141 réponses à ce sujet

[Farbautisonn]

The customer isnt allways right but nevertheless he/she deserves to get whatever info you can pass on to them.

You, the CS rep, need to undestand that your client has perhaps waited an hour plus to get advice and that this does add frustration. You also need to accept that the client isnt calling you to congratulate you on the fine product your company is selling. If he turns to you, chances are you will get the ****ty end of the stick because something went wrong. And finally your job is to talk him down, help him and get him to appreciate the service and product he has paid for.

Do you have to stand for abuse? Nope. You shouldnt. And any boss I have had has allways been on my side whenever some twerp decided to file a complaint against me ( twice during five years), to the point where my boss was actually telling the client to bugger off and never ever come back.

And then, you the customer, have to undestand that the person on the other side, is human. He isnt a manifestation of the devil incarnate nor is he trying to take you for a ride. Speak plainly, politely and do listen to what is said... not what you think is said. Dont lie to him to appear to be less of an imbicil. If we ask "did you do that" and you didnt, then dont reply in the affirmative. Be insistant by all means. But dont be an idiot. And if you ask for the supervisor, do so politely and without any implied or overt threats. Your case, whatever it is, can get thrown to the bottom of the bin so fast you wouldnt bellieve it if you act like a twerp.

[Kilshrek]

Dragoonlordz wrote...

Kilshrek wrote...

This is true, but the same applies to customer service reps. You expect them to have a reasonable knowledge of the issue, or at least have a reasonable understanding of the problem. When you don't get reasonable service from customer service then what do you do?

They will not have that knowledge of the issue until the issue is explained to them. If you are recieving poor service or difficulties in a language barrier or even believe the representative does not understand your situation you need to clarify or ask for another member of staff which is perfectly fine. My point was the customer is not always right, they are right when act in a reasonable manner and if they cannot act as such after recieving a warning the company has a duty of care to the staff incase a customer is being verbally abusive. The customer has to either cool off and speak to them again or write to them instead. My point was not in relation to the OP's chat. My point is the misunderstanding of just what the reality is of customer services. It is a phrase spouted by ignorant people who have problem never worked in retail in their life and if they have then they have worked under extremely poor managment.

Mine was also a slightly more general remark. Yes, it is a two way street, only the traffic sometimes flows down one way more than the other, does it not?

I've worked in retail and I know what it's like to be "front-line", if you will, when it comes to dealing with customers. People are a lot less inclined to be angry at you when you make it clear that you're trying to help them. Of course people generally don't lose their temper at you when you're right in front of them, it's a bit more embarassing. It also helps when you understand what the customer wants, rather than asume you know what the customer wants.

Although I will say again that at no point did the OP become verbally abusive, and I believe it's important for everyone here to remember that. No abusive language was ever used, frustration though, was very evident.

[Dragoonlordz]

GME_ThorianCreeper wrote...

Sparatus wrote...

All of the people spewing the phrase "The customer is always right" need to work in retail. Or any job that requires extensive interaction with customers.

I have worked in retail and I hate to disagree with you but the customer IS ALWAYS RIGHT!  Yes they can be total jerks and have absolutely no idea what they are talking about.

But when you know your right and the customer is wrong and they continue to disagree with you.  Thats when you calmly lead the customer to your suervisor or manager where he can handle the issue.

Also, if the EA employee did not know what he was talking about he should have guided th OP to another CS person who knows of the issue and can handle it.  If I work in a grocery store and someone asks where the jello is am I gonna point them towards aisle five even though im not sure if the jello is there?  Thats basically what the customer service agent did to the OP, multiple times.

Again I too have worked retail and have qualifications in this area. If they act in a reasonable manner they are right, if they start cussing at you by saying such things as WHERES THE ****** JELLO YOU PIECE OF **** LITTLE PUNK A*** T****. The customer is not right and the store has the right to remove them from the store if wish. On top of which they can be actually arrested in the UK for breach of the public order which can be handled by verbal police warning, fines or if cannot control themselves after warnings acting in a threatening or abusive manner they might recieve a custodial but short sentence thought normally a night in a cell does the job.

So like said as someone who has worked and been educated in this area myself... The customer is right only if act in reasonable manner. That is the real reality not the catchphrase that poor management or training from sub standard institution might have you believe.

Modifié par Dragoonlordz, 07 mars 2012 - 12:30 .

[Kilshrek]

Crymson84 wrote...

Oh, I know. I once got fired from a retail job because a customer decided to file a horribly embellished and mostly false complaint against me. By no means is the customer always correct.

It's the responsibility of customer service to resolve matters in the best manner they may, and it's also the duty of the customer to remain calm and reasonable if they'd like this to be done most efficiently. However, a gray area is entered when customer service is obviously wrong, i.e. in telling the customer that they don't actually have something they've already paid for.

No it really isn't. It's unfortunate that you lost your job because a customer was a jerk, but it was a crap company if it didn't attempt to validate the claims.

The customer is there to do business, sometimes customers are there just to be jerks, but most times it is for a transaction. Customer wants something, pays for it, leaves. The expectation is that the product paid for will work exactly as intended, and sometimes as the customer expects. If these two don't align the customer comes back, obviously unhappy that their expectations were not met. Now I'm not saying I defend yelling and screaming and abusive language, not at all, but if you're gonna tell the customer that their new freezer can make ice in 10 seconds flat, when it clearly can't (as the customer would have tested), can you seriously expect the customer to be smiling and perfectly agreeable?

The scenario above is a ridiculous exaggeration, but hopefully one that will illustrate the matter of the relationship customer and customer service for the purposes of this thread.

[SilentWolfie]

I'm just impressed at how the Bioware staff accused the OP of being rude when he's just frustrated on being shafted by the service. If that conversation took 25 mins, it's no wonder he got mad.

I absolutely fail to see how this is OP fault, really. He got angry, sure, but what fault does he have when he already relayed enough information?

[EG NeoMorph]

Has anyone ever heard of the Turing Test that tests whether a machine is intelligent or not. Well most CS responses in these "Live Chats" would fail the Turing Test nearly every time.

The problem is that the CS rep has to conduct several of these text chats at once which mean that when he gets back to you he SHOULD read the past text to remind him/herself but there is no time so they invariably ask the same question again which causes the customer to become irate which then causes the CS rep to stonewall.

The problem isn't the CS rep or the customer but the text chat system itself and having to do multiple chats at once. Adding macro responses that do nothing to help the customer just take the pee and cause annoyance (like in the OP)... add in the long wait between you typing and getting an answer and it is surprising that more people don't go postal on the CS guys.

I still think that the funniest crap CS I conversation I had was with my ISP. I reported a downed router (was dropping packets galore an breaking online gaming) and had the IP of the router as well as its location (half a country away from me). What was the CS suggestion. "Well sir perhaps if you reboot your computer it will fix the router".

/facepalm.

In the end the router had to be ripped out and totally replaced but it happened SIX MONTHS after I reported it, along with loads of other irate gamers. Perhaps we all should have rebooted our PCs to fix the remote router hehe.

The story points out that CS people are 90% a waste of time and I almost never call CS nowadays. The only time I do is after I have done a LOT of online research, have all my information ready and try to stay calm but firm in requesting an answer. Most info can be found doing a Google search after all.

[hiing]

Talked to a rep earlier about the pre-order DLC. Gave him/her my origin purchase number and was told "Please wait while I look further into this order". 10 minutes went by and I asked "Are you still there?" and got the same reply.. "Please wait while I look further into this order". About 2 minutes after that, the chat ended by itself. Tell you a lot about how good their customer service is.

[Dragoonlordz]

Kilshrek wrote...

Mine was also a slightly more general remark. Yes, it is a two way street, only the traffic sometimes flows down one way more than the other, does it not?

I've worked in retail and I know what it's like to be "front-line", if you will, when it comes to dealing with customers. People are a lot less inclined to be angry at you when you make it clear that you're trying to help them. Of course people generally don't lose their temper at you when you're right in front of them, it's a bit more embarassing. It also helps when you understand what the customer wants, rather than asume you know what the customer wants.

Although I will say again that at no point did the OP become verbally abusive, and I believe it's important for everyone here to remember that. No abusive language was ever used, frustration though, was very evident.

In the OP's case I can't help but feel that is not the total conversation. The last line appears as though the CS is still present and trying to resolve the issue but apologising that the customer is having trouble. Now it could be that the customer got cut off or the customer cut him off I do not know. I am not saying the customer in this case was very abusive or that the CS was doing very well. Just nipping in the bud the misconception of that phrase people like to spout which they have picked up from random Joe on the street or the internet or they were poorly managed or taught by a poor quality educational institution/course.

Modifié par Dragoonlordz, 07 mars 2012 - 12:28 .

[DragonRageGT]

I emailed Customer Service asking about cleaning the mess it is in my "Your Registered Game Content" page with all duplicate entries which got worse with Mass Effect 3 stuff. I don't have a console and don't intend to so I wanted those console links removed.

The guy answered me "Thank you for you interest in Battlefield 3", said he couldn't help and gave me a link to the forums here, to the page 7 of a thread which has nothing much to do with my question. =)

http://social.biowar...index/7549834/7

Modifié par DragonRageGT, 07 mars 2012 - 12:31 .

[Dragoonlordz]

DragonRageGT wrote...

I emailed Customer Service asking about cleaning the mess it is in my "Your Registered Game Content" page with all duplicate entries which got worse with Mass Effect 3 stuff. I don't have a console and don't intend to so I wanted those console links removed.

The guy answered me "Thank you for you interest in Battlefield 3", said he couldn't help and gave me a link to the forums here, to the page 7 of a thread which has nothing much to do with my question. =)

http://social.biowar...index/7549834/7

To be honest I like that it shows what systems the code has been unlocked for. In fact I have used that information to help others who have asked such question about what systems can be used on. I do not really see any reason to remove that feature. Still your reply was funny about BF3. I don't know if EA manages/maintains this site however or if Bioware maintains it instead. 

Modifié par Dragoonlordz, 07 mars 2012 - 12:35 .

[Kilshrek]

Dragoonlordz wrote...

In the OP's case I can't help but feel that is not the total conversation. The last line appears as though the CS is still present and trying to resolve the issue but apologising that the customer is having trouble. Now it could be that the customer got cut off or the customer cut him off I do not know. I am not saying the customer in this case was very abusive or that the CS was doing very well. Just nipping in the bud the misconception of that phrase people like to spout which they have picked up from random Joe on the street or the internet or they were poorly managed or taught by a poor quality educational institution/course.

The University of Some Bloke at the Pub Told Me, gotta love it. The customer is always right, but only for a given value of right. Nobody has the right to be a jerk to another, but a customer surely has the right to expect decent service, at a modestly professional level.

But whatever the end of case with the OP was, the point is that the CS guy didn't grasp OP's problem to begin with, and that only led the further frustration. CS guy had already blew it by repeatedly failing to understand that the OP already had the CE, had redeemed the Online Pass, and could not view the sound track to be downloaded. And I'm not exactly trying to knock on CS guy here, I don't know him! But his job wasn't done very well in OP's case, that much I can say confidently.

[Dragoonlordz]

Kilshrek wrote...

Dragoonlordz wrote...

In the OP's case I can't help but feel that is not the total conversation. The last line appears as though the CS is still present and trying to resolve the issue but apologising that the customer is having trouble. Now it could be that the customer got cut off or the customer cut him off I do not know. I am not saying the customer in this case was very abusive or that the CS was doing very well. Just nipping in the bud the misconception of that phrase people like to spout which they have picked up from random Joe on the street or the internet or they were poorly managed or taught by a poor quality educational institution/course.

The University of Some Bloke at the Pub Told Me, gotta love it. The customer is always right, but only for a given value of right. Nobody has the right to be a jerk to another, but a customer surely has the right to expect decent service, at a modestly professional level.

But whatever the end of case with the OP was, the point is that the CS guy didn't grasp OP's problem to begin with, and that only led the further frustration. CS guy had already blew it by repeatedly failing to understand that the OP already had the CE, had redeemed the Online Pass, and could not view the sound track to be downloaded. And I'm not exactly trying to knock on CS guy here, I don't know him! But his job wasn't done very well in OP's case, that much I can say confidently.

I do not have access to EA's account system so if does not show up on there as owning a CE and the website which is supposed to handle the download of the CE of which the CS supplied link to also does not recognise this then it is a bigger issue than the CS can resolve. Would be no different to random Joe buying SE and saying bought CE only trying his luck to get CE content for SE price. In the end they will need to look at past the CS level if their system or the website is not recording the versions correctly. Customer just makes sure the issue if brought to their attention and logged which I am sure it is now that multiple people have mentioned to them the issue. 

Modifié par Dragoonlordz, 07 mars 2012 - 12:43 .

[leeboi2]

Stanley Woo wrote...

Actually, it seems to be a matter of you losing patience with a customer support rep when he's asking you to clarify your issue. Communication is a two-way street. Based on your transcript, your description of your problem can be vague and not specific enough fro support to give you a straight answer without getting more information. You getting frustrated and getting belligerent certainly doesn't help anyone to solve your issue because you're no longer providing useful, needed information.

Oh shut up, try employing people who live west of Turkey and speak the actual language, instead of just reading from a script...Christ almighty...

[AGX0n3]

well, i spoke to customer service about the soundtrack issue and i was told

"Thank you for waiting. I appreciate your patience. You don't own N7 collector's edition. So, you need to contact your retailer."

after almost an hour of live chat support, and with everything but the soundtrack in my possession including the beautiful N7 Box...

[Kilshrek]

Dragoonlordz wrote...

I do not have access to EA's account system so if does not show up on there as owning a CE and the website which is supposed to handle the download of the CE of which the CS supplied link to also does not recognise this then it is a bigger issue than the CS can resolve. Would be no different to random Joe buying SE and saying bought CE only trying his luck to get CE content for SE price. In the end they will need to look at past the CS level if their system or the website is not recording the versions correctly. Customer just makes sure the issue if brought to their attention and logged which I am sure it is now that multiple people have mentioned to them the issue. 

Yeah, but isn't CE content typically on another code these days? Besides this information should be on internal servers, and CS should in theory have access to these in order to avoid specifically standard Joe trying to become collector's Joe through shenanigans.

It could very well be a case of left hand not talking to right hand, and several posts back a guy said he worked for EA CS and that EA uses them as a firewall(of sorts). Until they decided to vex their customers and hire people who pretend not to understand what their customers want and twirl their evil moustaches all day.

[junkiebaby]

leeboi2 wrote...


Oh shut up, try employing people who live west of Turkey and speak the actual language, instead of just reading from a script...Christ almighty...

Racism, nationalism, and eurocentrism are all so charming. Do continue pointing and shouting at those uncivilized, non-English speaking nations.

There are more fluent speakers of English in India than there are PEOPLE in any country in the EU. So I mean. Maybe you should re-evaluate your "acceptable nationalities". Only saying.

[infalible]

Stanley Woo wrote...

Actually, it seems to be a matter of you losing patience with a customer support rep when he's asking you to clarify your issue. Communication is a two-way street. Based on your transcript, your description of your problem can be vague and not specific enough fro support to give you a straight answer without getting more information. You getting frustrated and getting belligerent certainly doesn't help anyone to solve your issue because you're no longer providing useful, needed information.

What an utterly ignorant response.

He clearly and pointedly explained the issue at least twice, and the rep did next to nothing aside from copy paste responses from the manual they are given for these issues.

I'm shocked that you would post such a response, Stanley. I'll be complaining about this particular comment I understand that you have to represent the best interests of Bioware, but to try to brandish this as anything other than a failure for your Indian support staff to handle support properly is anything but useful.

You could be helping to resolve his issue instead of waving that Bioware banner furiously.

[infalible]

junkiebaby wrote...

leeboi2 wrote...


Oh shut up, try employing people who live west of Turkey and speak the actual language, instead of just reading from a script...Christ almighty...

Racism, nationalism, and eurocentrism are all so charming. Do continue pointing and shouting at those uncivilized, non-English speaking nations.

There are more fluent speakers of English in India than there are PEOPLE in any country in the EU. So I mean. Maybe you should re-evaluate your "acceptable nationalities". Only saying.

I'll put this as reasonably as I possibly can:

EA as a company operates in the US and EU, where the vast majority of residents are fluent English speakers. Their customer service teams provide support to those customers. If, when providing support, cross-national issues such as a language barrier are getting in the way, it is the fault of the customer services team and not the fault of the consumer.

It is not racism, nationalism or eurocentrism to expect reasonable levels of service when dealing with US and EU based companies. 

Your point about more indians speaking English than there are people in most countries in the EU is, I'm afraid, a none-issue. It has no bearing on the topic at hand.

It is up to EA to ensure that those individuals working in Customer Services can speak English, or whatever language they are operating in, fluently and without error. At this current moment in time they are not doing that and consumers are having to battle through poor English on behalf of the staff that are supposed to be servicing them before getting any service to speak of.

In conclusion: if it is racism, nationalism and eurocentrism for consumers to expect the quality of service to be higher than speaking to people who can't speak our native languages properly, then I am guilty of all three. Unashamedly so, as well

[Julia343]

Why not put a card in the CE box with a download code for a free Soundtrack DL from either iTunes or Amazon.com rather than have a game company deal with this? They're usually burdened enough trying to get the games running on release day.

Too late to do this now, but next time?

Also, then those of us who didn't get the CE could still purchase it from either Amazon or iTunes.

[LiquidLogic2020]

How was the OP rude? Loosing his temper, sure, but not rude.

[malkuth74]

Prime examPle of what's wrong with our society. You do know that you can get your point across and still treat people with respect right. You should treat people the way you want to be treated

When we as a society start treating people like garbage over a dlc code. Then truly we deserve to be reaped.

And you being a customer service rep yourself should know better!!

[AlexMBrennan]

Wow, customer service not reading anything you write and replying with the blindly pieced together default text blocks? That's totally new and unique!

[Rencor2k]

i don't blame the OP, he paid for a product and not getting what he paid for.. like many many others... not very professional,, and NOT from a company that big...

[Vasparian]

I've had better service at Taco Bell.