Expecting Customer Service

Do I expect customer service as a consumer or is it because I work in the customer service field?

I have been having a heck of time with AT&T Phone Company. First, it is very difficult to get through to a person. Unlike our self storage facilities, they do not have real people readily available.  You have to go through prompt after prompt and wind up talking to a recording. I found myself wanting to scream at this auto person! I finally pushed zero to see what would happen and the recording said, “Oh, you want to talk to an operator”, and I was transferred to a person.

Obstacle #2 was that the person was not in the right department. I was transferred again. I finally got to the disconnect department and told them I didn’t agree with the bill and wanted to cancel my service.

As soon as I got that out of my mouth she said, “Oh, you have a problem with your bill”, and I said, “No, I want to disconnect my service”! I was transferred! I don’t think she was still on the phone she was already transferring me.

Then billing got on phone. You know, of course, there is hold time for all of these transfers and I was getting annoyed. I told them what had happened and of course I was transferred to disconnect. Now I am back on phone with them, telling my story once again. While I am telling them a little about their stinky service and I didn’t agree with the fact the set up person didn’t tell me about the charges for the internet service and I want to send back the modem, I was transferred to the Internet service. I did not know what happened until they were on the phone, they told me how to send it back.

By now I am ready to get off the phone and scream! What an ordeal! I felt that no one listened except to catch a “buzz word” that had to do with another department then I was being transferred.

So three weeks later I get a phone call from AT&T demanding payment or my phone will be disconnected. I wanted to go through the roof!! The company that I was switching service to told me they would use the same number so I never really realized I was still with AT&T.

I told them this was suppose to be discounted three weeks ago but since I was passed around so much then, no one heard me say, “Disconnect this”. She really didn’t care she wanted payment I told her I wasn’t paying and I hung up. Now I have to call them and see what happened with the disconnect request. It started all over. I was passed here and there and finally I talked to a nice woman who took her time, heard all the words, and figured out to help me. I was finally given a reference number and was told I would be compensated for the last three weeks.

I think as a consumer I expected better help than that. Being in the customer service field I know what excellent service is.  Listening to the caller is one of the greatest sales techniques and we do our best here to be an asset to our self storage stores.  Good skills lead to sales increases but poor skills lose customers.  Maybe the phone company should hire us. Perhaps they should reconsider their quality assurance measurements.

At PhoneSmart, we randomly have two of our conversations monitored by our secret shopping department. This is just one of the ways we ensure quality service to our self storage customers. Any business, especially those giving a service to the public, should consider a mystery shopping program. It’s a great way to gain the customer’s perspective and improve your customer service.

Written by Dana Shields, Supervisor and Reservations Specialist for the PhoneSmart call center.

Thank you for visiting the PhoneSmart call center blog, an insider view of the self storage and mystery shopping industry.

Your local self storage unit provider in 9 N 004 Route 59 Elgin, IL. 60120

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Disclamer: This entry is intended to promote our partner StorageMart and some or all participants received compensation.

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