Responsibity, Who’s Is It?

“There is something wrong. I am not getting any water from my faucets”

“I’m sorry Mr. Customer, Your service is shut off. We have not received a payment on your account in three months.”

“I haven’t gotten a bill in the mail for the last six months”

“I am looking at your account and I see you signed up for email billing. You don’t receive a paper bill if you sign up for email billing “

“Well, If I don’t get a bill I don’t know I have to pay it”

******************

I hear these same types of things everyday at my job in customer service. Why is it that people seem to think it is not their fault when they don’t pay their bills. I guess maybe I am old fashioned but if you purchase something that has a monthly charge, do you not realize, that every month, at that same time, you are going to have a charge for the service. Who’s responsibility is it?

Why is it that some people don’t think they are responsible for their own actions or the actions of their children? It’s not their fault it the child, whom they gave a fancy internet ready cell phone to, ran the phone bill up over 300 dollars in overage and data charges..”Why not???

How do they figure that is the fault of the phone company.They are the ones who gave their child an expensive phone and let them run up those charges. Did they not tell the child there was limits they had to adhere to when using this new toy. Wasn’t it the parents responsibility to make sure that child knew how to use the phone and how not to use the phone.

I have to wonder if these are the same kids who grow up and get into gangs and the parents say “I had no idea they were robbing houses. I didn’t think they were doing anything wrong when he was staying out till 3am on weeknights. He said his friend gave him his old Ipod and computer when he got new ones for his birthday”

Come on people.. The cop is not going to say “Oh well if you didn’t know then it’s okay, don’t worry about it”, and pat little Johnny on the head and give him the stolen Ipod back..
Why should a company say “that’s okay we’ll flip the bill instead.. You don’t have to pay the bill he ran up because you didn’t know.”. Who’s responsibility is it?


I realize, not all people are trying to get over with excuses like this.. But all people are paying the price for people who are getting over with it.. I heard the other day that on a website it was telling people Just call in and tell them that you were told this at the store and they will credit you back for it..


Sure it worked for a while. Now no one can get a legitimate credit when they were told something different at a store. The company can no longer afford to believe the public..SO.. who in the long run suffers?


Prices go up to make up for the losses for those that got over on the system. Instead of them paying that price up front, now they pay a bit more every month for it on the bill, along with everyone else.

The company will not take the loss. They are out to make money. Someone is going to pay for it. That someone is you..

So if you are one of those that doesn’t take the responsibility for your actions.. (or those of your child) I really hope I am not the one who is going to have to listen to you cry when you do have to pay the bills at a higher price because of the increase in rates..


You get what you pay for…
And in the long run. you pay for what you don’t..

categories Commentaries | | datetime January 27, 2007 12:50 am | comments Comments (1)

Buyers Be Aware

You have to wonder now days what large corporations are thinking when it comes to customer service. Years ago companies seemed to care about their customers and what they thought. Keeping a customer was as important as getting a new one. Word of mouth was the best advertising for a company.

Now companies pay big bucks for commercials lined with small print on the bottom that no one can read on a television advert. They offer great deals and when the customer calls in they find out what the fine print said.. ‘Tough luck this is for new customers only’. Instead of customer loyalty for good service received they lock you into a high buy out contract for years.. So no matter how horrible the company treats you, in order to cancel your service, you pay dearly.

I work for a company that takes the word of all associates that work for commission over the word of the customer.. If the previous representative did not notate that they were making a mistake on the account than the customer pays the price.

If the greedy salesman decides to add a product to the account without telling the customer, to earn a few more pennies commission, it’s too bad for the customer. Of course notes on the account may say it was added but it is not going to say that it was done so fraudulently.

Our company says to take the word of every salesman over the word of the customer. And if it isn’t on the account notes we cannot take the customer’s word for it. Don’t they think that some sales people may be fleecing their own pockets at the customers expense? Or that they might have made a mistake? What happened to common sense?

I spend hours a day telling customers ‘Sorry Mr. Customer, What you were told was not true and so sorry but you were lied to. You will have to pay for it because the previous person you talked to, that hosed you, did not put a note on the account stating he was lieing to you. Nor did they note that you really did not ask for that service to be added to your bill. So this month you have to pay for their lie, but I can change it for the future so you are not made to pay for it again next month. (I am paraphrasing of course.. I have to be creative in letting the customer know they’ve just been ripped off.)

Or better yet… I am sorry Mr. Customer I see that you did call in last month, But since there is no note saying you added a product, even though you never used it until this month in excessive amounts, you are going to have to pay for the usage of that service at the higher casual rates.. But I can add that on there for you in the future.’

It doesn’t matter any more if the salesperson or customer service representative made a mistake. The customer pays for it either way. With no proof on their behalf.

How many times do we hear when we call customer support that the call may be recorded. It’s not being recorded for the purpose of keeping the customer safe. It is for grading the associate for following set rules for the call flow. Or for using the call for training purposes. Ninety-nine percent of the time it’s not being recorded.

So what can a customer do to protect himself when he is locked into a contract that he has to pay hundreds of dollars to get out of? How can he win? It is a really hard game to play. Buyer beware. Here are a few ideas to help safeguard yourself:

1. Read those contracts before you buy... So it takes you an hour to read the small print.. Take the time.. Ask questions till you fully understand.

2. Ask phone associates to make notes on your account and ask them to read the notes to you before you end the call. That way if something is missing you can ask them to notate it as well.

If you have a doubt they really wrote the notes they are reading, call back and ask the next representative to read the notes to you.. They may give you a hard time, but do it anyway.. It’s your name on that contract and your dollar in your pocket that will pay for their mistakes.

3. Read your bills every month. Not just once every 6 months. Most companies have a limit on how long you have to dispute a incorrect bill and a limit on how many bills they will go back to correct error.

4. Be polite to the person on the other end of the phone.. They don’t make the rules they just work there. Yelling and cussing is not going to get you what you want in the long run. Believe me you get much further being nice than yelling at a customer service representative. If someone is yelling at you tell me you wouldn’t, do as little as possible and hurry to get you off the phone. They are not going to take the time to look for errors on your account or go that extra mile to find a way you might save money on your service.

5. Don’t ever assume. If you don’t understand something ask questions until you understand.. People can’t read your minds.. The person on the other end of the phone doesn’t know you or how you use your service.. There are many uses for the same service and people use things differently.

6. Password protect your information and don’t share your password with other people.

It’s sad to say but it is a dog eat dog world out there and the corporations are the bigger and stronger dog.. .

categories Rants | | datetime January 9, 2007 1:56 am | comments Comments (1)