Comments on: Thanking Customer Sevice Rep Just Because …

By: just a guy

just a guy — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:00:38 +0000

@ Botanica –
I did work in a call center. For quite a while.

@ ted and Stolia
lol. Ted’s is to heated and mine to mild? ..but I guess that means Stolia’s was “juuuuuust right!” Goldilock would be pleased.

By: Larfin Jackarse

Larfin Jackarse — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 07:48:05 +0000

Where is Mr Pumpernickel?

By: blaze

blaze — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:23:38 +0000

@ Jake D.: douche canoe. I’m so stealing that!

By: Woogie

Woogie — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 22:10:27 +0000

I’m always nice to customer service folk. Guess I should have made a video of it so I could get 15 minutes of internet fame like this cock.

By: Me

Me — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:13:00 +0000

“..because he would realize that about half the people actually are kind and say please and thank you.”
That depends on the call center you’re working in. It’s true of the current call center I’m working in, but definitely not true of my previous call center job. Just, you know, follow the golden rule, and remember that the first person you talk to is always a peon and doesn’t have any authority at all, so yelling at them is only going to make their day worse. Ask for a sup if you need anything but the basic stuff. Remember that the peons are trained to try to talk you out of what you want, their job depends on it-so don’t take it out on them.

By: Jake D.

Jake D. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:39:17 +0000

Yeah, this guy is kind of a douche canoe. I mean, I definitely support being positive to customer service reps, I used to be one at Blockbuster and it was pretty stressful sometimes. But I have a feeling this guy never worked as one before, because he would realize that about half the people actually are kind and say please and thank you.

By: ted

ted — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:33:15 +0000

haha! Mine was heated? No, it was hyperbole.

This guy’s a jackass, no better than some idiot filming prank phone calls.

Having worked in call centres, I have received more than my share of angry, upset, swearing, and abusive customers. I also received happy, polite, funny, grateful, and pleasant calls. You get all kinds.

This guy just looks smug, smarmy, and “look at me, I’m being friendly to people” conceited.

Call centre people don’t need that sort of stupidity in addition to the stupidity they normally encounter.

By: Nat

Nat — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 04:23:43 +0000

Whoa.
You’re all so harsh.
The guy is having a good time and trying to spread it.
Personally, I think laughter and a thank you is worth a lot more than my company stat sheets and how much I get paid.
Analyzing this guy’s character, how she responded, timetables, statistics, and everything else is really just proving that you can’t be that guy. And that guy was just trying to be nice.

By: ECA

ECA — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:26:59 +0000

I learned two things LONG ago..
1. SUCK UP, to the person on the other end..
REALLY be nice, and funny. PEOPLE being PEOPLE, enjoy it, even if the person is IGNORANT.
2. PLAY DUMB. REALLY play DUMB, they take pitty on you and EXPLAIN EVERYTHING 1 step at a time, as IF you were a NOOB. They might even send you to TECh support to the best person available, insted of the NOOB on the job.

By: Botanica

Botanica — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:00:40 +0000

Anyone that thinks this is a bad thing should actually work in a call centre first and see what is like to be yelled at, talked down, measured, and generally being depressed by your job on a daily basis. That video actually brought tears to my eye because what he’s doing to the reps isn’t killing their call handling time, CSAT, or sales. He’s actually improving the mood of that rep and really brighten up that person’s day. henceforth that rep might be able to do a better job on the next call(s).

The one bad thing with that is he sounds like a bit drunks/high…..the rep is completely off guard in the beginning. Had he just not waste the time with the seemingly fake information and tell her straight that he wants to thank her for it. then she would probably be even happier.

p.s. don’t piss off any customer service reps, you will miss out on a lot of sweet things that reps offer to nice people.

By: Stolia

Stolia — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:53:03 +0000

Just a Guy and Ted are correct (although Just a Guy is too mild, Ted too heated).

CSRs might have a thankless job, but the last thing they need is this guy calling them.

This guy thinking he’s doing CSRs (customer service representatives) a favor is like handing out Betty Crocker Cookbooks to the homeless and believing you’re doing them a great favor.

Plus, yeah, they can’t even hang up on him or tell him why he’s doing the opposite of making their day. Poor things.

By: avist

avist — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:43:50 +0000

Nice.

By: ted

ted — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:42:17 +0000

(and, yes, I know it’s spelled “precious” – oops!)

By: ted

ted — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:41:13 +0000

He’s doing it for all the wrong reasons. And he’s telling people so he can show what a wonderful guy he is. He’s a flake. Call centre reps have stats. If you don’t even have an account, they can’t enter your stats on computer, and they can’t meet their quality scores for your particular call. They have varying Average Handle Times, and sales stats.

It also costs their company money for each call they receive. Think of all the useless calls a company could receive if a whole lot of people did this – this would increase costs, reducing the amount of money that call centre rep could get paid in wages and bonuses. It could increase the cost of a product, contributing to higher prices and inflation. Inflation leads to a downturn in the economy, and recession. Recession leads to depression, which leads to war, as countries across the globe begin to vie for presious resources. War leads to inevitable annihilation of the human race.

Thanks for helping to annihilate the human race. Have a nice day.

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 02:11:42 +0000

I think if anything people should just smile more and say thank you whenever you are dealing with a person providing a service like fast food and such. Just with that small thing you can help them feel human again after perhaps getting their heads chewed off by an irate customer.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:51:36 +0000

1. Although his premise is good, it comes off a little bit creepy.
2. He just broadcast his phone number and email address to the world, maybe.
3. She obviously didn’t write down his name or anything, and at the end it’s like , “Bye Sally.” Bye…”

entertaining though. at least he doesn’t seem self-conscious.

By: just a guy

just a guy — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:50:47 +0000

People who work in call centers have their job performances ‘graded’ on several factors, and one of those factors is often call length. The higher, the worse (because, of course, that means a longer ‘on hold’ time for other callers).

If you want to do them a favor, be brief. They can’t tell you that they want to end the call, so if you go on for a long time, even being nice, it may end up hurting them.

Just something to consider..

By: Some Canadian Skeptic

Some Canadian Skeptic — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:24:22 +0000

Okay, I’m doing this. I hope this becomes a meme.

By: Tim

Tim — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:20:25 +0000

Nothing like being incincere.

By: fireflicker

fireflicker — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 01:11:31 +0000

Sounds to me like he is just trying to get back at UHauls bad service…

By: Anthony

Anthony — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:35:22 +0000

What a Danecookian level douche.

By: panzyfaust

panzyfaust — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:33:46 +0000

That’s cool. I’m sure that will be a story around the office for a while. I hope it didn’t effect her call stats though. It would crappy irony if his good intentions got her flack from her boss.

By: corinne

corinne — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:56:43 +0000

Man, I should take note of that. Maybe next time my friends and I are bored, we’ll call and thank customer service instead of leaving random people voicemails about their membership in the Socialist Party of America… XD

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:41:14 +0000

I try to go out of my way to be nice and thank people with whom I have to do ridiculous phone business. As long as they speak English well and are trying to be helpful, I’m always polite. Heck, even if they don’t speak English well but are still trying to help, I’m not rude!

Some people still can be nice.