I want to scream! Push 1-99, I hate calling customer service

I think I might just LOSE my mind right now. I have had problems with incoming calls and text messages since yesterday. I can make outgoing calls and text messages. I had a friend yesterday have the same problems with her phone. My roommate called me this morning with me sitting there and it goes to VM....SO I call AT&T "customer service" and I use that term lightly. I call and from there I am told to press ONE for English (that annoyed me) then after that I literally had to press about TEN different options to get a person.

I finally got someone after about 20 mins of option pressing. This really pissed me off. There is NO reason to have to hit that many options. I really dislike automated operators. I then told the woman on the phone my problem and what did she do? She kept asking me the same questions even after I had just told her. This is usually a red flag that I am not getting the US and there is a language barrier which only frustrates both parties. I asked her where she was and she said in the US. I know that is not true and then she tells me she is not allowed to say where she it. I know that is not true either. I have worked in call centers for years as an agent and a supervisor, by LAW they have to tell you where they are located and their name and badge number. I got a supervisor who was just as useless and had an accent I couldn't understand. He too refused to tell me where he was. They did NOT resolve my issue, not even tech support. I got frustrated so I called the local AT&T and that was another 10mins before I got a person. Now I am in that AT&T store a lot and there are always about 3-6 employees and about half are always standing around talk to each other. Why the hell can't they answer the phone and do some actual work? They say they make these automated systems to make it "easier" on the customer but that's not true! It's only beneficial to the employee who doesn't have their conversation about their Friday night party interrupted. God for bid they actually work! I like technology but it has made people lazier!

I am not mad at the people in the call centers for being from another country. It's just as frustrating to them I am sure. It helps nobody and all it does is cause my blood pressure to boil when I have to repeat myself 50 times because they don't understand me. I feel bad because then I start getting testy with them and my questions and problems are not resolved.


true customer service is gone....

Good rant, but have you ever tried to bypass the automated service ???

Press 0, and then punch it again, and then again.
Zero will get you past the BS on most systems, or route you back to the start menu.


EDIT: In Canada we are always asked if we want French or English.
I always select French, and then make them speak to me in English just for the fun of it, and then pretend I have difficulty understanding them.

[edit on 12/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

nextbigfuture.com...

This may be nice to hear then. When they get it working it will put all those India call centers out of business. It is an adaptive artificial intelligence computer program. You will not have to push any buttons at all. You will talk one on one with a "person". It will be a computer but unless someone tells you other wise you will never know you are talking to a computer. I seen a bit on TV about it. In tests people could not tell the difference between it and a real person. In fact they got it wrong more than few times thinking the real person was the computer. I laugh so hard I fall off the bed when the AI got upset at trying to file a account and threaten to take a hammer to the server if it did not act right. It can even speak with the same accent as the caller and know what language to speak just by what you say. No word on when it will start being used but the India call centers days are numbered

Originally posted by fixer1967
nextbigfuture.com...

I laugh so hard I fall off the bed when the AI got upset at trying to file a account and threaten to take a hammer to the server if it did not act right. It can even speak with the same accent as the caller and know what language to speak just by what you say. No word on when it will start being used ........

If you suspect you are talking to AI just ask it to laugh or chuckle.
A human can give a variable chortle without repetition in cord. A synth can't do that yet.

Not yet....

Originally posted by anxietydisorder
Good rant, but have you ever tried to bypass the automated service ???

Press 0, and then punch it again, and then again.
Zero will get you past the BS on most systems, or route you back to the start menu.


EDIT: In Canada we are always asked if we want French or English.
I always select French, and then make them speak to me in English just for the fun of it, and then pretend I have difficulty understanding them.

[edit on 12/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

Yeah the excessive pushing of 0 will get it to hang up on you and say "I'm sorry I don't understand, good bye." Yes it really says that! It drives me nuts! I even tried * like another member told me to do on my facebook and that didn't do anything. It sucks cause I am always calling AT&T or Apple and their customer service is set up like you are trying to get through Fort Knox!

I would LOVE for the option to say press 1 for French, I would press it in a heartbeat and practice my French....I am very partial to the French language

That is cruel lol

reply to post by fixer1967


That isn't good at all. It will just cause more job loss, even if it is overseas.

Sounds interesting and kind of creepy too.

o yea as soon as it goings on line lets try that then .
Caller. Umm I think your a computer laugh for me so I can tell.
computer. i think your an ideit die for me to prove your human (with an evil laughter . lololol

reply to post by mblahnikluver


Répéter, s'il vous plaît. Parlez lentement.

I know this is a wander from the topic, but I am of the mind that we have one world that should have one language.

I'm good with a bastardized version of English, and I can work with French, German, Spanish, and of course some Latin. But really, these will all die for a unified global language based on English.

Computers are getting to the point that we could have a Star Trek like universal translator, but not yet.

I'd love it if only humans were permitted to answer customer service calls.



EDIT: Crappy language, I still need to edit my spelling.......



[edit on 12/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

reply to post by anxietydisorder


I don't mind if you mention it, it's my thread

I don't think there should be a universal language personally. I like the different languages, it gives different cultures. I love how English in England is the same here. I said something in a bar one time and this English guy cracked up at me for what I said. Apparently in his country the word had a different "street" meaning. I can't for the life of me remember the word. He was sitting next to me and I was just talking with another person in the club.

I love meeting people who speak other languages and I meet quite a few daily. I just don't want to have to converse with them when it involves customer service issues. It's not their fault we don't understand each other, they are just working to support themselves, I bet they get tired of it too. I know when I worked as an Operator people got mad at me for language issues when we had to call their country for directory assistance. We had French and Japanese operators at our call center. The Japanese operators taught us how to say a few sentences telling the person on the other end we are transferring them to a Japanese speaking operator. They loved that we even tried to speak Japanese. I tell you they are the only country I never had any problems with. They were all always polite! The French operators dealt with calls from Haiti mostly so the French was different, but helped out in it a few times when they needed help.

A virtual type customer service computer thingy sounds creepy to be honest. It's amazing what technology has become.

The Japanese are always polite because it is ingrained in the culture.
But show me even a single child in Japan that isn't taking English language courses in school.....

Same with India, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, etc.

If you want to get on in the world you need English. You can't even fly an aircraft anywhere on the planet without being able to speak to ATC in English. Military and international shipping is also going down the same road.

It's the same with measures.
Only the USA uses the old system, and maybe Myanmar or some small country. But you and I both know the entire planet will use a common metric system of measure in the next few years.

As with math, language will follow.




EDIT: Still struggle with spelling the damn language.

[edit on 12/6/2010 by anxietydisorder]

Okay, I figured it out.

Give me your phone # and I'll run it through a program I developed...

ATT Customer service is the worst! Just as bad as Dell! They don't care about helping you, they just get paid to sit at a desk or on there camel or whatever. All these big companies outsource to 3rd world countries for cheap service. 99.999999999998% of the time I get an Indian asshole, the conversation goes like this:

Hello, my name is Sampson and I will be your ATT Representative today, how may I help you.

Me: Hi Sampson, I have been transferred 3 times already and I really hope you can help me. My phone won't get 3G and says: cannot activate cellular network. What do I do?

Oh, well sir, I am in the sales department, I will need to put you through to IT, is that okay?

Me: No! I want my problem fixed. I have spent 2 hours already on the phone with you people.

Sir, do not yell or I will put you through to a supervisor.

Me: NO! DO NOT TRANSFER ME!!!!

Hello I am the supervising manager for you, my colleague Sampson tells me you are upset.

Me: God Dammit.

Sir, do not swear or I will transfer you to MY supervisor.
________________________________________________________________________

It pisses me off. No one has good customer service anymore. Apple is the only company I have had good experiences with, they are nice, helpful, and American.

That's my rant.