I don't think he was being angry, I think he's just a bit of a twit. If you analyse the conversation, even before the "name" part, there are signs really early on that he's just impatient and unreasonable.
He's not going to come back.
Broken Pixel Buds? Good luck getting Google to replace them.
- Thread starter norm
- Start date
I don't think he was being angry, I think he's just a bit of a twit. If you analyse the conversation, even before the "name" part, there are signs really early on that he's just impatient and unreasonable.
He's not going to come back.
Errm, you've spelled one of those words wrong.
I've been banned twice this month, I'm not risking it again!
Yup, asking in a polite/friendly manner works wonders; I've had a few nice discounts/freebies after saying something like "don't suppose there's any chance of a cheeky XYZ for the inconvenience?
", which I'm almost certain I wouldn't have got if instead I'd said "I demand XYZ" after being a **** to the person on the other end of the chat/phone.
Associate
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I'll still be your friend norm.
Hello?
Hello?
Being nice works wonders.
I had a Xbox 360 that suffered the RROD within warranty, having worked in CS before I understand that not being a shortened Richard yields better service. However on this occasion it was just after the release of the Elite version of the console so O hedge a cheeky question and asked if there was a way of paying extra and upgrading the replacement to the Elite variant. CS agent said they weren't sure and would need to get back to me. I took that as a polite way of saying no but they did organise getting my console collected.
3 days after my console was collected I got an email saying that my replacement console was being delivered. It arrived later that day. Opened it and staring back at me was an brand new, retail boxed 360 Elite, controllers etc. There was an invoice in the box and under the section called "Seller note: Because you asked nicely. Enjoy, Microsoft Customer Service Team."
Yeah it is, I'd not processed it all the first time around.Just read the whole chat transcript again for a laugh, it's even worse the second time around
If the OP doesn't look back on this transcript with a good deal of embarrassment in a few months then, well, see my earlier post about lacking in self-awareness.
Soldato
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I got some salt & pepper grinders refunded without return by amazon just yesterday by being nice and asking if I can get a replacement rather than a return & refund too!
Seems a bit of a witch hunt now but hopefully the OP can look back at this as a learning experience, but I feel people like these rarely change
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I suspect this thread may end up locked.
I can understand the OP's frustration. When they wrote this:
"2:25:28 AM norm: My guess is Google make the warranty process so drawn out and time consuming that people give up and don’t bother, that’s my impression so far"
they were right. That's what the process is designed to do. Not just with Google. It's the norm. It's also part of the reason why the process usually starts with a phone number that isn't answered, nowadays usually with one that has a circular bot system (a way of making the lack of an answer longer and more frustrating). The inefficiency is partly due to incompetence and partly due to cutting costs at all costs, but it's also partly deliberate.
But the numerous replies like this one:
are also right. I find that when dealing with a "customer service" system designed to annoy me and deny me any kind of service, it's a good idea to split it up. If the company deign to provide a phone number, I phone it expecting it to be worse than useless. If that proves to be the case, I'll have a break before attempting the next obstacle. Maybe have a cup of tea. Assess whether it's worth the bother of trying to get the service that the company claimed to provide. If I decide that it is, I make sure I'm properly calm before attempting the next obstacle. That's in my best interest. It's also in the best interest of the person on the other end, if I've cleared the initial obstacles and reached the "OK, OK, we'll allow you to partially communicate with a person" stage of the process. That person is probably at least as frustrated by the system as I am and they get it far more often and far worse than I do. They didn't create the system. They're just doing a nasty job that's bad for their health because they need the money. And it won't be much money. The people who are responsible for the system are isolated from the consequences of their own actions, using poor sods (like Abi in this case) as their human shields.
As my mother says, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar". Besides, it's better for your own mental health as well.
"2:25:28 AM norm: My guess is Google make the warranty process so drawn out and time consuming that people give up and don’t bother, that’s my impression so far"
they were right. That's what the process is designed to do. Not just with Google. It's the norm. It's also part of the reason why the process usually starts with a phone number that isn't answered, nowadays usually with one that has a circular bot system (a way of making the lack of an answer longer and more frustrating). The inefficiency is partly due to incompetence and partly due to cutting costs at all costs, but it's also partly deliberate.
But the numerous replies like this one:
are also right. I find that when dealing with a "customer service" system designed to annoy me and deny me any kind of service, it's a good idea to split it up. If the company deign to provide a phone number, I phone it expecting it to be worse than useless. If that proves to be the case, I'll have a break before attempting the next obstacle. Maybe have a cup of tea. Assess whether it's worth the bother of trying to get the service that the company claimed to provide. If I decide that it is, I make sure I'm properly calm before attempting the next obstacle. That's in my best interest. It's also in the best interest of the person on the other end, if I've cleared the initial obstacles and reached the "OK, OK, we'll allow you to partially communicate with a person" stage of the process. That person is probably at least as frustrated by the system as I am and they get it far more often and far worse than I do. They didn't create the system. They're just doing a nasty job that's bad for their health because they need the money. And it won't be much money. The people who are responsible for the system are isolated from the consequences of their own actions, using poor sods (like Abi in this case) as their human shields.
As my mother says, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar". Besides, it's better for your own mental health as well.
Wait...I'm your mother?
Hi Mum! When did you get internet access?
Lol. Hey sunshine! Hope you've had a good day and don't forget to brush your teeth before bed!
Soldato
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I've had a brand new replacement sent 8 months after we bought our coffee machine. At first I was told we'll need to send it back for repair and that it will take a few weeks, by the end of the phone call, answering all their questions nicely, they sent us a new one which arrived the next morning. I've never had any issues with Amazon's CS, couple of times I was told just to keep an item I wanted to return. Think the most recent one was when I bought a 2m long HDMI cable and realised it was too short, got the refund and asked to place new order for a longer cable.
Sure, it may well do. But the point has been made. And made well.
I imagine the OP will not take in one iota of it. If he came back to say he has reconsidered his actions, that would make an interesting twist.
But he won't.