Smooth in the camp that craves a more human experience on the telephone when disaster strikes? You’re not alone. In a maze of automated phone trees and computer-generated voices, more and more customers from fly to coast are now demanding a live customer service representative instead of computers – a little ironic in the great technology age we live in today. While the words “uniform”, “flawless”, and “standard” don’t always lend themselves easily to human to human interactions, there are a few things you can do to fabricate your next customer service experience less stressful than it can be:
1. Have your info ready
The main issues can only be addressed after the little details are already on the table – you wouldn’t sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving diner without making certain the napkins, silverware, plates, cups, and bowls are all in place, would you? In the world of customer service, these little details often show themselves as account numbers, first and last names, addresses, and phone numbers.
Which detail to give first? Fair as every representative must identify themselves, giving your first and last name helps. Next piece of information necessary is the account number to pull your details up in the company system.
At this point, the most accepted pains point is that the customer does not have the most efficient piece of information at the ready – the account number. This is natural, and the representative will attempt to look up the information a different way. In financial circles, this is usually done by Social Security Number. If you object to giving your full Social Security Number over the phone, you may want to make a small index card with your account number on it for handy reference – not all systems that customer service representatives use can look up information by phone number, email address, or physical mailing address.
Having your information ready goes a long plan in getting your problem resolved – instead of spending two minutes trying to find a unique identifier that will pick up your account retrieved in the system, that time can be focused on getting to the main recount.
2. Be concise
We’re all humans here, and it’s natural to want someone else to know that at this moment in time you’re not a happy camper. However, spending a lengthy amount of time describing feelings instead of the problem at hand slows the representative down from really getting down into the roots of the problem. Many call centers track representative performance based on overall call handling time – there is precious time to dig into the issue, so customers who skip the “life story” and dive right into getting solutions are rewarded with more efficient solutions.
The need to be concise arises more often in billing disputes and other financial-oriented transactions. If there’s a high bill due to a short term experience in your life – for example, a high cell phone bill in May due to calling everyone about your child’s college graduation – say so. However, hold it brief – explaining the highlights is fine, but gushing for ten minutes about the particulars of the situation is more than a little excessive.
3. Have documentation
If there’s a dispute with your record, the only way to get it resolved is to get sure there’s evidence and documentation that supports your position. Ethics and moral issues aside, if you call in to report an error on your account, the burden of proof is on you, not the company. In the case of a missing payment, for example, you will need to know the payment plot and obtain proof of payment. A missing check payment needs to be supported by front and back copies of the cashed check, a service any financial institution is usually pleased to provide. Your customer service representative will have the specific process their company mandates, so don’t be afraid to ask for specifics with respect to the intention.
4. Be understanding
If there’s a conflict or a problem, the customer service representative is most likely going to have to conduct further research with you on the phone. Different companies have different hold procedures – many companies are requiring that representatives check in every two minutes to let the customer know they are aloof looking into the plight and haven’t just left the customer out to dry. Other companies allow representatives to leave you on hold for as long as it takes to research the issue. Quality representatives will generally leave a hold expectation and thunder you that they will check back in.
Many customers desire a fast solution to a complicated predicament, which is a perfect natural desire to have! However, if your situation involves multiple months worth of problems or involves other complexities, fast is not a reasonable expectation. If you are calling in about a lengthy problem, make sure to schedule ample time in getting the matter resolved.
5. Have politeness in mind
No matter the problem, if you’re calling into customer service to get it fixed, the chances of you feeling at your best are somewhere between slim and nil. That said, your problem is not the representative’s fault, and a little kindness goes a long way to a high quality customer service experience. Many customer service representatives are multi-skilled in a variety of areas, from handling escalated issues to tech succor and advanced billing analysis. If your representative cannot handle your call, they will let you know that you must be transferred. Asking for a manager or someone else may not be the best way to get your problem handled.
Often, the representative will give a resolution that will not be changed by speaking to the next higher person or team – the best way to handle those issues is often sending in correspondence to a customer correspondence or specialty group that has a different near or range of authority. If the dilemma is bothering you or causing a slowdown in your life, this might be the method to go after speaking to a representative.
The world of customer service is complicated because no two problems are quite the same, impartial as no two people are the same. However, with these tips, you’re armed with just about everything you need to compose a better, faster, and higher quality customer service experience. Don’t forget to leave a customer satisfaction comment or kudos to a good rep – a little appreciation goes a long way!
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Filed under Customer Support Php by on Dec 5th, 2011. Comment. 
I was among the earlier adopters of online banking and electronic bill pay. Given a 20-year career in technology, from writer, trainer, and customer service specialist to web developer and technical support manager, I was eager to trade checkbook and post office and teller visits for 24-by-7 money self-service money management from the comfort of my living room couch. No fan of regular checkbook balancing, I also easily embraced online transaction accounting.
This article recounts how a very long string of recent, ongoing Bank of America technical support errors, oversights, and poor customer service have been slowly eroding the trust and confidence of a once very satisfied online banking customer.
Dear Bank of America managers: Are you listening???
I learned the ins and outs of Bank of America online electronic banking and bill pay the same way that I’ve always tackled new software applications. No annoying online tutorials, please. Especially not talking ones. No thank you. Most well-designed computer programs are reasonably easy to decipher and navigate with a little dose of positive curiosity and trial and error exploration.
Bank of America’s online banking site clearly met the user-friendly standards (except for online mail, which I’ll set for another time). Focus. Settle required tasks and figure out the basic online steps needed to meet initial goals. Enter names of companies sending me bills. Enter address where bank is to send check. Select pay date to ensure payment arrives on time. Voila!
I must say I really enjoy tearing up the tiny window envelopes that come with every paper bill in the world. Even more pleasure received from emptying my mailbox by requesting electronic statements, straight to my Yahoo email box along with an online banking ‘New E-Bill alert’. Less paperwork, easier filing, improved home office organization (presumably…also another story).
Over time, I progressed to recurring payments. Now, my monthly rent checks, quarterly insurance premiums, and other regular ongoing expenses magically happen without any ongoing grief from me! How very efficient – and reassuring to have the electronic spirits keeping track of miniature details that could slip during vacation weeks or other crazy memory-impaired days. Given my distinct online banking experience, I preferred to have e-bills delivered to my online email and banking space, rather than set up automatic payments for individual payees, like N-Star, Sprint, and others. I speculated that random utility and phone companies were unlikely to be as security savvy as my big national bank.
Ongoing improvements in Bank of America’s online status these past few years continued to boost my security confidence. Strict requirements on password setup ensured that I created a ’smart’ password, meeting the necessary rules for numbers, letters, symbols, length, and upper and lowercase characters – all designed to totally frustrate potential hackers. A second level of security authentication demands answers to personalized security questions. And for triple protection, you must browse and pick your very own colorful, creative plot image, be it animals, flowers, dominos, a lighthouse, or whatever other icon might suit your fancy. Per Bank rules, you do not fully log in if YOUR site image does not display.
During these past six months, I’ve seen the Bank’s online security process in full action. When I tried to log in to my online epic from a new work PC, I was faced with screen after screen of security prompts, requesting that I feed in account numbers, debit card codes, security responses, and a variety of identifying details. When I mistyped my password accidentally, just one time, ONCE, I was promptly locked out as a likely intruder. When I tried to log in that evening at home, my expected space image had been replaced with the photo of a white goat! Bank of America online security had worked, prompting me to call abet to report a missing region image, to confirm my earlier PC login attempt, and jump through a few hopes to restore account access.
So, my online banking experience really had been pretty consistently top quality…until an identity theft incident hit and technical support incompetence seemed to attack from all sides.
Bank of America’s fraud process and online fraud specialists did impress me initially. The automated email alert system notified me of a change to the considerable email on my account. Had I made the change? No siree! One phone call to the fraud alert number included in the alert email and my compromised account was ‘locked’ within minutes. I was instructed to visit a banking center in person ASAP to open up new accounts and establish new online IDs. By Monday afternoon, I was back in online banking business.
Unfortunately, my daily online technical support calls and service woes had only just begun. When I arrived home to access my fresh tale, I found that my compromised online ID was still ’saved’, visible, and active on my NEW narrative! Yikes. Hacker could be winding his way into my new account now. Bank of America online support did a reasonably suited job resolving this initial plight. At least my access seemed excellent for my my banking session that evening.
Access was safe but not without more challenges. Although my electronic billing company names and ‘payees’ were carried over to my modern legend, I discovered that any recurring payment plans had been erased. I completed maintenance to reestablish the recurring monthly and quarterly bill payments. Not really a big deal. I could understand why this disclose maintenance had been required. I took care of it and just chocked up the added time to identity theft cleanup.
In the process, however, I realized that several payments that had been ‘pending’ at the time of the identity theft and new account transfer, now showed as ‘Canceled’ rather than Processed. I had been told in person at the banking center that no payments were pending at the time that my worn account had been ‘locked.’ Online tech support staff said that they were unable to explain the now cancelled payments or any monitoring or ‘guarantee’ from banking center staff. How reassuring.
A double-check showed that many pending payments, including time-sensitive payments on credit card bills and my car insurance, had all been canceled. American Express and Amble backed out late fees and maintained my current interest rate once I explained the banking situation. Several other credit card companies, however, including AAA, would not recant on their hefty late charges AND increased my interest rate to the higher ‘default’ rate.
I spoke with several Bank of America technical befriend reps and with South Dwelling banking staff about the online issues with no resulting credits, apologies, or promises of improved service. And of course, the gentleman who had handled my initial account closing and fresh account setup in person was no longer employed at my banking center. Thank you, Bank of America, for your caring assistance in my financial success.
My daughter’s Student Access account was also recently compromised when she accessed online services via an unsecured wireless public web plot. She now knows that absolutely no banking is allowed unless she’s at an ATM or on our secured home network, but hurt was done. And yet again, Bank of America technical support failed to ease our worries. We closed her old account and opened a fresh one, only to find that the ’stolen ID’ had moved again to the new account. Smart enough now to know that monitoring was required, I checked her dilapidated and new accounts daily. Several times, Support had somehow released the fraud account own on the old account, leaving it active and available for more hacking. Several times I called to insist that they please build the account BACK on hold and leave it on hold, until they completed their fraud investigation process.
The Bank does publish its ‘Liability for Failure to Complete Transactions.’ The liability statement does claim the following:
‘If we do not complete a transaction to or from your account on time, or in the correct amount according to our Agreement with you, we will be liable for your losses or damages. However, there are some exceptions. For instance, we will not be liable:
If, through no fault of ours, you don’t have enough available funds in your account (or available credit under your overdraft protection concept), or credit to cover the transaction or transfer
If Online Banking services weren’t working properly, and you knew about the malfunction when you started the transaction or transfer
If circumstances beyond our control (such as fire or flood) prevented the transaction or transfer, despite reasonable precautions we’ve taken…’
It seems that my identity theft incidents, myth closings and openings, and funds and services transfer, somehow gracious under the ‘no fault of ours’ Bank exception. I wonder what exception, if any, may apply when formerly very satisfied long-time customer moves her personal and slight business banking elsewhere.
Dear Bank of America managers: Are you listening yet???
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Filed under Customer Support Php by on Nov 18th, 2011. Comment.
If you are looking into web hosting Hostgator Reseller Hosting has everything you could possibly need. They have a live online relieve staff waiting to answer any question you might have. They also offer many packages depending on your needs.
Reseller Web Hosting
Hostgator Reseller Hosting has the capabilities to host an unlimited number of sites. You can create your maintain sites as a reseller and also create whatever package you want and the different pricing option. Considering that you are a reseller you have complete anonymity, which gives you the ability to be your own hosting company. The customers that you will have don’t know that you are a reseller unless you make that known to them. The control panel that Hostgator Reseller Hosting uses is able to support 23 languages and also has over 52 scripts that can be instantly installed. As a reseller with Hostgator you can keep all the money that you collect.
What can you get?
Through the various plans that Hostgator Reseller Hosting has you can have varying bandwidth, disk space and package prices. Some of the things that are included in the pans are free billing systems, free templates, succor 24 hours 7 days a week, instant backups, no contracts, site builders, a guarantee of 99.9% uptime, a 30-day money back guarantee, free and instant setup and private name servers. You also have the ability to create such things as domains, sub domains, POP3 accounts, MySQL databases, and FTP accounts.
Dedicated Servers
Hostgator Reseller Hosting also has server management with every server. By having a dedicated server you as the reseller have the power to make it to your specifications in any way you choose or Hostgator will do it for you. The primary choice you have to make is what operating system you want to run on. From trusted names such as Red Hat, Linux, and RHEL, among others, all you have to do is let Hostgator know and they will run it for you. There are other programs that they can give you such as ASP. Every server that Hostgator Reseller Hosting uses has the newest cPanel / WHM control panel and free Fantastico.
Customer Support
Hostgator Reseller Hosting can answer any question you might have with their customer support options. They have a customer serve phone number where you can talk to a suitable representative or an online encourage option where you click and are led into a chat room where a live person can answer any seek information from you might have.
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Filed under Customer Support Php by on Nov 3rd, 2011. Comment.
Freelancing, especially with regards to computer and website work, has become extremely popular. There are dozens of popular freelance websites that are connecting website owners with freelancers to get many projects done. I have interviewed one of those freelancers to get an inside perceive into his job.
What is your name, age, and location?
I am Michael M., I am 19 years old and I live in Ontario, Canada.
What made you want to get started in freelancing?
Well when I first started getting into computers and coding work, a lot of friends would ask me for help here and there, I had a lot of other family friends ask me to effect them websites for their companies and it was work I really enjoyed doing. So I thought why not try to make a living doing it. Fun work and you get the chance to meet and work with people from all different fields of employment.
What areas do you specialize in as a freelancer?
Mostly PHP & CSS design. I do a lot of working with PHP and MySQL backends. I also do a lot of work designing the site in CSS according to XHTML standards. I’m also pretty well versed in AJAX, Javascript and Actionscript.
What are the benefits for you to work for yourself doing freelance work?
Probably the same as anyone else who works for themselves: You set your own hours, it’s easy to get to or from work, especially when you work from home. You have lower overhead in most cases which leads to better profit. The best I would say is you actually catch to deal with all of the clients; you’re not just some small part of a bigger machine so you really get to meet a lot of different, interesting people when doing freelance work.
Do you think you’d want to work for one company in the future? Why or why not?
Would I want to? Probably not because I like the freedom of what I do now, but chances are I will probably end up working for a bigger company as freelancing at times can be hard to provide a paycheque. There’s so many sites now that offer people a chance to “rent coders” and with so many younger, non-experienced coders that don’t know what they’re doing bidding bottom dollar it takes away from the work, and it takes jobs away from coders who are very talented and can actually get the job done right.
Is there anything else you’d like to fraction with regards to being a freelancer or freelancing in general?
To clients looking to hire a freelancer, there are a lot of people out there that will assume your money and not code, or will simply provide you with a half coded script they themselves didn’t even make. When picking someone to code for your project, do your research! Ask for examples of their work, ask for a reference or two, and realize larger scripts can take 30-40 hours to code, at $10 an hour, that’s $400. That might seem like a lot but for the work that goes into it, like anything else in life you bag what you pay for.
To get freelance work done, check out these sites:
www.freelance.com
www.freelancedesigners.com
www.getafreelancer.com
www.allfreelance.com
www.guru.com
www.elance.com
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Filed under Customer Support Php by on Oct 30th, 2011. Comment.
Health Care Service is a very necessary and essential issue for everyone and especially the elderly (and the very young). For the elderly, seniors or “baby boomers” the issue of best quality health care seems difficult and costly to achieve for many but is a must for others. We know health care as the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical and allied health professions. Health Care Services refer to the Companies that create, manufacture, market and/or distribute health-related products or provide health care services, such as hospitals. Home Health Care Services veil a great range of services including: high technology pharmacy services, skilled professional and paraprofessional services, among others.
In Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, there are a number of satisfactory health care service institutions for the elderly to access. Often some caregivers, relatives and guardians are not aware of the services offered by these organizations. There are, for example, the Ambulatory Health Services (AHS) the Network of Care and Support for Behavioral Health…the Mercy Health System and many more. But one the very best is University of Pennsylvania Health System with the best of patient care, education and research combined. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in southwestern Philadelphia has consistently been recognized for excellence in health care.
This institution has been honored for their heart surgery, breast cancer treatment, internet technologies in patient treatment and care and has received the “Hospital of Choice Awards – American Alliance of Healthcare Providers” and was recognized among the elite Top Ten Hospitals in America – AARP’s Modern Maturity. They have also received many other awards for excellence in health care and medical treatment: www.uphs.upenn.edu/about_uphs/commit.html For elders, this institution is excellent to communicate with for health care treatment and services. The information received concerning the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania indicate that they are consistent in meeting the high health care standards of clinical excellence, customer orientation, continuity, integration, suitable stewardship of financial resources, achievement of medical and administration vision among others. These are also some of the Best Practices form “Preferred Systems and Best Practices for Arizona” stated as relevant in human practices, health and behavioral health care system in an Arizona Report.
Then there is the Philadelphia International Medicine at www.philadelphiamedicine.com
This links the Greater Philadelphia area’s nationally recognized hospitals with leading physicians and medical technology to make comprehensive, quality healthcare available to the international community. Here it was discovered that “with one telephone call, Philadelphia International Medicine can coordinate the diverse healthcare needs of patients from around the world.” Hence, senior residents in Philadelphia and their relatives or caregivers, can access the very best First Class Health Care Services in Philadelphia. Some of the medical and health care centers within the Philadelphia International Medicine include, Fox Chase Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, Temple University Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. This composite group of institutions, offer a comprehensive array of premier services, combining the latest technology and research with physicians to create distinctive patient care.
They maintain modern facilities and state-of-the-art equipment to better serve their Philadelphia and international patients and their families. Seniors and their families can access and receive: physicians referral services, interpreter services, cuisine requirements, transportation services, cultural guides, centralized billing at each institution, family support services, travel documentation through US embassies and hotel packages which include temporary apartments with kitchens and other amenities. Importantly, physicians and staff work with referring physicians in patients’ home countries to ensure the constant exchange of information necessary for top-quality medical care. International services staff are available to assist patients with every aspect of their stay in the Greater Philadelphia Area.
An important aspect of health care for the elderly has to do with the revolutionary term “Caregiver Contract.” These are formal agreements set up by a lawyer. In Caregiver Contracts, elderly adult children or other relatives are hired to take care of elderly or disabled family members. These arrangements are also called personal service or personal-care arrangements.
They are said to minimize battles between siblings and simply attend reward the significant amounts of time, effort and money that family members often exhaust to take care of elderly relatives. Please visit: http://www.theltcblog.com for much more information on this contemporary elderly health care snort. In addition to the Caregiver Contracts, there is the “Assisted Living” concept for elderly healthcare as an option. This is a combination of housing, personalized supportive services and health care designed to meet the needs of those who need succor with activities of daily living. Generally, it is said that assisted living is paid for by the consumer.
For more information on this see http://www.theltcblog.com. When shopping for an assisted living center, the experts basically inform the relatives and caregivers of elderly to know what you are getting into: Find out what type of apartments are offered and what services cost extra. Do comparison-shopping: The cost varies widely. Know how to shop: Figure out your assets and do some calculations. It is important to know and remember that the home-health-care industry can be haven for criminals who are seeking to abuse patients while milking rich payments from Medicare and other forms of health care financial abet resources. Please visit: http://www.healthjournalism.org/qualityguide/chapter6.html for more information on this point. Hence, the necessity for great precaution in reach and final decision-making must never be overlooked.
Therefore, the best health care access for the elder in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is possible and available. Indeed, international patients can also attend. Hospitals are still the best place for health care and some of these institution will have or will recommend the best health care places to dwell for elderly outside of the traditional hospital bed care for long and short-term purpose. The contemporary conception of Caregiver Belief has the wisdom of lawyers attached. Those with a right and trust worthy family attorney will consider this view, while others without the financial resources can look into other more feasible ways of caring for our elderly relatives, guardians and neighbors.
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Filed under Customer Support Php by on Oct 5th, 2011. Comment.