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In this short supplement to my Humanity Failed series of articles, I reflect on the disheartening nature so often experienced when interacting with a corporation's customer service department, if you even manage to fight your way through to being able to communicate with a human being, that is (Even if they claim to be human, you may find yourself and theirs tightly constrained by a useless flowchart, utterly unable to assist you, entirely by the coporation's design).
Never mind the widespread decline in product quality and longevity, the inflated prices of many goods and services, and the sickeningly superficial, misleading corporate-speak plastered over companies' websites to try to make their customers feel good. Once, as is so often the case these days, you have a serious problem with their product or service and perhaps are feeling annoyed and exasperated by the company's ludicrous levels of incompetence and neglect, and with trepidation you resign yourself to the long Purgatory of dealing with customer service, and politely but firmly explain every detail and every injustice concerning your predicament, when you finally get a response from one of their lowly, overworked customer service peons, you may find increasingly these days just as I have, that you get no apology, no empathy, no glimmer of recognition for the absurdity of their employer's malicious negligence. Has anyone else been experiencing this?
I do my best to be extremely polite to these customer service employees; after all, most of the time it's people much higher up in the organization that are responsible for the wanton neglect. I criticize their company by name rather than them as an individual--they may resent their employer and be able to appreciate this.
It could be a policy not to apologize for fear of it being seen as an acceptance of legal liability for a fault. But maybe it's just a reflection of a decline in good manners among the wider population. I don't even think it's a generational thing as Baby Boomers that were always so keen on instilling good manners in their offspring seem to be getting ruder too.
Maybe this journal entry doesn't really belong in my Humanity Failed series. Bad manners are the least of humanity's crimes against itself and other species. But maybe the bad manners go along with the rest of the rot that is rapidly progressing everywhere. In terms of corporate communication, it's much easier to treat your customers like utter shit when you have monopolistic power over them. For the consumers, maybe it's just the anger, disillusionment and desperation many of them are feeling, stoked by media-created culture wars.
Previously:
Humanity Failed Supplemental: Greta Thunberg is an Optimist
Humanity Failed Part 2: Broken Universe?
Humanity Failed
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday November 16 2021, @06:01PM (2 children)
How often should I have my memory checked? I used to know but...
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @06:05PM (1 child)
What, you mean all the aliens got so annoyed with customer service that they destroyed one another? Or they're all sitting in a queue for millions of years of "Your call is important to us..." unable to communicate with the wider universe?
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Tuesday November 16 2021, @06:56PM
You have identified TWO solutions to the Fermi Paradox. I had only supposed it was your first suggestion.
How often should I have my memory checked? I used to know but...
(Score: 4, Funny) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday November 16 2021, @06:23PM
You take that back you cross-eyed, lop-eared, bow-legged, pigeon-toed good for nothing!!
Abortion is the number one killed of children in the United States.
(Score: 3, Funny) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:01PM
Recently I have had cause to attend my local surgery to have blood samples taken. In the nurse's office, she has a certain flowchart pinned to the wall. It's obviously designed with measuring horizontal people in mind. It has a scale, and a flow chart specific to each section based on body length.
Unfortunately these days my eyesight is not what it was, so sitting in the blood-letting chair I can't quite read it. There is colour coding, however, at the end of each branch in each flowchart in each section it says in large, bold, black letters, "DEAD."
So far I have not been subject.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:07PM (2 children)
When I was 16 I got a part-time job with a large supermarket chain. In the indoctrination ritual this is exactly what they said to us. We were to bow and scrape no matter what the customer said and to defer to a Manager.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 4, Insightful) by RS3 on Thursday November 18 2021, @01:34AM (1 child)
I remember a time, long long ago, when the motto was "the customer is always right". Many stores / companies still honor that philosophy. Even when the customer is wrong it's not worth the negative PR, esp. now when everything ends up in video online somewhere.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 21 2021, @08:39PM
And it's not just businesses - try dealing with government. Everyone on the other end of the line passes the buck because that's their job, not solving your problem.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:09PM (9 children)
Greetings fellow human being, fellow traveller through this life...
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:36PM (8 children)
Thanks. Same to you mate.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:42PM (7 children)
We're all in this together.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @07:49PM
True. Although some are more in this than others.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @09:52PM (4 children)
Hope my Animal Farm reference wasn't too obscure. I got yours.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @10:00PM (3 children)
OK you got me there. I was thinking more of HHGTTG. Your brain is apparently bigger than mine.
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @10:11PM (2 children)
Possibly, but probably also more damaged and dysfunctional. And then there's this terrible pain in my diodes, all down my left side.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @10:29PM (1 child)
Have you asked for them to be replaced? And has anyone taken any notice?
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Tuesday November 16 2021, @11:29PM
If I asked to have my brains replaced, I can't remember doing it, so perhaps I did, and perhaps they did!
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 17 2021, @02:20AM
...We're all in this together.
I seem to remember that as a lead-in (spoken) line on one of the Butterfield Blues Band live records, maybe part of Paul Butterfield introducing his band, in a drawn-out stoned voice?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 16 2021, @09:52PM (1 child)
Customer service personnel are the only people who address me as "mister".
(Score: 4, Funny) by turgid on Tuesday November 16 2021, @10:02PM
They address me as "sir." I really feel like replying, "No, call me comrade, comrade!"
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 17 2021, @02:42AM
After ~30 years and two or three replacement burners, it was time to replace our little gas (propane) grill, this past summer. Went to a local home/hardware store (not one of the USA big box national chains) and they had a nice small-ish grill that we liked, in cast aluminum.
Got it home, put together, worked fine. Third use, only one of the two burners would light, turning on the dead side gave no hiss of gas or any smell, so it seemed like the valve was broken. The instructions (RTFM!) noted that these valves had some sort of protective device in them (anti-flash-back?, I'm too lazy to go look), so that was my initial guess for the failure.
Anyway, called up the company, which happens to be Canadian. Got a very pleasant woman directly (no hold queue). Once I gave her the serial # and date of purchase (within the first year) she immediately said that she would have a spare valve assembly, and also a spare burner sent right out.
Sure enough, the spares arrived, popped in the spare valve assembly and it works again.
Anyone in the market for a gas grill might want to check out their brands: Ours is "Huntington", same company also sells under Broil King, broil-mate, Sterling, and GrillPro (per the letterhead on their stationery).
I swear I'm not a shill, just got lucky to find a company that still believes in customer service.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday November 18 2021, @01:44AM (4 children)
I'm not so keen on the whole "baby boomers", "Gen-X", etc., thing. I just don't like categorization. I'm close to "boomer" age, but almost completely unlike them (somewhat accepting there being a "them").
But to your point and building on mine, I don't keep track but I think of the boomers as often pretty rude, self-centered, jerks, etc. The older generations- their parents- were always the very kind, polite, thoughtful, considerate ones. I'm thinking of the people referenced by journalist Tom Brokaw's book "The Greatest Generation". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Generation_(book) [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Thursday November 18 2021, @04:36PM (3 children)
I guess it was one rule for them, another for their kids then.
Master of the science of the art of the science of art.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday November 18 2021, @05:47PM (2 children)
Yeah, seems that way. Not a psychologist nor sociologist, but kids often prefer to be different from their parents, esp. when there's negativity in the relationship. I'm thinking of kids / youth who refuse to get tattoos because their parents have them. Or party-ers, or the hippy parents whose kid is a Wall Street trader. Of course often as they (we?) age they (we?) notice our own behaviors mirroring our parents.
Aside (rantish)- this comment could go in many (most?) other discussions, one in particular, but too often I notice people making absolute statements about things, sweeping everyone into hard categories when there are many big exceptions.
That said, my parents were particularly mannerly & polite people, but they were fairly tough on me as a kid. "Children are to be seen and not heard", for example, was often scolded into me in childhood. Overall not quite abusive, well, maybe by some standards, but the point is they were mostly mannerly & polite, but not to their own kids (me in particular, as the oldest of what was 4). But they instilled and enforced politeness and manners in us, and I always valued decorum.
In fact, I've never adjusted to the often (very) acrimonious atmosphere here and other tech-heavy sites. Although I've been around, worked with, and known some tech-types who are often ill-mannered, for some reason I think (assume?) that more intelligent people understand the value of manners and decorum. And even more to the point, some of the most intelligent, or at least well written posts here have been by people who often have the worst verbal manners. So like many, I often keep my distance, and certainly stay out of controversial topic discussions.
And thank you for opening this discussion topic. :)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 19 2021, @02:20PM
Seen and not heard? I always got, "neither to be seen nor heard".
(Score: 4, Informative) by MostCynical on Tuesday November 30 2021, @10:56PM
there is a strong correlation between 'tech people' and 'people on the spectrum'... as well as asocial, loner, 'miss-social-queues' types and just down-right rude people.
As I have discussed before, ego and self-promotion (often called 'drive', once successful) as well as plain sociopathy are often prerequisites for promotion
Success breeds success, and if your "method" works for you, the feedback loop means you will do more/worse again, as this is how society defines 'success'..
Acrimony is often just bluntness from people who 'know better' - if they are successful, they must be good (and, by extension, right).
Manners are, apparently, now irrelevant - I missed being called "Mr.." - customer service people have been trained to call me by my first name (some "research" apparently showed customers had more of a 'connection' with this level of communication - possibly by the same people who 'proved' open-plan offices were 'better')
I find it amusing when a service person says 'can I call you [firstname]?'
My instinctive reply is "you can, by I won't answer as I have not given you permission - you may call me Mr [lastname]"
As this is not their fault what I usually say is "I would prefer you didn't; please call me Mr [lastname]"
Sometimes this works, but it can really confuse the poor people who don't have English as a first language (Indian and Indonesian call centres especially), and 20-somethings (who, it could be argued, also don't have English as a first language), particularly when they are running off a strict "script" - sometimes shown on their screen, pre-filled with my name (and they don't know how to change 'preferred name' to "Mr [lastname]")
If you care about correct grammar, good manners, general decency- you may well be a dinosaur (regardless of how old your body may be)
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex