I hate dealing with corporate hacks. I understand, that for consistency, the agents must work from a given script. I understand that they cannot deviate from that script, not even one word. But that doesn’t make it right nor does it help the customer.

            I recently misplaced a credit card that I use on a regular basis. I have looked everywhere but cannot find it. Today I gave up the search and called the help number. The first agent was hard to understand due to his accent. He also spoke in a monotone, repeating the same information, over and over. He couldn’t verify either of my phone numbers because they “are not in the system.”

            Of course they’re not in the system because I never gave them to the card holder! All they had to do was call….they’d get me. But, no, they can’t do that.

            Instead I have to send them a copy of my driver’s license. I refused. Hung up.

            I tried working with the store’s customer service, but they can’t do anything either.

            Back to the bank. This agent was positive, upbeat, and claimed he could help. But then he transferred me to an agent who repeated the same phrases over and over and refused to deviate even when I cited her responses before she could read them! Four different times!

            I still have accomplished nothing. I have no “old” card, but apparently they will issue me a new card only once I email that driver’s license, front and rear.

            When did customer service become so difficult?

            Before I got married I worked at a now bankrupt furniture store. In customer service! I wasn’t suited for the job, but it was a job when I desperately needed one.

            The phone rang constantly, people inquiring about their orders or when an order would be delivered. Those were the easy calls.

            I discovered that there are miserable people who love nothing more than to spew their misery all over the world. They’d call angry, determined to cause a fight. They wouldn’t calm down, even though I spoke in a calming voice. They wanted what they wanted and wouldn’t stop until they were satisfied.

            A scratch on a leg meant a new piece of furniture. An unzipped cushion? Yes, a new one even though all they had to do was zip it up!

            What I had to do, no matter the temperament of the customer, was to remain calm.

            It was hard as I have little patience for rudeness, but in order to keep my position, I complied.

            After months of this, I request a transfer to another position and was granted my wish.

            Today’s “agents” don’t seem  to understand that a satisfied customer is one who will continue shopping at the store. Perhaps they are hired to be indifferent. Perhaps their training is so limited that they aren’t given permission to think. Perhaps their temperament tends toward rigidity.

            I’m not sure. But what should be a position to help customers reach satisfaction, the job seems to be annoy the heck out of anyone who dares raise a concern!