Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to Shout at the Young Man in the Call Centre?

87 replies

19lottie82 · 19/09/2016 12:33

OL this is longggggg but I need a rant..... sorry!

I'm an eBay business seller, i.e. That's my main source of income. My local Post Office offers a drop and go service, where I top up a pre paid card then drop (and go) off my parcels each day for the branch to process.

Around a year ago the couple of ran the PO retired and a youngish guy took over the franchise. He is however useless. He closes the PO early whenever he feels like it and sometimes doesn't open at all.

Anyway..... I dropped a bag of about 30 parcels in on Friday about 230pm. And when I drove past 30 minutes later, it was closed, and is still closed as I type.

I called the PO call centre and reeled off my complaint / concerns. I told "Daniel", that I was sitting outside the branch in my car and it had been shut for three days, and my parcels must be in there, unprocessed. I need them back or sent urgently.

"please hold while I try and contact them"

4 mins later "I'm sorry I just called the branch, no one is answering" Hmm

Again I reiterated I needed my parcels, do they not have alternative contact details for their franchisees? Nope.

What would they do if the branch remained closed indefinitely?
They would send a letter to the branch, apparently.

How did they keep in touch with him during the franchise application process.
They can't disclose that information.

Look..... I really need to get these parcels, telling me to "wait until it opens" isn't acceptable. This is my business, my income. Please can I speak to a manager."?
There aren't any avaliable, sorry (he didn't even check).

Are you telling me one of the largest companies in the U.K, with a nationwide call centre, there isn't a single manager around to speak to me?
That's correct.

This went on for a long time, then I was put on hold for 40 minutes.

He came back and said I can get someone to call you back.
I told myself to stay calm......

OK that's fine. Please can you confirm a manager will call me back today.
Oh no sorry. I can't promise that.
When WILL someone call me back?
It will be within 10 working days
AngryAngryAngry

Are you joking?

"Why do you want to speak to a manager anyway, they won't tell you anything that I haven't already".

I started explaining that speaking to him wasn't resolving the situation so I wanted to speak to a manager, TODAY.

Then he started speaking over me, and I'm ashamed to say I lost the plot and I SHOUTED.
Eventually he said, yes, someone will call you back today, but I'm fairly confident that they won't

WIBU?

OP posts:
RedHelenB · 19/09/2016 12:36

YABU, the people in the call centre cant get your parcels for you - I think you need to go to another post office which is more reliable.

Glastonbury · 19/09/2016 12:38

I would go to the next nearest post office or sorting office and ask their advice. I thought they had to open certain hours.

TwentyCups · 19/09/2016 12:40

Sounds incredibly frustrating but you shouldn't shout at them it's horrible being on that end of the phone with your hands tied.

joangray38 · 19/09/2016 12:41

Tweet and complain. When my local franchise po went bankrupt the po had put their own staff in the next morning! So they must be able to gain access. People running franchise pos can lose their licences very quickly if they don't open at stipulated times etc.

WhateverWillBe · 19/09/2016 12:42

Yes YABU.

I sympathise with your situation but seriously, shouting will get you nowhere and generally call centre workers get immune to the shouters. Right now he'll be sitting in the canteen, telling his mates about the fucking nut he just had on the phone and laughing. You however are in the same position.

I work in a role where I spend much of my time on the phone to customers (not your 'standard' call centre roll but similar). You shout at me and i'll do the absolute fucking minimum I can for you. Treat me like a human being and i'll bend over backwards.

TheFairyCaravan · 19/09/2016 12:42

Did you think shouting would open the doors and retrieve the parcels?

YABU. It's not that person's fault

TheNaze73 · 19/09/2016 12:44

YABU. A firm email to the MD of the company would have been the way forward, not the way you handled it

StealthPolarBear · 19/09/2016 12:44

I don't understand how it can have been closed for three days when you'd just dropped your parcels off - must have been open then surely?

Original poster
19lottie82 · 19/09/2016 12:45

Yes, I know deep down IWBU but after 56 minutes on the phone I was starting to lose the plot.
I just got really frustrated as he wouldn't let me speak to a manager.

Just kept telling me there weren't any. Which was blatently BS.

I've called and complained every time it's been closed, and also noted that they aren't open the hours which are displayed online, but it doesn't seem to make a difference.

Unfortunately there aren't any other POs near me that offer the drop and go service.

OP posts:
HuskyLover1 · 19/09/2016 12:45

YANBU. That sounds incredibly frustrating. Don't ever use the PO again. Use a large one that's always open. Sorry, that doesn't help your current situation. Agree about tweeting, as public forum complaints always get seen to fast.

Sparklingbrook · 19/09/2016 12:47

I wouldn't have used that particular PO knowing that the young guy running it had form for being very unreliable. I wouldn't entrust my business parcels to him.

YABU to shout. It is very likely a manager wasn't available. I used to work at a bank taking phone calls and when I explained they would rant and ask for the manager and there very often wasn't one there. I would get yelled at as obviously that was my fault. Hmm

Original poster
19lottie82 · 19/09/2016 12:48

I didn't want him to retrieve my parcels. I wanted him to put me through to someone that would be in a better position to help me.

All he kept saying was "you'll just
need to wait until it opens" and the only contact info we have for the franchisee is the branch phone number " (BS)

OP posts:
Original poster
19lottie82 · 19/09/2016 12:48

And I only shouted when he kept speaking over me, again. And again.

OP posts:
Sparklingbrook · 19/09/2016 12:51

It doesn't sound like there was anyone that could tell you any different. If there was he would have put you through to them to get off the phone. I would have.

NoFuchsGiven · 19/09/2016 12:53

I've sent you a pm op.

gillybeanz · 19/09/2016 12:53

I wouldn't trust our business packages with a PO where I wasn't confident with the workforce.
I use the main one in the town to be sure, you can't be unreliable in business.

ShotsFired · 19/09/2016 12:54

I really don't think the OP was expecting Daniel to remotely unlock the doors and help her from his seat in the call centre.

What I got from her OP was outright frustration that he was competently unwilling to try and do anything to even attempt to help her. No pro-activity, no offer to escalate, not even any interest by the sound of it, just jobsworth computer-sez-no-now-goodbye-and-bog-off.

Would have got my blood boiling too.

WhateverWillBe · 19/09/2016 12:54

Asking for a manager often doesn't change anything and isn't even the best way forward in many cases.

I used to do manager call takeovers when I was a team manager in a bank call centre. I'd take over the call after asking the rep to show me how to use the system or locate the relevant procedure or explain what I needed to say to the customer.

Call centre managers are generally people managers and IME whilst they know the basics will often be much less knowledgeable about specifics that the person actually answering the calls.

Original poster
19lottie82 · 19/09/2016 12:55

Sparkling i don't believe that for one second! I do appreciate IWBU for shouting tho.

OP posts:
MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 19/09/2016 12:55

How do you know your parcels are still there? Is it possible they were collected by Royal Mail on Friday?

You shouldn't have shouted. It's not his fault the call centre is structured like a Kafkaesque nightmare.

ShotsFired · 19/09/2016 12:56

*Completely, not competently!

As in:

What I got from her OP was outright frustration that he was completely unwilling to try and do anything to even attempt to help her. No pro-activity, no offer to escalate, not even any interest by the sound of it, just jobsworth computer-sez-no-now-goodbye-and-bog-off.

Would have got my blood boiling too.

gillybeanz · 19/09/2016 12:56

Unfortunately there aren't any other POs near me that offer the drop and go service.

Doesn't look like this one does either, what's the main advantage of drop and go? Surely, it's better to make sure your parcels have gone through and are going to be delivered. It wouldn't take more than 10 mins to pass them through yourself.

Sparklingbrook · 19/09/2016 12:58

Why would you not believe it OP? Confused It's just a call centre.

Comejointhemurder · 19/09/2016 13:00

What exactly do you think a manager would be able to do?. I doubt they would do anything different.

Sootica · 19/09/2016 13:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.