It's not your money

[Mytical]

Background I work as a customer service person in a call center...

Part of my job is, sad to say, to kiss the customers behind. You might think me not serious..here are some of the 'rules' I have to go by.

If a customer is upset..I am not only authorized but expected to give them discounts and gift cards. Up to and including $75.

I need the money, so I have no choice but to give things away to SC's and Ew's all the time..but woe to me if I complain to anybody around here (where I live). "Why do you care..it's not your money."

No..no its not. It just irks me to no end that the good customers end up paying for the whiners and EW's. Now if it is something legit, I have absolutely no issue helping set it right. I am good at getting it set right without giving out a dime. Customers tend to go away happy, without me having to give one red cent of the companies money away.

Yet I am told "You should be giving them discounts and such..so they will give surveys and make you look good."

Anyhow..beside the point. As I said..no none of it comes out of my pocket..at all. In fact I am making money when I am giving the companies money away (barely above min wage but still...money). I can give away money till the cows come home (though a set limit per customer PER call). Doesn't mean I have to like it, or think it is the best thing since butter.

[blas87]

You have every right to be upset, because the actual paying customers are the ones who suffer at the hands of the bottom feeders and deadbeats. And many a good customer can turn into an evil one on the phone when they see how their rates got increased or whatnot.

[tropicsgoddess]

You have every right to be upset, because the actual paying customers are the ones who suffer at the hands of the bottom feeders and deadbeats. And many a good customer can turn into an evil one on the phone when they see how their rates got increased or whatnot.

That is true and you get the ones that feel entitled to credits and/or discounts of unreasonable amounts for being "inconvenienced". Inconvenienced on end luser issues.

[jackfaire]

Also constantly appeasing sucktastic customers breeds more of them. You find yourself dealing with more irate customers not less because they told their friends , "Hey if you act like this you get rewarded for it"

Suddenly everyone is being a jerk on the phone cuz you will give them stuff to stop having to talk to them.

[Andara Bledin]

I need the money, so I have no choice but to give things away to SC's and Ew's all the time..but woe to me if I complain to anybody around here (where I live). "Why do you care..it's not your money."

That's funny. Where do they think your paycheck comes from? Your raises? Your bonuses? Hell, if the company loses enough money this way, they might even shut down.

But hey, it's not your money, so why should you care how well the company you work for is doing financially.

^-.-^

[Josh]

...If a customer is upset..I am not only authorized but expected to give them discounts and gift cards. Up to and including $75...

As a manager providing refunds or adjustments was a great tool that I had at my disposal to difuse and keep customers. Did all customers get the full amount that I could give? no. since it varied by circumstances. But, it is great to be able to say 'what would make you happy' trust me, you will be surprised how many people are actually fair on their expectations. Sounds to me, since your're expected to do this, that this is considered a cost of doing business in your line of work and you have been hired as a gatekeeper to allow this adjustments to go trough once fielded.

Regardless of your personal feelings or claps from the peanut gallery, NO, you are not justified in your feelings. YOU personally are not providing any financial incentives from YOUR own money to the customer, and you need to realize that the company hired you to take care of the customer AND they have given you a GREAT tool to do this.

If doing the job that you're hired to do bothers you, then ask to move to a different department. The company has a policy thats working for them and shouldn't/and wont change it just becouse the person they hired to do a certain job feels that doing listed job is not 'fair'.

[Josh]

That's funny. Where do they think your paycheck comes from? Your raises? Your bonuses? Hell, if the company loses enough money this way, they might even shut down.

But hey, it's not your money, so why should you care how well the company you work for is doing financially.

^-.-^

ps. one policy will not solve world hunger.

Caring about the financial health of the company you work for is one thing, but expecting it to change to fit you ideals of how the company should run is dellisunual.

A business exists to create value to the owner or stockholder (since they own all the liabilities and risk). This unfortunately means that non-executive personnel are hired and have accepted to be a specific cogs in the business plan they want to execute. Whether this leads to sucess or failure of the bussiness is inconsequential. The function is to execute the vision (or lack of) to the best of their ability utilizing the tools provided to them.

[Kheldarson]

Regardless of your personal feelings or claps from the peanut gallery, NO, you are not justified in your feelings. YOU personally are not providing any financial incentives from YOUR own money to the customer, and you need to realize that the company hired you to take care of the customer AND they have given you a GREAT tool to do this.

He's not justified? He's not justified as a worker who has to pander to BAD customers because they don't like the rules and pitch a fit while the GOOD customers, of whom he might be one since he, you know, works for the business, don't get squat because they accept the rules?

The issue here is the fact that people decide to get stuff for free because they think they're right. And that's a telling state of our society. I've got no issue with a legitimate problem being addressed and being fixed in some manner, even if it's freebies. I do have an issue with people being deliberately obtuse and refusing to listen to the rules of the establishment because they think they're right. And that's the problem with just giving away free stuff, whether it appeases the customer right then or not. It reinforces the idea that they're right and this is acceptable.

And it's not.

[jackfaire]

A business exists to create value to the owner or stockholder (since they own all the liabilities and risk).

The employees shoulder most of the risk. The employees are giving of their time and energy to Company A and if Company A goes out of business they aren't the only one hoping Company B has work and often in Customer Service they aren't making enough money to have a large amount of savings whereas the owner usually has other assets and doesn't have his personal assets tied into the company assets so if the company loses everything he still gets to drive home to his nice house and start over somewhere else.

[Mytical]

I am wondering at what point in time I suggested that the business needs to change to fit me. I do not recall ever doing so. I do not have an issue with giving good customer service, nor do I have an issue with spending a little money to make things right for a customer. If it is a legitimate complaint.

Have an item that is broken, damaged, or just doesn't work. No problem getting another item, and even a discount..if it was OUR fault. IE the item arrived damaged, etc. Promised next day and item shows up two weeks later? Yeah I don't have a problem refunding the shipping and a bit extra, because that is a legitimate complaint.

Yes, there is a cost of doing business..and I don't have an issue with that either. What I do have an issue with is the entitlement attitude that most who are demanding 'satisfaction' have. That and the fact that all the non legitimate complaints that the company pays out doesn't cost the company a dime. It cost the GOOD customers money. Because a business is in business to MAKE money..and they will raise costs, fire employees, etc if they are not doing so. So yes, I think it is a rather bassackwards mindset, and that corporate has their heads up their keisters.

[bara]

Regardless of your personal feelings or claps from the peanut gallery, NO, you are not justified in your feelings. YOU personally are not providing any financial incentives from YOUR own money to the customer, and you need to realize that the company hired you to take care of the customer AND they have given you a GREAT tool to do this.

If doing the job that you're hired to do bothers you, then ask to move to a different department. The company has a policy thats working for them and shouldn't/and wont change it just becouse the person they hired to do a certain job feels that doing listed job is not 'fair'.

I disagree. Having worked as a call center sup for 1 1/2 years I can say that it smashes employee moral to hear 'Okay guys! DO whatever it takes, make the customer happy!' and then when you get to your weekly eval you hear 'You are giving away to many credits'.

One week I am instructed to tell them to give away credits like its water to dehydrated man in the desert and the next I am to tell them to stop giving away so much money. This applies to many of the policies we had/ didnt have/ had/ didnt have etc. A policy that had been in place for a year was no longer in effect and then just when everyone got used to it being gone, they put it back.They changed things so much and so often that people no longer knew what was expected of them and as their sup I was supposed to be able to tell them. I couldn't because my boss didnt know either.

At that point, your company doesn't seem to know what its doing anymore. Its not a matter of fair. Its a matter of 'Why the hell cant these corporate morons make up their mind?' Evaluations sucked because things were changing so fast you no one could adapt to the new expectations. It causes a loss of moral, and a piss poor customer experience as well.

Bonus: The call center I worked for was recently voted the number 2 hated company in the US for customer care.

[Mytical]

Absolutely Bara. At least the place I work for is consistent. I always get great reviews (when they listen in to my calls), because when my bosses say "Do whatever it takes." that is what I do. The customers never know, nor will they, that I think the rules suck. Cause I got a job to do. It is a job, that if not for the 'kiss the customers behind' I would absolutely love to death. I like helping people. I want to make things right for them, and to cause them to be laughing by the time they are finished.

Discounts, gift cards, and credits should be dished out to the good customers..and the ew's and scammers should be shown the door. No, it's not my money..and I will give it out like candy at halloween if told to..with a smile..but at the end of the day..they can't force me to like it or agree with it.

[mikoyan29]

A business exists to create value to the owner or stockholder (since they own all the liabilities and risk). This unfortunately means that non-executive personnel are hired and have accepted to be a specific cogs in the business plan they want to execute. Whether this leads to sucess or failure of the bussiness is inconsequential. The function is to execute the vision (or lack of) to the best of their ability utilizing the tools provided to them.

Thank you for summing up the reason why we are failing as a country. The owners and stockholders are not the only people the own risk in a company. The employees share a part in this risk as well. However, the modern MBA mentality seems to be that employees are just cogs in the wheel and could just as well be from India as Indiana. Never mind that employees can provide just as much if not more value than some MBA freshly minted out of an MBA factory.

[Mytical]

Thank you for summing up the reason why we are failing as a country. The owners and stockholders are not the only people the own risk in a company. The employees share a part in this risk as well. However, the modern MBA mentality seems to be that employees are just cogs in the wheel and could just as well be from India as Indiana. Never mind that employees can provide just as much if not more value than some MBA freshly minted out of an MBA factory.

QFT, QFE. Well said.

[bara]

ps. one policy will not solve world hunger.

Sure it will: Be excellent to each other!
I feel this simple policy if followed would effectively end nearly all the worlds major socioeconomic problems.

Caring about the financial health of the company you work for is one thing, but expecting it to change to fit you ideals of how the company should run is dellisunual.

Probably, and its why I will never answer or provide feedback when they do those fake polls that ask employees for advice on how to run the company and in fact make them force me to attend them.

A business exists to create value to the owner or stockholder (since they own all the liabilities and risk).

I cant think of any CEOs, shareholders, VPs, or any other such persons being held accountable for the poor and sometimes illegal decisions they have made which have caused thousands of others to lose houses, cars, retirement, medical benefits, and in some cases marriages, families, lives. Not to mention the fat parting bonuses some of these people receive that could be given to the displaced 'cogs' instead that would allow them to get back on their feet. A couple million goes a long way for us common folk.