It has happened to us all, at one point or another.

I have worked in the customer service industry for 10 years, in different environments and for different companies, yet one thing has always been the same: bad customer service. In today’s world, it’s inescapable. The customer is no longer right, but instead some uninformed entity with money and no knowledge of what’s proper and what’s not. Roles have been flipped. Where companies used to be the ones to bend over backwards for the customer and guarantee their satisfaction in any way possible, it is now the customer that is expected to put up with whatever the company has to deal out.

Try to think of a company you’ve had to deal with in the past that wasn’t frustrating in some way. You probably can’t come up with any, and if you can, the list is probably a short one. If you think about all the frustrating experiences you’ve had, however, the list is most likely a long arduous one. The majority of large corporations – computer companies, internet providers, shipping services – have outsourced most or all of the customer service aspects of their companies, and even those who haven’t don’t put much weight into providing good service to their customers.

I have seen the ins and outs of several companies’ customer service, and I can tell you that while there were always a handful of us that actually cared about the job at hand and the customer on the other end of the telephone, I can say without any qualms that the majority of the people answering the phones simply didn’t care. Generally, they aren’t paid enough, and they get kicked from both ends – their upper management and the customers. Yet that is not the customers’ fault, and bad blood between an employee and their employer should not be taken out on the poor soul on the other end of the phone.

Time and again, when calling for assistance or with an inquiry, I have been spoken to and treated like an idiot. Unfortunately, my list of stories about bad customer service is long. The only good thing I have gleaned from these experiences is how to deal with more of the experiences. I am armed against losing the battle with bad customer service. Not many are so lucky.

My mission against all this is simple: Bad customer service must be brought to light. Exposure is one of the biggest tools against bad service, and while the internet is flooded with examples, none of them seem to truly get the attention of these companies (except for Scott Granneman’s page - http://www.granneman.com/personal/journals/hpsterribleservice - on his bad experience with HP, which grabbed the attention of a higher-up and resulted in his situation being resolved). As customers, we should hold the majority of the power when it comes to customer service standards and what we will tolerate. Any mistreatment from a company, no matter what sector, should be recognized and rectified.  

In the coming posts, I will be outlining common situations that consumers can experience, and tips on how to deal with these situations.

If you have any stories of bad customer service experience, please email them to me at j35j4ck50n@gmail.com.