So today I got a call from a customer who had prepaid for a toll pass. The customer had bought the pass for travel today but for reasons unknown, was not able to travel. He
would be able to travel the next Monday, and wanted to know whether the same pass would still be valid.
Of course it's not going to be valid - if you've bought the pass for a specific day then the pass is not going to cover you for any other day but that one. But since I don't get up in the morning thinking 'I'm going to spend the entire day denying the requests of hapless customers MWAHAHAHAHA!' I told the customer that, as a once off, I was perfectly willing to change the details on the pass.
My mistake however was to educate the customer concerning the toll company's policy concerning the purchase of passes. We get too many customers who pay for a pass and want to change the details constantly - usually when it's too late to do so. Customers don't understand that you can actually travel first and THEN pay - this way, no mistakes. So when I let him know I could change the details, I told him that next time he would need to be more careful when prepaying and that he may want to think about travelling and then paying.
Customer lost it - his theory was, if a pass was listed against his name, then it shouldn't matter WHEN the car travels, it should just note down that a payment was made and that should be enough. When I mentioned that it didn't work that way, he pulled out the old chestnut 'but *other company* CAN do it. YOU should do it for me!'
I simply mentioned that we weren't *other company* and that what he was suggesting was not possible; that company policy states: prepay and get the details right the first time, otherwise travel and then pay. At this point he goes mental and starts screaming about how I was LYING, that I COULD do it for him, but I was refusing to do so because I was hiding behind false POLICY, and that I was providing him with poor customer service!
I was definitely NOT standing for that - after all I had told him several times since the beginning of the call that I would change the details of the toll pass for him. I explained this to him once again - he seemed to finally get it but very grudgingly said 'you do understand, you in your call centre, that people make mistakes and I am only human?'
I very truthfully said that I understood that he may feel that way, but in all fairness, not only had I given him what he had asked for, I had let him know what to do in the future to avoid a situation like this again. He had the nerve to say, in perfect sarcastic tone 'and I am SO grateful. I compliment you on your great work.'
Well, when you're like that, my customer service ends there. After all, you are speaking to someone who is bilingual in english and sarcasm. So I said very sweetly, 'Thank you and have a great day!'
Seriously, I don't know why I try to do my job. Customers just don't care unless it directly affects them, and even then only when it costs them heaps of money. From now on they're on their own.
What part of that was poor customer service?
make my day and ask me for another refund!
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