An unintended consequence of off-shoring, customer service departments became less personal and more scripted than when they were located in the U.S. Due to the difference in cultures and the language differences, an emphasis was placed on courtesy, but the lack of background in the technical areas created undue waiting times and less efficient solutions.
I'm sure we have all had experiences with customer service calls that went on and on. First are the automated messages and prompts.
The first recorded message announces that the call will be monitored or recorded for quality assurance. Really! The recordings may be used to improve services a fraction of the time,
but the calls are really recorded to reduce liability should a legal
issue be brought forth.
Then comes a myriad number of other announcements and prompts. If we are lucky enough to get through these with our sanity and good mood in-tact, comes the holding period when we are told that due to a larger than normal call flow, there will be a longer than usual wait time.
Since the message regarding larger than normal call flow is on all the time, it is no longer larger than normal. It is the norm. It requires more customer service staff to cut down on the wait time. Do these companies ever pay any consideration to the customers time being valuable?
After spending 5,10 or more minutes holding on listening to a sales
pitch or other equally annoying announcement, we finally get through to a
live person who may or may not work in the area we are looking for.
Whether they are able to help us or not, the call always ends with the ubiquitous "Are there any other questions that I may help you with at this time?"
The usual call to a customer service department is for a specific reason. After spending an hour trying to resolve a problem and not getting anywhere, the most annoying thing you could hear is " Can I help you with something else?." This is meant to sound like a very efficient and courteous customer service ending of a call.
How about just a "sorry we screwed up and have a nice day..