My Goal Is To Provide Outstanding Service...

Have you called for some tech support lately? In the last year, I've spoken to both Verizon and T-Mobile a handful of times. I can't say the reps are awful at either place, but I wasn't terribly impressed either. All too often I felt like they were reading from some script that went on and on, but were only cursorily interested in assisting me with my particular problem.

I've called T-Mobile enough times that I've got their script down. It goes something like this:

-After they get your name, they use it as often as possible.

-After they listen to the problem they try to empathize and understand how difficult experiencing a problem with the phone can be.

-Then they tell me a personal story about how they use their phone to keep in touch and how important it is to them.

-They take down the problem.

-They promise to follow up, and tell me they will call back within a few days.

-They try and sell me something else (HotSpot at Home is popular these days).

-They ask if they can help with anything else.

-They wish me a good day.

I'm sure some psychologist consultant to the company devised this script. I have some issues with it though. For starters, while it may be nice how you use your phone, and it may reinforce my need for a phone, but it just wastes time to getting my phone working again. Also, when they take down the problem, they often simplify it. Finally, I've yet to have any of them actually call me back to follow up on anything.

While these companies put tons of effort into monitoring their call centers, I wish they would put half of that into actually assisting the customer, and resolving an issue. For the record T-Mobile, after too may interactions, you still can't figure out why my phone won't roam.

Hear more about what goes on in a Verizon Customer Service Center here.

--Jonas