Comments on: How to Make a Customer Service Phone Call

on 4/17/2007 ALWAYS have the information about your product available & on hand before you make the call. Companies sometimes deal with hundreds of different products/models, each with their own set of inner workings, problems & troubleshooting techniques, that a model/serial number is often crucial for us to be able to assist you. Inbound customer service companies also may deal with several of SIMILAR companies, therefore if you call about your XXX VCR, it's likely they may also deal with the YYY VCR as well & it's so easy to press the wrong prompt code on the phone. Do not expect us to be psychic & have all of that information available, which brings me to another point. When companies ask for 'personal information', it's not to harass you later in the day & believe me, arguing with customers on why we need a name/phone number is a complete waste of our time. The reason MOST companies ask for that information, is so we can DOCUMENT the call, therefore if you have to call back in the future, we can easily pull up your file, see what model you have, as well as any previous issues, which will certainly help YOU in regards to getting the best possible assistance from us.

on 5/10/2007 Another idea adding to my previous post: please don't assume having the manual is sufficient for troubleshooting if you're not at your unit. What are we able to do in that situation? Read you the manual word for word as it appears in front of you. We are well trained in what we're doing, however, our training comes from the manuals & playing with the products until we get it. If all you expect us to do is read your manual to you, do yourselves & us a favor & read it yourself. On the other hand, if you really don't understand what you're reading, trust me, having us read it to you isn't going to do much good. I know it sounds insensitive, but we would much rather assist you step by step once than tell you what to do, only to have you not understand it when you attempt it yourself & then have to call back.

on 4/17/2007 I cannot tell you how many calls a day I get from people expecting product/troubleshooting assistance when they're driving home from work/nowhere near the item in question. It is virtually impossible to assist you at all, not to mention a complete waste of our time as well as yours having to get so far into the call only to have to tell you to please call back when you're at the unit. Think of it this way: if you're unable to perform any maintenence on your item from where you're calling from, we certainly can't.