purpose.

By: Angela

Angela — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 22:18:06 +0000

Hmmm…we must have been talking to the same guy in India! By the time I was done trying to understand every fifth word, my head was splitting and my computer was still not working! Arrgghhh! I don’t have my own rocket scientist to assist in these situations. Mine’s a banker. That has some perks as well, but is no help when dealing with computer techs from India!

Blessings,

Angela

By: Anita

Anita — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 17:09:01 +0000

I can completely understand the method of taking notes. Having spoken to Verizon numerous times with no solution, believe me I completely understand.

But having been a person on the other side in a call center, why should taking notes change my story if I’ve already given all the information I have? (I’m just playing devil’s advocate at the moment.) Shouldn’t I give the same service to everyone whether they are taking notes or not?

By: KS Milkmaid

KS Milkmaid — Sun, 12 Feb 2006 00:21:52 +0000

YEEESSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! Woohoo. I am biased toward small businesses, of course. There is a big delusion of cheap. I should post on this but I want to give a quick explanation here. Take milk for example. Big Ag says they can produce milk cheaper than a small farmer. To produce one gallon of milk you are buying in the store, three layers of government have been created to over see that gallon of milk. The department of Agriculture, the local health department and the milk cooperative that picks of the milk. The farmer is paid .90 to 1.10 for the gallon of milk. You pay approximately 3.00 a gallon for that milk. Tax payers pay for those government organizations, while processors collect the profit the farmer does not ever see. At .90 to 1.10 a gallon the farmer can not pay for the grain for his cows. Mass produced food requires more supervision than small quantities of production. Selling direct to customers will keep people accountable for selling a good product. If our customers aren’t happy, they don’t return. If we kill them off, we obviously don’t make money and ruin our reputation. Big business just turns it over to the lawyers for a settlement. Our customers often know more about the milk and safe milking practices than the average consumer who goes to Walmart. I have had to stay on top of dairy management practices to be able to answer their questions. Imagine what it would be like if everyone could go to their local farmer and buy milk and dairy products? They walk into the milking parlour and decide if they place is clean enough, they talk to other customers and ask around. They want to know if we drink the milk. So….maybe it is cheap on the shelf, but don’t forget the numerous regulatory bodies that have to oversee the production of that item because big business is out of hand. Our tax paying dollars go to support these regulatory agencies that say they give us healthy food. Their version of healthy food is loaded with growth hormones, antibiotics etc. They tell you there are no additives. They are playing with labeling loophooles. I could go on and on, but I’ll save it for my blog.

You know that guy from India, he works for the the phone company too. I called information one day and paid over a dollar for him to tell me their was no one listed under that name. It was DS and O Electric Company. I went over and over again explaining to him how to combine the various Initials. He swore they didn’t exist. He might have been right. I was sitting in the dark that night with no electricity.

By: Meangoose

Meangoose — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 19:33:42 +0000

I’d just remember that many of the folks you talk to are required to stay on script or not admit fault, or they could lose their employment and their children won’t get to eat. I totally understand your frustration and you have every right to get the service you expect, but I wouldn’t take it personally when you have a tougher time than you should. Those folks at the customer service centers aren’t out to get you.

By: HolyMama!

HolyMama! — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 05:36:59 +0000

Always remember to just keep asking “May I speak with your supervisor?” Even if you’ve been switched 9 times, that 9th person still has a supervisor. Lamaze breathing should be helpful too, even when not pregnant!

By: Amie

Amie — Sat, 11 Feb 2006 04:54:02 +0000

Glad your e-mail is back up. I’m gonna back track to the name game….LOL I like the name Nazareth. -Amie

By: Spunky

Spunky — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 23:54:12 +0000

Repentance, restitution, and Bill Clinton - only you could link all of those together in one post and make it sound logical. Getting things is writing or writing it down was something that my dad taught me long ago. People act so different when they know you’re taking notes.

By: Mrs. DMG

Mrs. DMG — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 23:38:06 +0000

Ok, copying this down for future reference. I tend to get all flustered and upset when I deal with people on the phone. My emotions go everywhere and nothing gets accomplished. If I read this enough I can remember it and use it to actually get something done! Thanks Molly~

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 22:06:09 +0000

Here’s my amazing trick.

As they are comign to their initial conclusions (usually wrong, or blame shifting) I start making it REAL clear that I am taking notes. Say something, all in a VERY sweet and innocent voice, like,

“So what was your name again? Okay, spell that for me… B R A N D Y and what is your last name? Okay, spell that… Alright, so do you have an Employee ID number or anything like that? And today’s date and time is.. Yeah, okay, and so you were saying that the problem is suchnsuch… Okay, hold on, let me write that down under your name…’Brandy said the problem was… Oh, what? You’re not really sure if that IS the problem? But you said it was earlier…? Okay, so what is it that you think…? Well, sure, I’d be glad to talk to your supervisor! I thought you said he wasn’t in? Oh, he just got back? Hmmm, interesting. Sure, I’ll hold. Thanks.”

Supervisor picks up phone, you give him your problem, he starts giving you his schpele, and you start again on the name taking, id number, etc…

My husband had me start doing this a few years ago, and I’ve never yet had ONE thing fail using this method! Not only that, it’s really really fun to do…