Customer service story of the day

[gbear]

So I got a credit card offer for a company that doesn't exist with my name and address as the contact person. The funny thing is I have called Capital One in the past to tell them the company doesn't exist and to please remove it from their lists.

Well, I get a clerk on the line, and I tell him the business doesn't exist. He asks for my name. I give it. He asks for the company name that it's addressed to. I give it. He asks for the correct address on the mailing. I give it.

Then comes the kicker. He asks for the phone number of the company. When I say again that the company doesn't exist and that's why he's getting this phone call, he says he can't errase a company from the mail list without a phone number for the company.:doh: Seriously?

I asked for the manager, who eventually agreed to remove my name and information from their records associated with the business. Fine. Is it really supposed to be that difficult? I just wanted to make sure nobody could take out business credit cards on a make believe companies credit cards, and that goes double if the credit is associated with mine.

[Nighthawk]

Yes, it is that difficult.

Customer Service Reps are at the mercy of the computer programs they work with. They've become robots enslaved by the computer programs they use. I can't tell you how many horror stories I have when it comes to customer service. The simplest mistake can't be corrected because "our computer won't let us do that." or "sir our computer records show that..." They are robots who aren't payed to think but are just trained to follow whatever the computer tells them and not to use their brain or common sense. Then there's the training they get where they only know to say whatever the company line is. They read from a script and if it's not on the script they don't know or aren't allowed to say anything else.:hammer:

[Larry]

You wanna know the really funny part about that gbear?

That name and address for the non-existant business? It came from a credit bureau. That credit bureau is maintaining a credit record on a company that doesn't exist, it says the (non-existant) company has good credit, and the credit bureau is selling the name and address of this (non-existant) company.

[Kilmer17]

gbear. Do yiourself a favor and run your credit reports. All 3 of them (Equifax, Esperion, and TransUnion). You should be able to do it 1 time a year at no cost. Just make sure someone is not using your identity.

[webnarc]

This type of thing is becoming too common. The tools that were supposed to help people perform their jobs are becoming the biggest road blocks to their productivity. I think it my be correct to say that the rep on the phone feels as powerless as you do trying to get you name off of the list. This is the third wave grinding to an abrupt halt and I think the cause is people's vanity and arrogance.

For a time I worked on requirements documents for a IT company. I would gather the needs of the end user, synthesis a solution and pass this information to the development team to be worked on. About 50% of the time, my boss would then review the document, change it, and tell development that he was the new contact person for it. The end result were tools that did not meet the requirements to help the staff but which were regarded as "cool" by my boss. Everyone in the company suffered because clients were unhappy that we were not responsive enough to their changing needs. Any mentioning that the process was flawed would enrage my boss and evoke personal criticism that "I couldn't see the big picture" or that "I was unqualified for the job" or that "I should either do my job or find somewhere else to work, if I could". These attitudes shattered morale and eroded any company loyalty.

What I have found with most workers is that they are smart enough to KNOW their system is flawed and they know how to fix it. They just don't know how to make their boss choose the bottom line over their inflated egos. The workers eventually leave, the company dies and the boss is left blaming everyone but themselves, and collecting a hefty exit package.

[gbear]

Kilmer,

That was my concern too. It's on my list of things to do next week. Though in fairness, I did it when I lived at my old house and started getting things for this company (all from Capital One). Nothing out of the ordinary showed up.

Larry's right though. The company must have atleast a decent credit rating because they're offering decent platinum deals.