Nobody enjoys calling customer service. It's a fact. Imagine this: You are vacuuming the floor when your vacuum suddenly stops running. That's weird since you only bought this vacuum a couple months ago. Maybe it's still under warranty. To find out if you can replace or repair it, however, you must call the company's customer service line. You tried everything you could to avoid doing it, but you must call.
Did that not give you chills? Because it sure did for me. Customer service calls are the absolute WOAT (worst of all time) because of these ten reasons here.
1. The automated messages
Before you can even talk to a real person, you have to listen to automated command after automated command. Why can't there be a command from the start that takes you to a representative?
2. It takes forever
The automated messages talk so much slower than people do. After you wait for what seems a year and finally get to speak to a human being, however, you are thrown these lovely curveballs.
3. Being put on hold
Nothing is worse than speaking to a representative and almost automatically getting put on hold. I'm sorry, but I have better things to do than spending 30 minutes of my time listening to elevator music.
4. They can’t understand you
Almost every customer service representative I have ever talked to, can't understand me. I don't know if I have an accent or what, but I should not have to phonetically spell my name five times.
5. They don’t want to talk to you either
In addition to them not being able to understand me, almost every customer service rep I have ever talked to has acted like they do not want to be talking to me either. It's your job to help me, you don't have to be rude when I ask you a question.
6. You answer the same questions multiple times
You already gave this information to the automated messages, so why must you give it to the representative again? Not to mention, you'll have to repeat it five times because they won't understand you.
7. They will do anything to avoid giving you money
I believe it is a customer service rep's goal to make you give up. Whether it's spending two hours on the phone or being transferred thirteen times, they're trying to wear you down so you won't get that refund or replacement.
8. You often don’t get an answer
I often leave customer service calls more confused than I was before I called. You would think it would be the other way around, but you often don't get an answer that helps you.
9. Your mood gets ruined
Nothing puts me in a worse mood than getting nowhere after being on the call for two hours. This might even lead me to write an article about it.
10. Follow-up surveys
The fact that a customer service rep has the audacity to call me an hour after my two-hour call to ask for a feedback is amazing. I do not want to talk to you any more than I have to.
I'm not trying to offend customer service representatives, because I'm sure there are some really good ones out there, but my experiences have not been great. Calling a customer service line is one of my least favorite things to do and I dread it. I just hope that one day I'll get the answers I'm looking for in calling them.
