Customer Service: The good, the bad, and the fugly...

Here’s a funny (and rather frustrating incident)… Yesterday at SM Cubao, I went to pay for my purchase at the counter which cost 180 pesos. I didn’t have any loose bills on me so I just silently handed my 1000 bill. The cashier said, “Ma’am kakabukas ko lang ng kaha, wala ba kayong change?”… My mind was busy thinking about the meeting that I was heading for so I just languidly shook my head in reply. I wonder what part of that “No” she didn’t understand because despite my answer she still insisted with a really haughty tone, “Ma’am, kahit 500?” At this point, I knew that I had to retort somehow. And if you know me well enough, you know that when I start to become irritated, I naturally rant in English. Forgive me, patriotic friends, for this is just a force of habit. So I said in an equally sarcastic tone, “I already said no, right? So that means no. If I had change, I would have given you some.” And guess what happened, her face immediately turned white. She fumbled out a reply in English, “Uhm, okay Ma’am… Wait for a minute Ma’am.” And then she hastily left the counter to run for change. And then the bagger even painstakingly added, “She will just get change, Ma’am”

At first I thought, the cashier responded to me in English because I talked to her in English. But after the bagger’s quip, it dawned on me that they actually mistook me for a foreigner, a Korean perhaps, which I regularly get abroad. (Yeah don’t ask me why!) I was both amused and disgusted. Amused at how far you can go to get what you want when you use English, preferably with an American twang; and disgusted with the idea that these people only respected me when they thought I was not a Filipino.

Among my biggest pet peeves in life are Customer Service Agents. Don’t you notice that these people only become prompt and respectful when you start addressing your complaints in straight, argumentative English? I definitely could not count how many times this has happened to me already. And guess what, most of the time I really do get MY WAY when I argue in the American language.

This is really sad. It’s like a microcosm of how the social and even the justice system works in this country. The elite and the eloquent can get away with everything while the “indios” should scrape the bottom of the barrel. I really hate it when Filipinos give better service to Foreigners rather than to fellow Pinoys. We don’t get the same treatment when we’re in their land, FYI.

Commendable Customer Service is really hard to find here in our country. Isn’t that really sad? Don’t you hate it when CS agents give you their standard replies? Argh. I mean, I know that there is a protocol but I believe that all inquiries have corresponding “substantial” answers. Please don’t be vague. I would not have called the Hotline if it wasn’t an emergency! The thing is… I feel that it’s just pure laziness on the part of the Agent to dig through his/her manual or call the manager for more specific issues. It’s not called “Customer Service” for nothing. They should be serving the customer and that means going all the way to solve the problem.

But there is hope. The other day, I was so surprisingly satisfied with the Tech Support for SmartBRO Internet. I really wanted to get that agent’s name ‘coz I want to write a letter to her management and actually commend her outstanding work. I tell you, this girl was thorough and clear in giving her instructions. She was very patient given that I am a self-confessed computer idiot. She definitely exhausted all ways to solve my Internet connectivity problem. Mind you, she didn’t even give me any of those Standard Tech Support answers. In fact, she really sounded concerned about my plight. She even asked me intelligent questions about the situation, which made me learn a lot.

A normal CS Agent would have simply told me that they’ll send a team to look at it or worse to let me wait and see if my connectivity gets better within the next hour. The agent I spoke to even called me on my mobile phone when our call got cut. She spared no expense in solving my problem and we were victorious. We were on the phone figuring out the problem for almost 30 minutes. Whoever that Agent is, she definitely deserves a round of applause (and a raise or promotion) if her manager can read this. And if you’re a CS Agent working for one of those Call Centers, I hope you’re also doing the same thing. If not, pray to God that my call wouldn’t land on your shift! Hehe.

How about you? What's your worst Customer Service experience?