Posted: 4/16/2008 11:18:02 AM EDT
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I called Seagate about replacing a defective hard drive. It's not just the thick Indian accent that tips me off to the fact this guy might not be in America, but the fact he could not understand the letter Z. Me: 1234Z Him: 1234C Me: no Z Him: C? Me: ZEE for ZELDA, ZEBRA Him: Pardon me sir *pause* Him: 1234C Me: ZEE ZEE for ZEBRA the letter ZEE, the last letter of the alphabet Him: I'm sorry sir could you repeat the serial number once more.. Then I remember English people say ZED so maybe its the same in India  Me: 1234-ZED Him: Oooh 1234-ZED thank you sir |
They aren't doing it to annoy you. They're doing it to make things easier and speed things along. If you complain about Johnny, the supervisor will know who you are talking about. My wife has an unusual name. Not crazy, not hard to spell, just a normal, English word. But you don't hear many people named that. In fact, I don't know anyone else named that. She worked in a call center for a while a few years back. After hearing the 1000th person make fun of her name, not understand her name, comment on how unusual and/or/weird/or pretty her name was (basically disrupting and delaying every single call she took), she asked her supervisor if she could start going by a different name on the phone. They had no problem with it. Suddenly, all the headaches went away. The guy on the line could just as easily say "I am operator 312," and you'd have everything you needed if you wanted to speak with him again, complain about him, or compliment him. But it seems standoffish and cold to the caller, so they don't usually do it that way. |
That's just it. You AREN'T paying for first-rate tech support. If you WERE, the average price of a hard drive would go up about $30-40. Since most people shop on *price*, and not COST, manufacturers respond and do whatever it takes to lower the *price*. Providing GOOD customer service is EXPENSIVE, and most people simply refuse to pay. That's why the overal quality of service has fallen. -Troy |