Biggest Customer Service Pet Peeves
by YSN - Your Success NetworkSeptember 10th, 2009
As we celebrate (and lament the decline of) the fine art of customer service, we at YSN.com thought it would be fun to ask our friends on Twitter their thoughts about lousy service. The response came fast and furious – unlike most of the customer service reps these stories illustrate! (Guess we shouldn’t be shocked though.)
In tough economic times like these, it amazes me that so many of the gainfully employed don’t recognize that it is a privilege to be working, not a right. Those especially in customer service roles should be grateful, not just to those who sign their paychecks, but most importantly, us customers who’s patronage ensures there are jobs to be had in the first place. There is simply no excuse to be in a role like that and be rude, to ignore customers, not acknowledge they’re standing right in front of you waiting, or to be more focused on conversations with their friends than clients. I also personally go nuts when service people take their sweet old time or go really slowly when I’m clearly in a rush. Would they rather I skipped coming in at all?
As a business owner myself, I bristle when I see employees disrespecting the fact that they are representatives of the business they work for, not to mention entrepreneurs or other leaders who’ve probably have had to kill themselves and put their own lives on the line to get the organization to where it is today. It’s so easy to damage a reputation (yours or others), and all of us need to, in my opinion, be a heck of a lot more respectful of that.
So owners, executives, managers, entrepreneurs, employees and especially customer services reps BEWARE….we’re all watching you!!!!
Here’s what we heard about common customer service pet peeves from our friends on twitter. By the way, if you’re not already following us, I’m @ysnjen and our blog team is @ysn_careersos.
@asinclair12 Waiting forever on the phone to speak to a representative only to get hung up on and have to call back again.
@marketingfails Pull up at the drive-thru, hear a friendly female voice on recording, and getting a depressed “Hello” in a deep baritone male voice.
@vickitruitt Associates that appear annoyed by your very presence. It’s as if providing their services to you is a huge inconvenience. Hate that!
@james_laker When a salesperson says, “it’s the policy” & goes into script & makes no effort to resolve a dispute!
@EntMagazineTan I loathe intentionally circuitous call centers so you’re stuck in “automated” limbo. Verizon, I’m giving you the stink eye!
@DramaFreeLiving I detest sales staff that isn’t knowledgeable about products/services. If I can’t get answers,why should I buy ?
@TarahFeinberg The worst! RT @PhilipNowak: @ysnjen Biggest Customer Svc Pet Peeve: I can’t do that. Let me speak to a mgr. Hold. Mgr app request in 30s.
@trainerLaura My customer service pet peeve is an apathetic reply to a request. The “I’ll do as little as I possibly can” attitude.
@thekimschneider Rude customer service associates. If someone can’t be 100% delightful and work in cust. serv. they shouldn’t choose that job
@marcusclarkus In any service situation coming upon a group of people and they act like you are putting them out when you ask for help or direction
@marcusclarkus When you are being helped and someone excuses themself to take a phone call. Like a ringing phone takes precedent over a live person
@jimmyaungchen@ysnjen pet peeve = indifference / cold voice
@YSN_careersos: Calling for help with technology questions and quickly discovering that I know way more about technology than the customer service rep. Then being stuck on the phone for 20 or 30 min while they go through a new learning curve.
@EntMagazineKym Blind transfers from call center reps. why should I have to explain my problem over and over as the issue is escalated?
@timjahn When you’re unable to get a hold of the company via any channel
@Stefaniya Any employee of the place where I’m shopping/eating getting served/checked out BEFORE me in line.
@Sue_Anne @PRsarahevans Customer Service hours. CS should be a 24/7 activity. If you close pre-7 pm, that’s bad.
@JeremyMeyers I’d rather have someone who knows what they’re doing not be able to help than someone tell me to reinstall windows.
@LuAnnGlowacz Employees required to use my last name (Mrs. Glowacz): impossible to pronounce. Always painful & annoying.
@JeremyMeyers When someone is quite apparently reading from a script rather than making an honest attempt to help me fix my problem
@ekinsky #1 = lying to me (everything else pales in comparison) #2 = sending me in circles in hopes I’ll give up
@lorirusso Often it feels as if customer service reps are paid to identify obstacles rather than find solutions. Rarely seems like they *want* to help.
@sixstringsnc Indifference, rudeness (of course), condescension, lack of appreciation for my patronage.
@Scottk Walking into a store and not having anyone acknowledge me!
@KatieYSN When 5 people are behind a desk and 20 are in line and no one is paying attention to them.
@JoshuaHoppes Calling a number and getting an automated system machine. (Within 3 seconds of saying that I actually felt a sense of rage bubbling up inside!)
@MoniquePeltz Calling and speaking to someone who doesn’t speak the language well and is so blatantly reading from a script.
@erbower The “deli experience” – what would you like? 1 lb of turkey. Ok, turkey, how much again?
@chrisandersonis When I am more friendly during the transaction than the customer service representative. It’s the worst when ‘thanks’ is met w/nada.
@lizaweiner Speaking 2 reps who don’t speak English &/or call center connections overseas is poor, difficult 2 hear/understand
@FarfsGirl My biggest customer service pet peeve is when I know they are reading from a script. just answer my questions/solve my problem
@PhilipNowak Sir, I can’t do that. Let me speak to a manager. Hold. Manager approves request in 30 seconds.
@studentforcenow The call being dripped while being transferred from one rep to another ….. I always ask the first rep stay on the phone
@PutFeed A person you either have to flag down, or to the next extreme, need to try to avoid.
@PutFeed Salespeople who flock at your like vultures. Do I look like a dead body?:P
Have your own pet peeve to share or just get off your chest? Add it below in comments! And feel free to pass this article along to your friends or as a hint to someone or some company you think deserves a kick in the customer service pants.
At very least, we hope this article gives us all something to think about. I also hope that we as customers don’t forget ourselves to be a bit nicer, friendlier, and more patient with those who are actually working hard at their jobs and maybe just are struggling through a rough day of their own.
Tags: bad customer service, Customer service, Customer service pet peeves, Your Success Network, YSN.com
September 10th, 2009 at 9:56 am
I work in this industry and there are so many things I can’t stand. If people would just use common sense they’d be so much better off! Unfortunately usually its the service reps that don’t have to have any qualifications or previous experience to get hired. Because they are pretty easy to get and no one wants them sometimes the worst people get in those roles. Companies should pay more, require more skills and give outstanding training-they would see such a difference in their bottomline! Make it prestigious to be a customer service rep and it will change the game completely! Reps should be fighting to give better service than the next guy!
September 10th, 2009 at 11:56 am
I agree with the live person vs the ringing phone. I was in to look for over 20 grand of building supplies for a remodeling project on a new home once and the first guy did it to me as well as the second one. When I got to the third one I was so livid (I am a female so therefore not important in a building supply store in the early 90’s I am sure) that when he said May I help you I said that depends do you have a phone on you and he said yes so I said well then TURN IT OFF! He refused and I said ok well thanks anyway I am going to so and so (his direct competitor
September 10th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
My teeth-gritting, snarl-bringing biggie – A company that simply does not stand behind its product. Example: My laptop failed within the first two-months. Real customer service would call for it to be replaced. Any company that cannot do this has absolutely no integrity. And, my second, which I have heard over this last year with this laptop, the fake sympathy/empathy. “I’m sorry. I understand…blah, blah.” Good! Then step up and replace the computer!
September 11th, 2009 at 12:59 pm
That’s crazy! I actually JUST encountered a customer service pet peeve of mine seconds ago. I brought my lunch to the cash register and throughout the ENTIRE interaction, the cashier did not make eye contact with me ONE time! How are you going to take my card from me, charge it, and hand it back to me without looking in my direction one time?!?!?! Do you dislike your job that much? …My Customer service pet peeve = People without passion
September 15th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
[...] came across this post recently, which lists some of the more prominent customer service pet peeves submitted by the [...]
September 20th, 2009 at 11:19 am
[...] that has significant importance throughout your career. And, in light of the recent discussion on customer service, it seems common courtesy is needed now more than [...]
September 28th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
When you call a vendor requesting a piece of information and no one follows up on the request assuming that you should call again.