BigSpoonFullOfSnark
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdtlfl4 wrote
Reply to comment by beetjuice98 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Exactly. Automated menus are how rich companies screen people who they don’t want to deal with.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdt5b3m wrote
Reply to comment by Qcgreywolf in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
The important lesson is, if you answer the prompts straightforward, they'll never route you to a person who can help.
You have to give an unexpected/unclear answer if you want to reach a real person.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdswrxr wrote
Reply to comment by andi_bk in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Swearing often does not work. Especially with the big banks and cell phone companies, the automated menu does not care how angry you get.
Companies won't automatically upgrade your account without you approving it. Especially because if you need something like additional business licenses, they don't even know how much to charge you unless you talk to a representative.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdstof9 wrote
Reply to comment by hdmx539 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
I agree companies are not dumb. They create these automated systems because they know it will dissuade the vast majority of customers who are filing complaints or requesting refunds.
The whole system is designed to prevent you from talking to the right person based on which prompts you choose. If you're not able to get through to someone, you need to answer the prompts in a way that is more likely to route you to a human.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdst7d5 wrote
Reply to comment by delboy85 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Exactly. Same concept.
If they think you'll ask for a refund, they'll never let you speak to an actual human being.
If they think they can get money out of you, someone will talk to you right away. Once that person realizes they cannot get any money from you, they will pawn you off to someone else as quickly as possible.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdssptt wrote
Reply to comment by hdmx539 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
If they make you hold too long just call them back. Once they realize it's easier to just let someone else deal with you, they'll transfer you to whoever the right person is.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jds19t1 wrote
Reply to comment by blenderdead in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Exactly. If you run a department, processing a $50 credit for interrupting someone’s service is no big deal. It is a much better use of their time to process it than to fight you for 30 minutes.
But a low ranking customer service person? The train you to exhaust literally every other option in the book, and when you finally have to grant the discount, they hold it against you.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdrzmdd wrote
Reply to comment by blenderdead in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
I’ve been that poor schmuck. If someone called me, I had to sit there and troubleshoot them and do everything in my power to stop them from getting refunded.
If the call went straight to my boss, he would process the refund and the call would be over in 90 seconds.
If I get through to a low ranking person I tell them “hey I know this isn’t your fault, and also that you’re probably not authorized to process my request. Your company screwed up, and if if you transfer me to your boss, they can probably resolve this in 2 minutes.”
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdrpfd9 wrote
Reply to comment by UmbraNight in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
>if the company isn’t complete shiza, one of these should work
I've actually found that the biggest companies are the ones who make it hardest to reach a live person. They've done the math and have figured out how to extract as much money from customers as possible with as little human effort as required.
If you can actually get routed to someone with the authority to process a refund, they know giving you what you want is cheaper than arguing with you for 20 minutes.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdrp568 wrote
Reply to comment by UmbraNight in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Talking to the right person for 2 minutes will usually get you what you need if you have good people skills on the phone.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdrklk6 wrote
Reply to comment by lock_ed in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
The trick is not to talk to the lowest ranking person in the call center. They don't have the authority to help you, so they waste your time and try to send you back to the queue.
If you know how to get past them and through to their boss, they'll get it done in 2 minutes. I've gotten refunds, discounted monthly rate, reversals of charges, etc from banks cell phone companies, gyms by just knowing how to get someone on the phone who has the authority to process such a request.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr9l0t wrote
Reply to comment by BrightNooblar in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
>And most of all, we don't you screwing with Our metrics by incentivizing this approach.
Exactly why I shared this tip. These automated systems are designed to benefit the company at the costumer's. Your boss's numbers look better if you can prevent people from cancelling or receiving refunds/credits when their service is disrupted.
But if you're a person who needs a refund but you're got screwed, it's in your best interest to talk to a human being, not a chatbot.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr8hec wrote
Reply to comment by w33dcup in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
>The 'warm xfer' is first agent calling 2nd agent and saying something like "this joker called me to get out of the system
This is not what happens. These people are busy. It's in their interest to transfer you to the correct line and get back to work, not call and conspire with other departments to teach you about the automated menu.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr80n8 wrote
Reply to comment by Wishihadcable in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
The tip is to talk to a human when you're being kept out by an automated menu.
First you'll be transferred to a human in the wrong department. If you are polite and ask them simply to transfer you to a human that can process your request, they will.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr7quy wrote
Reply to comment by CTGolfMan in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Not always. Sometimes "speak to a human" prompts the automated menu to recommend you check out the help topics online.
Seems like that's more and more often the case.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr7ixy wrote
Reply to comment by 204gaz00 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
That's a good one too. They almost certainly have a human handling those calls.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdr75zw wrote
Reply to comment by DMOrange in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
Exactly. They don't get mad, they just transfer you because they can't help you.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdpb0gu wrote
Reply to comment by 4rp4n3t in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
If there is a person they can transfer you to, they usually will. Be polite and explain you're getting nowhere with the automated system.
They have no incentive to interrogate you. It's in their best interest to transfer you as quickly as possible and not waste time.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdp5cv3 wrote
Reply to comment by brokefixfux in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
CEO's don't even talk to happy customers, much less unhappy ones.
CEO's don't even talk to their own employees.
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdp5av9 wrote
Reply to comment by sonicduckman in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
I have found this is not the case. Customers who are angry and yelling random swears are more likely to get what they want from customer service.
The automated menus are designed to make sure unsatisfied customers never reach another human being in the organization.
Submitted by BigSpoonFullOfSnark t3_1227lb8 in LifeProTips
BigSpoonFullOfSnark OP t1_jdu0827 wrote
Reply to comment by Long-Director-4094 in LPT: If you call a company to speak to customer service but the automated menu won't let you talk to a real person, say "Upgrade my account" instead of "Refund" or "Cancel," when the automated menu asks you to state why you're calling. You will immediately be transferred to a real person by BigSpoonFullOfSnark
That’s a great one