Crap Customer Service

[yphtutor]

AIBU to be thoroughly pissed off with so many companies using COVID for their really really crappy customer service? Can’t get through to anyone, when I do, long message then get cut off! It’s so frustrating. I’m not going to name but a very, normally great customer care airline who cancelled our booking in May, no problem with that totally understand, had to pretend I wanted to make a new booking. Couldn’t get through on the number they supplied for their ‘very valuable customers’ who have had their holidays cancelled (and we haven’t just asked for a refund).
I really think the majority of companies, not all, but definitely most, need to stop using COVID as an excuse for absolutely crap customer service. If I hear one more time I’m working remotely, or please bear with us during this difficult time I will explode. We are all having to deal with this and clearly some, not many, are doing it far better than others.
Stop the excuses 😖

Our office is operating on 4% of the previous workforce. They are just taking cancellation calls.
It’s a fair bet they’re not at normal response times!

However this is what is necessary to try and limp the business along until we can make money again.

@yphtutor

By the way did the email thing 14 days ago no response! Now more than ever customer is important and customer care should be paramount, because people will remember.

I hope they remember correctly. It's bloody ridiculous to say Covid is an excuse here. People are working their absolute arses off in a failing industry where they don't even know if they will still have a job tomorrow. A massive section of staff are not even back working and the demand for contact re customer services has rocketed. That's what I will remember. You would do well to do the same . I'm stunned you can't seem to grasp this.

You’re being utterly ridiculous.

Some companies (travel companies being a perfect example) have had a massive uplift in customer queries due to Covid and less available staff for the same reason, plus a variety of operational difficulties with the ones they have due to WFH.

Now when there’s more work and fewer people, what do you think may happen to response times? 🤔🤔. It’s hardly rocket science op.

What would you have them do, pull more staff out of their arseholes?

The world does not revolve around you and your package holiday, I can imagine your shitty attitude to the person on the other end of the phone when they answered.

How do you propose they answer more calls which are lasting longer with fewer staff? I'll wait.

I data crunch for a number of call centres, many whose traffic has increased by 400%. If love to know how they call maintain there service when they are four times busier than their capacity.

To top it off, they no longer do children’s meals. I don’t know if you’re particularly likely to catch Covid from a kids meal or what 🤷‍♀️

modgepodge It’s nothing to do with “catching Covid from kids meals”.

Lots of restaurants have a reduced menu during this period for social distancing purposes in the kitchens, supplier problems, certain meals becoming more problematic and requiring extra ingredients etc. etc.

Get all of that, that’s why we, unlike many others, didn’t just ask for a refund. I get there are many facets to this, but just reply to an email or answer the phone please. End of! No other responses will be forthcoming

Cause you know YABU.

YABU, imagine working for a company (let’s say an airline) who would normally have whisked millions off on holiday/flights by now. Suddenly all those MILLIONS are going nowhere - for all the varied reasons due to Covid. All those MILLIONS want the same 21 people in their customer services/refund department to deal with them immediately.
Half of the 21 are WFH with small children.
The company has a recruitment ban, the company will also probably make 50% of them redundant.
Oh and 3 of the team have had breakdowns due to the horrendous stress they’ve been under since March.

Oh god people lose all credibility when they trot out "End of!"

I know. I bet she checks in to hospital on Facebook and when people ask says "PM me hun".

You’re proving yourself to be spectacularly dim op.

But I do have a top tip. I needed to cancel my holiday. Knew it would be hard (impossible to do by email/phone), I typed a letter and sent it registered to their head office (they will have someone dealing with post). It was sorted within a few days.

Lost all credibility with previous posts, how can someone be so naive, that or someone woke them trip trapping overhead.

Think we have been trying to call the same airline!

Automated message which then cuts you off, and when you do get through to someone they say they are the wrong team and can't help you

I work in customer services too & it's staggering the amount of people who think they can speak to anyone so rudely by phone & email.

Here's a hint for you, people in CS are far less likely to do their best for you when you are rude & entitled 🙄

We had 30k emails to respond to within a couple of weeks. We still haven't responded to them all - cos we had reduced staffing, illness, WFH set up & WiFi issues & then 2 people in my team had their parents die of COVID. Maybe they should have just sucked it up & got on with answering customers emails 🙄🙄🙄

@heartsonacake

To top it off, they no longer do children’s meals. I don’t know if you’re particularly likely to catch Covid from a kids meal or what 🤷‍♀️

modgepodge It’s nothing to do with “catching Covid from kids meals”.

Lots of restaurants have a reduced menu during this period for social distancing purposes in the kitchens, supplier problems, certain meals becoming more problematic and requiring extra ingredients etc. etc.

I am aware that isn’t actually the reason, I was being sarcastic.

I know they are running a reduced menu. However to offer absolutely nothing for children seemed a bit off to me (there were quite a few children in there, so it’s not like they don’t often frequent that establishment). My child is only just eating really so was happy with some garlic bread and a bit of my food - but if I had a 4/5/6/7 year old Id have been a bit miffed as I probably would have had to buy a full adult meal which they wouldn’t have finished. Apart from that it seemed the restaurant were running pretty much their normal menu, very little was missed off that I could see.

HSBC are still only open 10am-2pm.Why? ( because you know part time hours make it cheaper in the long run when they either make everyone redundant ir close the branch)
It’s rammed those four hours.

They're probably trying their absolute best. I take maybe 150 calls in 7.5hrs, sometimes more. I physically can't take any more and I can't reply to emails unless I'm not on a call which if you work out how many calls I'm doing is.. not very often!
If I go unavailable to reply to emails, I then can't answer the phone and calls will start queuing

@Leflic maybe they want to keep their staff safe at limit the times they come into contact with customers. I’ve no idea why you would need to go into a branch now anyway. Everything can be done online or on the phone.

Yes staffing level are affected/reduced but the problem is arsehole customers constantly ring for the same thing chasing things after days when they have been told weeks or months .
The outcome of this is there is a massive volume of unnecessary calls all taking staffs time so nothing gets sorted.
The volume of enquires has rocketed staffing declined in simple terms .

@yphtutor

Get all of that, that’s why we, unlike many others, didn’t just ask for a refund. I get there are many facets to this, but just reply to an email or answer the phone please. End of! No other responses will be forthcoming

You don't get it though. It doesn't matter if you are asking for a refund or not, it still needs a person to deal with your call/email. The shortage of staff and huge demand for customer contact is giving them problems. Why is it so hard for you?

modgepodge Children can eat anything off a menu; there doesn’t need to be a specific children’s menu.

If you think it’s too big and you don’t think they’ll finish it just ask for that meal in a smaller size.

YABU, shortage of staff, not taking more on and increase in people wanting a refund, who couldn't be told not to book