it's few minutes to 12am and i just got back from work. thinking i might be able to relax and enjoy whatever is showing on the tv, i actually convinced myself that the tiredness would subside once i plopped myself on the couch and do some channel surfing.
the 15minutes drive back home felt like it was worth signing up for the ASTRO services despite their slow activation, i was pretty sure my account would be activated today after the numerous complaints to get it up and running. unfortunately, that wasn't the case. the moment i switched on the tv and decoder, the same frustrating message appeared on the screen 'Please insert the correct Astro smart card or call the Astro customer service for assistance'. my anger suddenly rose, i decided to call the customer service representative to vent out my anger. while waiting to be patched through the rep, i reconsidered the option of blowing the head of the next unlucky person who answers my call...i decided to vent my frustration instead of anger because, being more or less in the same customer service oriented field, i kind of understand what it feels like to be suddenly shouted at by an unknown stranger.
'good evening and thank you for calling Astro, this is Mona speaking...(or some shitty greeting like that)'
'yeah good evening Mona, my name is Jeremy and my IC number is XXXx.......', in a very monotonous tone. it sounded fair to introduce myself and give out my ID number straightaway knowing that they would be asking it anyway.
'how may i help you mr. jeremy?'
'this is my third time complaining and i would like to have a straight answer, when will my account be really activated?'
'when was the your astro installed sir?', i was kind of pissed off at this stupid question. i wanted to shout at her, 'woman, i just gave you my full name and ic number, i've even told you this is my third time complaining. can't you just look into the system for heaven's sake?!!!'...yeah, but i did not. instead, i politely replied in the same monotonous voice, 'last saturday'.
'could you wait for a moment sir', of which i replied yes.
after one or two minutes of being put on hold to listen to the crappy music or message that was played, 'thank you for waiting sir, i've checked in the system and it'll take approximately 2 weeks for your account to be activated'.
'TWO WEEKS?!', i raised my voiced a little bit. i wanted to bring up the previous response which said that my account would be activated within 24hours (which by this time, it has been more than 48 hours since my last complaint) but thought it would be a waste of time. 'tell me, what's the point of having my decoder installed just to wait for it to be activated in 2 weeks time or probably more? it sounds silly doesn't it?', i was hoping she would get my hint that if i were to wait for two weeks for it to be activated, i might as well sign up two weeks later instead of spending rm200 for the recent installation.
she went on to explain something about a system upgrade which i didn't really give a shit, 'Mona, i'm not blaming you for the bad service, i'm blaming your company. Please do understand my frustration, i just came home from work and i was hoping i might be able to enjoy some kind of entertainment on my tv. but after three days of continuous complainings, nothing has been done yet and you expect me two wait for another two weeks for my account to be activated? that is really unacceptable. if you look in the system, it has been noted that my request is urgent. is this how you (people) treat urgent matters?
silence...
'mona, like i said, i'm not blaming you for the slow service. but what i would really appreciate you to do is send a note or an email to your management or anyone for that matter, and tell them i would like my account activated tomorrow before i come back from work at 6pm. can you do that?'
'ok sir, i will send them a note, but i cannot guarantee that your account will be activated tomorrow'. for those working in the customer service line, let me remind you that this is not the answer you want to tell to your frustrated clients because we do not want to know that it cannot be done. be smart, play around with your words..give them something tactful to look forward to. one golden rule is, just do not lie to them.
'i don't care, just tell them that i would like my account activated tomorrow by hook or by crook'.
i dont think i sounded like an ass did i? i was merely stating the obvious.
anyhow, this wasn't a good day for me. just this morning i had to bribe a police officer to keep him from giving me traffic violation fine..but that will be another story to tell in my next entry...
cheers peeps...
the 15minutes drive back home felt like it was worth signing up for the ASTRO services despite their slow activation, i was pretty sure my account would be activated today after the numerous complaints to get it up and running. unfortunately, that wasn't the case. the moment i switched on the tv and decoder, the same frustrating message appeared on the screen 'Please insert the correct Astro smart card or call the Astro customer service for assistance'. my anger suddenly rose, i decided to call the customer service representative to vent out my anger. while waiting to be patched through the rep, i reconsidered the option of blowing the head of the next unlucky person who answers my call...i decided to vent my frustration instead of anger because, being more or less in the same customer service oriented field, i kind of understand what it feels like to be suddenly shouted at by an unknown stranger.
'good evening and thank you for calling Astro, this is Mona speaking...(or some shitty greeting like that)'
'yeah good evening Mona, my name is Jeremy and my IC number is XXXx.......', in a very monotonous tone. it sounded fair to introduce myself and give out my ID number straightaway knowing that they would be asking it anyway.
'how may i help you mr. jeremy?'
'this is my third time complaining and i would like to have a straight answer, when will my account be really activated?'
'when was the your astro installed sir?', i was kind of pissed off at this stupid question. i wanted to shout at her, 'woman, i just gave you my full name and ic number, i've even told you this is my third time complaining. can't you just look into the system for heaven's sake?!!!'...yeah, but i did not. instead, i politely replied in the same monotonous voice, 'last saturday'.
'could you wait for a moment sir', of which i replied yes.
after one or two minutes of being put on hold to listen to the crappy music or message that was played, 'thank you for waiting sir, i've checked in the system and it'll take approximately 2 weeks for your account to be activated'.
'TWO WEEKS?!', i raised my voiced a little bit. i wanted to bring up the previous response which said that my account would be activated within 24hours (which by this time, it has been more than 48 hours since my last complaint) but thought it would be a waste of time. 'tell me, what's the point of having my decoder installed just to wait for it to be activated in 2 weeks time or probably more? it sounds silly doesn't it?', i was hoping she would get my hint that if i were to wait for two weeks for it to be activated, i might as well sign up two weeks later instead of spending rm200 for the recent installation.
she went on to explain something about a system upgrade which i didn't really give a shit, 'Mona, i'm not blaming you for the bad service, i'm blaming your company. Please do understand my frustration, i just came home from work and i was hoping i might be able to enjoy some kind of entertainment on my tv. but after three days of continuous complainings, nothing has been done yet and you expect me two wait for another two weeks for my account to be activated? that is really unacceptable. if you look in the system, it has been noted that my request is urgent. is this how you (people) treat urgent matters?
silence...
'mona, like i said, i'm not blaming you for the slow service. but what i would really appreciate you to do is send a note or an email to your management or anyone for that matter, and tell them i would like my account activated tomorrow before i come back from work at 6pm. can you do that?'
'ok sir, i will send them a note, but i cannot guarantee that your account will be activated tomorrow'. for those working in the customer service line, let me remind you that this is not the answer you want to tell to your frustrated clients because we do not want to know that it cannot be done. be smart, play around with your words..give them something tactful to look forward to. one golden rule is, just do not lie to them.
'i don't care, just tell them that i would like my account activated tomorrow by hook or by crook'.
i dont think i sounded like an ass did i? i was merely stating the obvious.
anyhow, this wasn't a good day for me. just this morning i had to bribe a police officer to keep him from giving me traffic violation fine..but that will be another story to tell in my next entry...
cheers peeps...
4 comments:
haha..kalu sia si mona suda sia tempiling si jeremy ni o..haha...kalu sia si mona suda sia tanya sepa ckp within 24hrs can be activated etc..24 days working hours ba tu...hehe..so means sat installed and by tue the week after patut ada suda...ngam jg ko marah la...things I learn in cust serv field..keep a record of this kind of shit...it will be a very tacful and useful weapon to get what u wanted..
I've had the same exp with astro due to changing the ownership and it was escalated to management level with few calls back to confirm everythng's back to normal..haha..well,I made formal complaint to customer service and customer serv manager called me to confirm thing has got back to normal
hahaha ya bah. susa jg derg mau layan urang2 mcm kita yang ada buat customer service on the side kan hahaha
i guess we are lucky..since working in cust serv field..it teaches me to be more reasonable and to tolerate with others...hehe..also know where to find a 'leakage' to get things done..haha..
wel, you have a point there. tp the toleration and reasoning ada dia punya limit, so that's where we use our cust.serv experience to our advantage hahaha
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