Are businesses harder to deal with since 'The Recession'?

A

ali

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As the title suggests;

I have an ongoing problem with Bank of Ireland over incorrect charges applied to my account - a small amount circa €26 since last November and with Vodafone over a relatively minor issue. I feel sure that both issues would have been rectified immediately over the phone in better times. Now however, everything is referred, delayed; no one you speak to has any authorisation to deal with the issue. Despite numerous phone calls, no one phones back while promising to do so and 'get it sorted'.

I wonder if this climate of digging their heels in over every little customer service issue is designed to save money and make the customer throw in the towel which I am seriously considering, even though I wouldn't normally do so. I just get fed up and feel like letting it slide. Is this a calculated effort on the part of these businesses for this specific outcome?

If so it has to backfire in goodwill terms and ongoing business.

A.
 
Would not be surprised. I got the same thing with BOI and I am going to refer them to the banking ombudsman. VF are a league of their own. There is a complete art in making a complaint to get any action. You have to email them to get a complaint no. but they wont reply so I copy the email to COMREG. COMREG reply asking for complaint no and I then forward to VF. Got a lot of success and money back but boy it was tough.

Dont give up.

noah
 
I don't think it is a question if things have gotten harder, I do think that for large companies, decision making is centralised and process driven, rather then common sense at local level which you might have gotten years ago. In relation to banks, ask for a copy of their complaints policy, amke a formal complaint and then if you are getting nowhere, refer it to the ombudsman. Other key thing to do is always get a person's name when talking to them and refer to them in your complaint.
 
I get the impression that large organisations dealing with the public are employing underpaid, undertrained and undermotivated staff and this is where the problem lies.

Yesterday I rang Vodafone UK (we have a business account with them, paid by monthly direct debit) to order a USB dongle for broadband. It was a straightforward request, but took 15 minutes before I got speaking to the relevant person. After giving the order, he asked would I be paying by debit or credit card. I asked him to put the charge - £15 on our account.
He said he could, but "it could put our account into arrears and the mobiles could be cut off."

It was at this point that I, a normally placid person lost the head.

He could give no logical explanation as to why this might happen, other than "It's because there is a charge going on your account in the middle of a billing period"

Sometimes I despair.
 
And some places are doing just the opposite. Been in to Ulster bank a few times lately and I was so impressed with the staff there that I am thinking of moving my account from my own bank.

It's a good opportunity for companies to grab customers with good service.
 
Mpsox said:
I don't think it is a question if things have gotten harder, I do think that for large companies, decision making is centralised and process driven, rather then common sense at local level which you might have gotten years ago.
Click to expand...
+1. I think this is where the problem lies, decision making has become more centralised, and left the 'frontline' people relatively powerless.
 
I don't know. I had a fabulous experience customer service experience with Bank of Ireland recently. Went into their Stephens Green branch on a Thursday to change the postal address for two accounts. I had neither account number with me at the time. I just presumed they could be looked up. Neither account was opened at that branch. Lady at customer service desk found one account ok, but had to call the branch where one of the accounts was opened to get the other account number. They were not answering the phone. She told me she'd keep on trying, and would call me and let me know when she had successfully gotten the number. Got a call an hour later to let me know that the branch were still not answering, but she'd keep on trying. Went away for the weekend. Came home to find 2 message from Friday afternoon and 2 more on the following Monday from her to let me know that she had successfully gotten the necessary info, and had forwarded my change of address form to HQ. I had told her that I was worried about statements going astray while my postal address details were in limbo. She bent over backwards to not only do her job exceptionally well, but to make the effort to let me know that she was taking care of things. You can't ever put a price on the peace of mind that some one like her doing her job well can give you.
 
shnaek said:
And some places are doing just the opposite. Been in to Ulster bank a few times lately and I was so impressed with the staff there that I am thinking of moving my account from my own bank.

It's a good opportunity for companies to grab customers with good service.
Click to expand...

I agree the local branch of UB couldn't be nicer. I know one of the guys who's there since it was FA, and he was a moody sod. Now he's as nice as pie!

I'm with VF and never had a problem, always found them very friendly, and staff in Supervalu etc are friendly to a fault, even the security fellah.
 
To be friendly costs nothing and to be honest, this is the least I would expect from any of my staff or the staff of others where I deal.

But, there is the "Call Centre Syndrome" nearly everywhere now and you are dealing with faceless people and companies. The companies want to maximise their profits, usually on the advice of accountants (the last people who advise on friendliness) and forget the person who ultimately pays the wages i.e. the customer.

I'm coming near the end of my working career and my one bit of advice that I would pass on is to forget greed and give a friendly service.
 
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