Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us: Customer Service and What It Reveals About Our World and Ou

[RamboLiberal]

From Amazon.com

From Publishers Weekly
If youve ever been mildly frustrated, extremely irritated or driven just plain mad by automated customer service lines, rude telephone service representatives or agents who cant speak intelligible English, this book is for you. Yellin (Our Mothers War) dives into the often dysfunctional world of customer service, exploring the multimillion-dollar industry from various points of view, interviewing exasperated consumers, displeased CEOs and infuriated customer service reps themselves. She includes transcripts of agonizing telephone exchanges, such as one where an AOL rep tries to thwart a customers cancellation of his account, blog excerpts from reps who feel abused and as if they are being treated as machines and countless stories from irritated and confused managers. While Yellins study offers more industry anecdotes than concrete solutions, readers will likely look at the industry differently and with more empathy for those who participate in it. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[Nay]

1. I'm amazed at the number of companies I call that don't have

anyone answering the phone at LUNCH. Big companies, too. Damn, that's being too cheap, you guys!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. The deterioration of customer service is an issue that unites

left and right. Much of it is policy from on high: "Let's increase the shareholders' returns by nickel and diming the customer."

The service personnel come under pressure to cut costs, work faster, and avoid settling disputes in favor of the customer. They are paid little, usually have no benefits, and take out their frustrations on the customer.