call centers!!!

[darrenw89]

GRRRRR!!!! I Attempted to call Orange earlier, spent little over 45 minutes on hold before i gave up, almost as bad as AOL; anyone else get these problems with other providers / companys?

Dazza :cool:

[linux]

Time Warner kept me on hold for an hour before I got agitated and hung up.

Later that day, I called again, got someone, who couldn't help me. So I fixed it on my own five minutes later. I was like "great help, buddy."

[joshSCH]

Orange? What's that? I was on hold for about an hour- hour in a half with my ISP calling regarding our new DVR that wasn't working (They do our cable too). When someone finally answered, it was an idiot.. She kept saying something like, "well do you have the wires connected right? I don't think you have the wires connected right." I just wanted to tell her to shut the hell up.. 'course I got the damn wires connected right.. doesn't take a damned fool to read instructions. They had to call out a service dude, and it turned out the box was bad ;).

[darrenw89]

they drive you mad! lost my card last week, so i called the Barclays 'emergency helpline' HA!,"sir; where's the card now?" - "sorry it's lost" - "ok, but do you know where it is??" i would love to see how their interview went lol (orange is a bit like verizon i think, french orange but they're a large mobile network here in)

Dazza :cool:

[Squires]

When someone finally answered, it was an idiot.. She kept saying something like, "well do you have the wires connected right? I don't think you have the wires connected right." I just wanted to tell her to shut the hell up.. 'course I got the damn wires connected right.. doesn't take a damned fool to read instructions. They had to call out a service dude, and it turned out the box was bad ;).

There are alot of idiots in the world. Many who cannot read instructions. Call center people ask that stupid questions because more often than not it is because someone can't read instructions. I used to never ask if a persons caps lock key was on when they called up and said they cannot log in. I thought people were smart enough to check, but I was wrong. Thats the first thing I ask because most of the time it works.

The other reason is because they are required to ask. You know the message that says "calls are recorded for quality assurance" Thats how they are evaluated. People in call centers are drones. They are not allowed to think for themselves. They have to follow the book even when the book is wrong. In the end, they probably care more about their paycheck then helping you.

[lasher511]

Orange? What's that? I was on hold for about an hour- hour in a half with my ISP calling regarding our new DVR that wasn't working (They do our cable too). When someone finally answered, it was an idiot.. She kept saying something like, "well do you have the wires connected right? I don't think you have the wires connected right." I just wanted to tell her to shut the hell up.. 'course I got the damn wires connected right.. doesn't take a damned fool to read instructions. They had to call out a service dude, and it turned out the box was bad ;).

Helpdesk people are actually trained to ask questions like that first even if it seems like a silly question or might make the person feel like an idiot. The idea is not to degrade the person on the other end of the line it is simply best to ask the simple questions first. I think you would feel even worse if you spent half an hour trying a really complex solution only to find out it could have been fixed in 30 seconds if only they had asked a silly question.

Probably 2-3 out of 5 calls i get in a day are actually solved by one of these simple questions. The most common of the questions that solves the problem is: "Is your computer turned on?"

So really although it seems like a silly question to you the majority of the time its the most logical places to start.

[jbennet]

Orange is a phone network who also provide internet services.

my ISPs helpdesk is in india an its utter crap. usually i dont mind the indian chaps, ast they usually speak good english and know a bit about computers, but this one guy I got through to seemed to be the exception to the rule.

1) he kept referring to USB, i was using ethenet
2) he kept referring to things which didnt exist on my os
3) he recommended some potentially unsafe security settings
4) had the worst english that i have ever heard

in the end it turned out that they had for some reason broken there DNS server

[mayank_ati]

ya i agree dat they completely drive you mad...but u hv 2 count on the fact dat they deal wid diff kinds of people...nd some of dem r really dumb ....believe me... some wud nt even know hw 2 turn on a computer!!!!
Orange is a phone network who also provide internet services.

my ISPs helpdesk is in india an its utter crap. usually i dont mind the indian chaps, ast they usually speak good english and know a bit about computers, but this one guy I got through to seemed to be the exception to the rule.

1) he kept referring to USB, i was using ethenet
2) he kept referring to things which didnt exist on my os
3) he recommended some potentially unsafe security settings
4) had the worst english that i have ever heard

in the end it turned out that they had for some reason broken there DNS server
m really surrised 2 kno dat u found a guy wid poor eng at an indian call center....coz call centers here in india normally do not employ someone hvin poor english....

[lasher511]

...

[pty]

GRRRRR!!!! I Attempted to call Orange earlier, spent little over 45 minutes on hold before i gave up, almost as bad as AOL; anyone else get these problems with other providers / companys? Dazza :cool:

When I transferred from Orange to O2 last year I couldn't get hold of someone to give me my PAC code (to transfer my number to O2); the queue was massive - probably trying to make people give up and stay with Orange.

After waiting a few mins I gave up, called back but took the automated route to the 'upgrade my tariff' queue, got hold of someone in about 30 seconds and told them that I was leaving and they'd better give me my PAC code - which they did.

[hbk619]

ya i agree dat they completely drive you mad...but u hv 2 count on the fact dat they deal wid diff kinds of people...nd some of dem r really dumb ....believe me... some wud nt even know hw 2 turn on a computer!!!!

Yeah, and some don't know how to type English.

Little trick: Phone wrong number, ask to be put through, often gets cheaper rate and straight through (yes, I've done time waiting for a response.) Apparently hitting the hash (pound) key works as well, instead of "press one blah".

[Serunson]

A way round the waits:
Continually press * and # in many different orders. Such as *#*#*#*#*# etc.
Or ***** and #####
This then makes the telephone system think that you are an idiot and automatically puts you through to a person to talk to. Try different combinations to trick the system :P

[jbennet]

I have a program on my PDA which has the cheat codes for various teelphone systems so you get put straight through to a real person

[joshSCH]

OH what the hell.. I need some of these cheats.. ;)

[jbennet]

http://gethuman.com/

[Serunson]

lol sweet find bennet :P

[mayank_ati]

Yeah, and some don't know how to type English. Little trick: Phone wrong number, ask to be put through, often gets cheaper rate and straight through (yes, I've done time waiting for a response.) Apparently hitting the hash (pound) key works as well, instead of "press one blah".

nd sum wud go off topic...dat's how v write eng...2 save sum time...nd u hv enough time to take me on....gr8

[Serunson]

Is that Kimi Raikkonen in ur pic mayank_ati?

And also don't get me started on the BT India call centres, they really make me angry :angry:

[Mushy-pea]

Firstly, I work on a BT Business technical desk in Bristol. I must say Serunsun, there is nothing more satisfying than getting a residential customer come through to you and politely transfering them through to India, then having a little chuckle about it :) . Also, I think corporations are shooting themselves in the foot out sourcing as much CS to India as they do now (seeing how many people here don't seem to like it). Then again, if every company in a particular market does it you don't really have a choice in the matter.

Steven.

[mayank_ati]

Is that Kimi Raikkonen in ur pic mayank_ati?

And also don't get me started on the BT India call centres, they really make me angry :angry:

ya that's kimi raikkonen.....
and do not get angry.... i am not starting on indian call centers...ok!!!