Thursday, June 22, 2006
I must not be listening!
"You must not be listening to what I'm saying."
Don't ever say that to someone. That indicates that you're bent on being a self-important know-it-all. It's not going to endear you to the customer service rep. It's not going to make that person want to help you. It's going to make that person want to spite you. If they're a better person than I am, they'll continue with their professional veneer. I, however, will probably descend into petty vengeance.
It's always subtle. It's the difference between a rep being willing to go the extra mile for you and relentlessly doing the bare minimum.
The reason a statement like that evokes such bitterness is because you're implying that the rep has no idea what they're doing. For a new worker, that might make them even more cautious and unsure, which won't benefit you. For a veteran, someone who very probably knows exactly what they're doing, it's an insult. It's personal. You don't need to get personal.
Tonight, someone said that to me. It happened to be on an issue that's one of the most common that we deal with. Even on a slow day, we'll probably get a half dozen calls relating to it. Consequently, I know how to deal with it pretty well. I explained to the user what we'd need to try for the first step, something that fixes the problem in roughly 75% of cases (unofficial number, just my guess based on anecdotal evidence).
"You must not be listening. It was working fine before."
Yes, clearly that demonstrates that I'm not listening.
This man ended up being a 35 minute call, which means he took about nine times longer than my average call for the day. Partway through the call, I can tell it dawned on him that I was competent and that I was trying to fix his problem, because there was a tinge of respect in his words that didn't show itself at the beginning of the call. In the end, the problem wasn't solvable, likely due to some unusual circumstances beyond his immediate control, so the best I could do was give him a workaround for now.
It's usually just frustration when people say stupid things, and I try not to let it get to me, but just like employees are expected to maintain a certain level of etiquette and civility, I expect the same from people. My last call before this man was a prepared, competent, friendly woman who thanked me sincerely when we were finished. Those people make all the difference in your day.
Don't ever say that to someone. That indicates that you're bent on being a self-important know-it-all. It's not going to endear you to the customer service rep. It's not going to make that person want to help you. It's going to make that person want to spite you. If they're a better person than I am, they'll continue with their professional veneer. I, however, will probably descend into petty vengeance.
It's always subtle. It's the difference between a rep being willing to go the extra mile for you and relentlessly doing the bare minimum.
The reason a statement like that evokes such bitterness is because you're implying that the rep has no idea what they're doing. For a new worker, that might make them even more cautious and unsure, which won't benefit you. For a veteran, someone who very probably knows exactly what they're doing, it's an insult. It's personal. You don't need to get personal.
Tonight, someone said that to me. It happened to be on an issue that's one of the most common that we deal with. Even on a slow day, we'll probably get a half dozen calls relating to it. Consequently, I know how to deal with it pretty well. I explained to the user what we'd need to try for the first step, something that fixes the problem in roughly 75% of cases (unofficial number, just my guess based on anecdotal evidence).
"You must not be listening. It was working fine before."
Yes, clearly that demonstrates that I'm not listening.
This man ended up being a 35 minute call, which means he took about nine times longer than my average call for the day. Partway through the call, I can tell it dawned on him that I was competent and that I was trying to fix his problem, because there was a tinge of respect in his words that didn't show itself at the beginning of the call. In the end, the problem wasn't solvable, likely due to some unusual circumstances beyond his immediate control, so the best I could do was give him a workaround for now.
It's usually just frustration when people say stupid things, and I try not to let it get to me, but just like employees are expected to maintain a certain level of etiquette and civility, I expect the same from people. My last call before this man was a prepared, competent, friendly woman who thanked me sincerely when we were finished. Those people make all the difference in your day.
# posted by Terry @ 5:53 PM 
