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Original poster

To think that customers are behaving in an increasingly unreasonable, rude and aggressive manner?

220 replies

TheyBrokeMeToday · 06/02/2023 19:40

Customer service. Love my wee job. The customers broke me today. So much rudeness, aggressiveness and just general unreasonableness. It seems to be becoming a very regular thing lately. Anyone else? Broken.

OP posts:
Rebel2023 · 06/02/2023 23:11

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 06/02/2023 21:50

I genuinely believe that no one knows how to resolve conflict. They don't have experience of being listened to, validated, and either a wrong being corrected, or having the thing explained. Often when you raise a valid complaint in the most neutral language possible the other person takes offence, with negative consequences. You often get shut down as being rude or abusive, especially if you're young. Probably worse if you're a person of colour. Add into the mix not enough staff so you have to wait for ages, staff not necessarily being trained in their processes (not their fault), clunky systems needing other people to authorise actions, being put on hold, passed from pillar to post, listening to awful hold music, the sheer amount of time it takes to resolve something, and I'm not surprised people sometimes explode.

I do appreciate that some people are just awful for no reason.

I had that sort of the opposite way the other day

Customer (absolutely nothing to do with me) tells me our customer service is shit, as I'm trying to help him
I apologise, say I am trying to help him and get this sorted (wasn't my dept but could sort it
He replied with my god, you're all so defensive

Well funny that, when you're speaking to someone who tries to help and you say we are all shit Confused

Weefreetiffany · 06/02/2023 23:27

Everything is exhausting and over demanding, all kids of securities people took for granted are vanishing, people are stressed up to the gills and mental health support is nonexistent. No wonder all the worst is being brought out in everyone. Though the more pissy and difficult customer services people get the more bright and polite I get until they have no choice but to help me. Kill em with kindness seldom fails.

TheOrigRights · 06/02/2023 23:45

My experience today.

  1. Called my dentist. Waited ages on hold listening to a patronising message, and suggesting I press 1 and they'll call me back (at their convenience).
  2. Tried to get some answers from Tesco via FB messenger. I just kept getting the stock response, which seemed to be from a person, but was obviously just read from a sheet and didn't answer my question. I gave up in the end.
  3. I couldn't find something in the supermarket, so I politely asked a member of staff, who sent me to the wrong place. The signs above the aisles don't correspond to what's actually there.
  4. Went to get my Click and Collect and had to call a phone rather than press the buzzer because it didn't work. No one answered so I had to go into Customer Services. Then my order to ages to come out because they're so busy.

It's just all going to pot. These are things (like most people) I'm fitting in around my working day and my family.

Sure, arriving at a car park and finding the pay machine doesn't work, or you've got to download an app to park isn't the end of the world, but it can be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Of course no one should be rude but sometimes (especially if you've got your own personal stressful things going on) it just gets too much and people snap.

I should add that if I get through to someone on a phone line after an age of hoop jumping, waiting, suggestions to read the arsing FAQ or go online I always apologise if I'm on the verge of tears or pretty cross, and tell them I know it's not their fault but that I am very frustrated.

It's such a relief these days if you get decent customer service i.e. someone that actually listens to what you're saying.

TheOrigRights · 06/02/2023 23:48

The NatWest bot has been trained to recognise "FFS" as I got told off.
I had clicked 'none of the above' so many times and gone round in increasing loops of doom I lost my shit.

I did get £50 compensation as an acknowledgement for their poor customer service.

PitYerTapOan · 06/02/2023 23:54

OP ofc it's not your own personal fault but really nothing works any more and nobody seems to know what they're doing. Companies hide contact details, force customers to go through endless menus, do everything in their power to prevent you from actually getting your query resolved, then when you do speak to someone they generally fuck things up even more than they already were. It really feels like every interaction I have with any corporation is like dealing with HMRC circa 1974 with Byzantine rules, procedures and a thousand ways to get gouged and fucked around.

Eyerollcentral · 06/02/2023 23:57

PitYerTapOan · 06/02/2023 23:54

OP ofc it's not your own personal fault but really nothing works any more and nobody seems to know what they're doing. Companies hide contact details, force customers to go through endless menus, do everything in their power to prevent you from actually getting your query resolved, then when you do speak to someone they generally fuck things up even more than they already were. It really feels like every interaction I have with any corporation is like dealing with HMRC circa 1974 with Byzantine rules, procedures and a thousand ways to get gouged and fucked around.

100%. Try cancelling a bloody subscription box ffs never mind anything serious.

WhatAmIDoingWrong123 · 07/02/2023 00:02

TheyBrokeMeToday · 06/02/2023 20:37

I'm afraid that I absolutely WILL lay it at the feet of the customer when they are criticising me for doing my actual job, and being unreasonable in not accepting that there are store policies which mean that I can't just do it their way because that's not how it works. I will also criticise them when they are just plain rude and aggressive. None of these have anything to do with genuine customer service, and everything to do with customers who think they know how to do your job and you don't, and that they can take their bad day out on the retail staff who don't count as actual people.

I used to work in retail as a supervisor and done a lot of hospitality as well. I’m in a customer services role now too, but remotely. I don’t find customers particularly awful, never have. The people who give me a hard time are usually the ones who’ve had a hard time and that just makes me want to do my job better. Complaining about customers in such a generalised way when you rely on them for your wages is just short sighted as far as I’m concerned, they’re your bread and butter.

Rebel2023 · 07/02/2023 00:13

@TheOrigRights but with the dentist, what else can they do? They're busy. We had 16 calls queuing this morning and I can only answer one at once. Offering to call you back means you're not hanging on the phone

One thing I will always say is if you can avoid it, don't call anywhere on a Monday because everyone does and if it can wait then ring another day as you're less likely to be sat in a queue for ages. Or if they're open in the evening then ring when the football/Corrie is on!

Eyerollcentral · 07/02/2023 00:14

Rebel2023 · 07/02/2023 00:13

@TheOrigRights but with the dentist, what else can they do? They're busy. We had 16 calls queuing this morning and I can only answer one at once. Offering to call you back means you're not hanging on the phone

One thing I will always say is if you can avoid it, don't call anywhere on a Monday because everyone does and if it can wait then ring another day as you're less likely to be sat in a queue for ages. Or if they're open in the evening then ring when the football/Corrie is on!

Hire more staff to answer the phones? I’ve never seen a dentist go bust yet.

Patineur · 07/02/2023 00:16

Massive generalisation. When I'm a customer, I'm lovely.

Kokeshi123 · 07/02/2023 00:23

When we need to ask or complain we have to go into the spiral of doom, searching through whichever website to find an answer or what the process is only to then find out hours later that it hadn't worked. Once we eventually get to speak to an actual person we're livid. I hate having to spend hours of my time trying to resolve something that 10 years ago would be dealt with over the phone and effectively.

Oh God, THIS.

Some people are rude because they are just rude little shits anyway.

But a lot of customers are getting snippy and impatient because we've spent a lot of time poring through websites, filling in online forms, pressing one number after another on a customer phone line while waiting in a queue for I don't know how long....

I get that it's not the fault of the poor sod at the other end MOST of the time, but sometimes it's hard not to have an edge in your voice.

PitYerTapOan · 07/02/2023 00:28

Yep

Customer service in the UK is really just millions of automated processes stamping on a human face forever.

Brrrrrrrrrrrr · 07/02/2023 00:38

My view on this is quite simple- if you’re rude to ANYONE in their place of work whilst they are doing something for you- it makes you a big fat cunt.

StrawHatOnTheParcelShelf · 07/02/2023 00:42

Part of my job is to report on aggression incidents at work and yes they are increasing. A lot.

I put it down to a combination of:

  • poor service due to cost cutting/automation as above
  • desperation due to cost of living
  • unreasonable expectations/inability to cope with being told no, due to a range of factors. Sometimes it's mental health, sometimes just ridiculous levels of entitlement, sometimes poor education/can't problem solve and pushes responsibility back onto services.
Blossomtoes · 07/02/2023 00:46

Pencase · 06/02/2023 20:18

I would say the opposite that customer service has really hit new lows. I have banked with First Direct for 25 years and they have been amazing. I phoned a couple of weeks ago to check that dh hadn't paid a bill a few months back and the app didn't go nack that far. The person on the phone was incredibly rude, I asked her what the problem was as she seemed to be getting quite stressed and upset - she said I was confusing her, I was asking a fairly straightforward question. I went to the post office - standing waiting, the customer in front was having a joint bitch fest with the counter assistant about how awful the general public are...I felt just a little bit awkward. Dd went out to Wagamma with her friend - they were given ramen and no cutlery - after 25 minutes they asked and got their head bitten off because the server was busy they waited 30 minutes and by the time they got cutlery their food was cold and they felt their night had been ruined. No need for rudenes but it seems that there are two sides.

Show quote history

That’s such bad news about First Direct. I was one of their very first customers - I got the leather cheque book case and card wallet. I must have been with them for 35 years and they’ve always been superb.

Rebel2023 · 07/02/2023 00:47

@Eyerollcentral it's tricky balancing it
Like on a Monday we have calls queuing all day. Friday, no queues
So Fridays are fine but we need more staff for Mondays. But we can't employ staff on a one day a week as nobody wants 8hrs work a week
And they don't want FT staff as we can't have people sitting around with nothing to do at the tail end of the week

EmmaEmerald · 07/02/2023 00:59

Sorry to hear your day was like this OP

Happily I'm no longer customer facing, but when I was, we honestly used to notice people being weird at full moon!

in my day, caffeine was maybe adding to hair trigger tempers. Now I think drugs in general are in the mix. Does no one get mellow any more?!

i hope tomorrow is better.

Eyerollcentral · 07/02/2023 01:01

Rebel2023 · 07/02/2023 00:47

@Eyerollcentral it's tricky balancing it
Like on a Monday we have calls queuing all day. Friday, no queues
So Fridays are fine but we need more staff for Mondays. But we can't employ staff on a one day a week as nobody wants 8hrs work a week
And they don't want FT staff as we can't have people sitting around with nothing to do at the tail end of the week

There are plenty of people would love one day a week. Or even two or three half days. Same old story, people at the coal face end up dealing with the ire of patients and customers who feel they are receiving bad service just to make sure that the people making the real money don’t have to part with it.

FlappyFish · 07/02/2023 01:03

My biggest bugbear is self-service tills and the poor assistant who has to run round a bank of them whilst everyone gets incredibly pissed off at waiting for what should be quicker.

I know it isn’t their fault. But sometimes there is no one around either.

I think everyone is stressed and tetchy and the smallest things make people angry.

Poor lady in the pharmacy has a massive sign re: abuse. I said I’m sorry it’s got to that and how’s your day been. It made me genuinely sad when she replied to say thank you for even asking.

nationallampoons · 07/02/2023 01:17

Yes!
Myself and my colleagues have all said the same thing. Since covid customers are getting gradually worse and nasty.

One girl had a full drink thrown over here because she refused to replace it, it was bought from another store. We are franchise and although we are the same brand we cannot replace from stores not belonging to our franchise

We get screamed at, threatened, and all kinds of nastiness. Luckily most customers are lovely but the odd one just ruins your working day

I've started to tell them to fuck off, if I'm smiling when I say it and head office see on cctv that I'm smiling who are they going to believe?

MakingTheVeganYorkshirePud · 07/02/2023 01:35

@Dogsarebetterthanhumans you're a breath of fresh air

jtaeapa · 07/02/2023 01:47

TheOrigRights · 06/02/2023 23:45

My experience today.

  1. Called my dentist. Waited ages on hold listening to a patronising message, and suggesting I press 1 and they'll call me back (at their convenience).
  2. Tried to get some answers from Tesco via FB messenger. I just kept getting the stock response, which seemed to be from a person, but was obviously just read from a sheet and didn't answer my question. I gave up in the end.
  3. I couldn't find something in the supermarket, so I politely asked a member of staff, who sent me to the wrong place. The signs above the aisles don't correspond to what's actually there.
  4. Went to get my Click and Collect and had to call a phone rather than press the buzzer because it didn't work. No one answered so I had to go into Customer Services. Then my order to ages to come out because they're so busy.

It's just all going to pot. These are things (like most people) I'm fitting in around my working day and my family.

Sure, arriving at a car park and finding the pay machine doesn't work, or you've got to download an app to park isn't the end of the world, but it can be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Of course no one should be rude but sometimes (especially if you've got your own personal stressful things going on) it just gets too much and people snap.

I should add that if I get through to someone on a phone line after an age of hoop jumping, waiting, suggestions to read the arsing FAQ or go online I always apologise if I'm on the verge of tears or pretty cross, and tell them I know it's not their fault but that I am very frustrated.

It's such a relief these days if you get decent customer service i.e. someone that actually listens to what you're saying.

This is exactly right. Basic tasks that used to be a 2 minute phone call or similar have now turned into onerous tasks. The call backs are aggravating - I don’t want to be called at a random time if I’m picking kids up/working/showering/whatever.

I have actually shouted at one of those fucking parking machines that wouldn’t take cash and the app was failing to download. I didn’t shout at any people. But people heard me shout at the machine.

BertaHoon · 07/02/2023 01:47

I got called a cunt and was told they wish cancer and death on me.
That was volunteering answering the phones for Cats Protection 🤣

Couldn't really argue with the cunt bit. The rest was a bit harsh!

Suzi888 · 07/02/2023 01:50

It’s not “customers” or “staff”- it’s humans. Selfish, cruel, entitled, nasty humans!

ShirleyPhallus · 07/02/2023 01:51

wellpaddedintherear · 06/02/2023 22:07

Mcdonalds
i swear it’s getting worse-I’m on the verge of quitting as I’ve had enough

Show quote history

I remember. People were so awful to you on that thread. Fwiw I believe you on the sexual assault issue Flowers