This is my semi-homicidal customer service smiley.
It's what I have to keep plastered on my face on days like today. Today is one of THOSE days. When everyone is angry about something and because you work in customer service, it doesn't really matter WHAT they're angry about, because they're automatically angry at ME. A fact which I suppose, given the industry, you'd assume that I've come to expect.
Well actually no, I haven't. I still have this stupid idea that there are normal, reasonable people left in the world. A fact also confirmed, ironically, through my work. I speak to a real mix of people throughout my day, some better and worse than others. But I just don't understand why people have this intense desire to swear, yell etc at someone they barely know. I think it's possibly BECAUSE it's someone they don't know that they're able to drop the 'c-bomb' with so much ease, or punctuate all their sentences with 'fuck this, fuck that and fuck the other'. I mean, it's easier to have a complete potty mouth to the point of insulting everyone and their mother, when you don't have to face the person or people you're insulting.
Very cowardly indeed.
I'd like to, and initially I probably would have, put it all down to stress and frustration. But I'm getting to the point where I have a hard time belieiving that's all it is. There comes a time when you make a concious decision to move from insulting who someone works for, to insulting the person directly, to insulting their family and friends.
Now, I'll readily and happily admit to having been a bit peeved with my friendly neighourhood customer service rep over the phone in the past (We were all with Telstra once...). But I can honestly say, without any doubt at all, that aside from the tried and tested 'This is ridiculous! Can you see where I'm coming from!? You can't do this!? No, I want this looked at now..', I have never sworn and I have never gone so far as to insult someone directly, or anything or anyone else related to that person either. We all get angry, granted, but I think, to be quite honest that there's a serious lack of respect in Australia, for just about everyone.
I'm getting to the point now, where, having worked in customer service for long enough that I think I'm well and truly in the position where I can have an opinion on this sort of thing, I'm not impressed with the idea that being in a customer service position automatically means that you have to take constant abuse. No, I'm not referring to the occassional 'Your wrong' or raised voice, I'm referring to straight up, hands down insults, screaming fits - verbal abuse. The sort of thing that they take you away for if it happens in the street. People are jailed, sued and the like for LESS than this, yet it continues to go on. Namely because employers are not taking a straight up approach to the issue for fear of upsetting the customers or being accused of poor customer service.
Employers and employees alike need to look at coming up with some sort of standard, not only for customer service provided, but also for what employees are expected to put up with in the workplace. Customer service positions have some of the highest turnover rates of any industry, it's not hard to see why. This may not be something that's a massive issue to some, but to someone who deals with it every day, it's become a pretty big party of my life. It's very easy for employers to skip out on their responsibility by advising employees not to 'Take it home' but after being sworn at, insulted and belittled all day by people who you are trying offer assistance or provide information to, life can become a little bit like hitting your head up against a brick wall.
Come on. There's a line and people cross that line every day. I'm lucky in the respect that after a certain amount of that kind of thing, I'm allowed to end the call - some people arn't so lucky. I think that instead of picking on the standard of customer service so much, people should start reflecting on what people in customer service positions have to deal with.
Granted there is poor service out there, there's also a fairly high level of poor custom.
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