Devoted to small businesses and those who run them

Without a doubt banks and phone companies are the worst with their wretched automated call systems.

And a special place is reserved in the seventh circle of hell for Centrestink (Australia's government social (in)security agency). Put in your personal id only to be asked for it again. Every letter implying you are a liar and a thief and threatening you with penalties. Rude and unhelpful counter staff. They are an example at every level of how NOT to do it.

Well I'm not really a blood boiling kind of person Yvonne and I can't imagine myself in a shop rage situation. But the sort of thing that really does irritate me is when I ask a question and a get an answer that is obviously made up because the assistant can't be bothered to actually go and find out. It's the idea that they think I'm too dumb to know I'm being fobbed off that really irks me.

I'm not a confrontational kind of person. I really believe that self control is necessary by both customer and staff. If the employee is being difficult, then it's time to call in the Manager. I also hate dealing with the Phone Companies. My answer is to always go higher if the employee is uncertain or giving the same answer. I expect to get a name and phone number of a person.

I think it's also important to remove all emotion and wait to take further action at least a day from what ever caused the confrontation.

I can't say that I've had any experiences that have ended badly by using control and being confident in my argument. Usually we'll end up with a free offer or some sort of a return. The businesses really do want to do what's best for the customer.

I dislike it when they don't treat you like a person with a problem. All they want to do is get you out of there. They say people within a company will treat you on how they are treated from their bosses.

If you have a bad experience, it would probably be worse to work for the company. You might want to keep that in mind, when you go looking for a job.

I experienced "shop rage" once. I've certainly been irked before, especially with the phone company, but they have always managed to get things ironed out.

Not so with Capital One Bank. My checking account information was stolen and my account was overdrawn. They went ahead and bounced the check and charged me for the overdraft. Then a couple of other small debits came through tacking on another $64 in overdraft charges. I went to the branch and tried to get it straightened out. The branch assistant manager was rude, accused me of stealing (using the account after it was overdrawn), and that they couldn't be sure I didn't know the account was overdrawn when I continued to use it.

All the charges came in nearly simultaneously. I didn't know my account information had been compromised when I used my debit card for a couple of very small purchases. I didn't steal their money.

I went to another branch in town to try and straighten this out. I was told that I had to go back to the same branch and get it taken care of from there. I did that to no avail. I closed my accounts, paid off the charges and stormed loudly out of the branch, but that isn't the end of the story.

I closed my account after 3 p.m., so another extended overdraft charge was added to my account before my check was deposited. My account was again overdrawn, even though I thought I had closed it.

This still hasn't been resolved and the whole thing has now gone to a collections agency. They claim I owe them $50 and I claim they owe me $64. They refunded the one overdraft charge caused by the overdraft from the unauthorized withdrawal.

I have tried contacting several different customer service people at Cap One, and each time they tell me it has to be resolved at the branch where it happened, and they won't resolve it. It's such a small amount of money that I haven't hired a lawyer, but I may end up doing that in the end.

I wrote a letter to the collections agency explaining what happened and why I refuse to pay them. They still harass me about it, but it will be a cold day in Hades before they get a penny out of me.

I don't care if it trashes my credit or not. If you've read my blog you know this is the least of my worries. But it's the principal of the thing that has me refusing to pay them money I don't owe them. They owe me and one day I may just have the means to sue them over this and get as much as I can out of it. I'm still angry as heck at them and I'll never do business with Cap One again, even if they're the last bank on Earth. I'll keep my money in a safe or bury it in the back yard before I entrust them with it.

Fortunately, that wasn't my primary checking account. My primary is with my local college alumni credit union, who has handled such matters smoothly and efficiently when they've appeared.

Thank you for the opportunity to bad-mouth Capital One Bank in public. I do it whenever I can.

Hi Evan
I hear you. Anything call center based with banks and phone companies can very often end in frustration.

Hi Karen
That's frustrating, as sometimes it's just because they can't be bothered finding out the information or the correct answer.

Hi LaRene
You make an interesting point. You never know who your customers are and who they know. How you are treated gives you an insight into the company. First impressions count, even if the person you deal with is not the norm in that company.

I can't say that I have not become impatient with sales people as a customer. Perhaps the number one frustration has to be delays and being treated like a number. Well, actually, it is the combination of both. But I'm not really an aggressive person so I guess those sales people are spared from my shop rage. Interestingly enough, it is the sales ladies who often end up treating me this way.

Hi Julie
Being treated like a number is no fun. Thanks for taking the time to join in the conversation.

I am a store manager for a multi-million dollar retail business and i have to say that consumer rage has escalated astronomically in the last 12 months. In my 25 years of being in retail, I have never seen consumers behave as inappropriately as they do today. The Dept of Fair Trading should take responsibility and step in as they primarily protect the consumer and not the retailer. Yelling, verbal abuse and threats are made on a regular occasions and retailers should reserve the right not to assist any customer behaving this way.

Consumers need to know that we are human beings doing our jobs to the best of our ability but when consumers don't retain receipts, or a product fails under warranty, retail staff cop the anger, unreasonable demands, threats, verbal abuse with threats to assault and even throwing fists on glass counters. Please Australian shoppers, retain your receipts for warranty. A shoe box will be suffice. Also understand that most retailers don't make the products they sell so it's not the fault of the retailer if a product breaks down. Don't get me wrong, I take responsibility for product failures and do the best humanly possible to assist in a successful outcome in every case. We are in the customer service business but at what point does one draw the line?

Should retailers join forces and create a website where the above-mentioned customer types can be black-listed? I teach my staff the customer types ... A, B, C and D. A customers are Awesome. B customers are Basic. C customers you Can't Deal With and D customers are Dead. We grow our business on A and B customers and are gradually sending the C and D customers to our competitors.

Should i have a sign in my store stating ... 'Inappropiate human behaviour will not be tolerated in this store. Customers may be asked to leave'.
Australian shoppers ... relax a bit and settle down ... please? Take a deep breath and count to 10. How much longer before this outrageous behaviour puts retail staff members in the loony bin and the Australian Government has to fit the bill?

Hello
This is great feedback and a valuable insight from the other side of the counter, so to speak.

You're right that staff deserve as much protection as consumers, and that respect and communication is a two way street.

Just as in my article, I indicated the importance of "dealing with the customer as a person first and customer second", this applies equally to the customer side of the interaction in relation to the staff member.

Thanks so much for stopping by and joining in the conversation.

Customer service is about mutual respect as people first.

Very interesting article and comments.

I have given you a link back from a Squidoo page I set up to capture examples of bad customer service which also has a couple of polls.

http://www.squidoo.com/bad-customerservice

It is currently under-developed because it gets quite a few visitors who don't get involved but if anyone feels like having a positive rant (this is what they did but this is what they should have done or this is how they could recover the situation) then I would be delighted.