Not understanding . . . "Customer Service" UPDATE #19

[Girlie]

I've been in customer service for years - first as a cashier, then in customer service at a grcoery store, then as an assistant supervisor over a small college campus' computer labs, and now in a bank.

It is not rude to not understand the customer's request.
That being said, it is the job of anyone in customer service to figure out the request and answer it, or if there is a bigger problem, escalate it to another source with more knowledge and authority.
The method I have adopted - because I find it to be the most useful - is to simply repeat back to the customer what I thought they were asking me, in the most clear and concise way possible. Either the customer will say yes or they won't. But at least they know you're trying to work with them and not trying to get rid of them.

It sounds to me as if there is a bigger problem than this one guy, though, if you can't even get his supervisor to call you back.

[Slartibartfast]

I cannot fathom how asking a question for clarification would ever be rude.

I think this only gets dubbed "rude" when the customer is being willfully ignorant in an attempt to get a different answer.  The shopper who argues for ten minutes about why the store should accept an expired coupon, for example - sometimes the answer is just "no" and you have to move on.

Asking questions about a complex topic because you don't understand it, though?  That's your right as the customer/patron, and it's the customer service person's job to make sure you know what you need to know.

[Softly Spoken]

I cannot fathom how asking a question for clarification would ever be rude.

I think this only gets dubbed "rude" when the customer is being willfully ignorant in an attempt to get a different answer.  The shopper who argues for ten minutes about why the store should accept an expired coupon, for example - sometimes the answer is just "no" and you have to move on.

Asking questions about a complex topic because you don't understand it, though?  That's your right as the customer/patron, and it's the customer service person's job to make sure you know what you need to know.

Yes. That is why I, being a faithful reader of notalwaysright and notalwaysworking, put in the words "for clarification."  Asking "but why won't you do [impossible request that I cannot accept you refusing]?" 1) isn't really a question and 2) isn't really rude as much as it is stupid and annoying. (See also the "I'm not Harry Potter" thread )

I am not afraid to ask a 'stupid' question and risk sounding the idiot or being labeled a SS by an impatient employee, if it helps me understand what I need to understand.

Also, I feel in this instance the SB should have just escalated or transferred the OP, so she would not have been forced to continue to ask for clarification he obviously was unable and/or unwilling to provide.

[desireesgranny]

Respond with 'Who do you think you are, Jerry Lewis?'   

(Please tell me someone else got that or I'm going to feel really, really old...)

jpcher, I would definitely follow up with supervisor and ask demand to work with someone else.  Or as someone suggested, see if you can find out where your previous person ended up and follow him/her there.

I got it but I'm old too. LOL
I love the old Jerry Lewis movies.

[jpcher]

UPDATE --

Well. Resolution has been achieved.

I left another message (3 total) with Supervisor this morning and was all prepared to escalate it by calling my bank branch manager if I didn't hear back today.

Supervisor called me back with apologies saying that he was out of the office and "How can I help you?"

I told him that I had a question concerning one of my accounts that had to deal with taxes. I explained the conversation I had with SB by saying "There seemed to be some sort of communication breakdown because I simply did not understand how the answers he gave me pertained to my question. Maybe I asked the question incorrectly, and there was frustration on both sides but I feel that his final comment to me "You have to do this, Lady!" was completely uncalled for."

Supervisor audibly sighed. "Mrs. JPcher, I sincerely apologize for your experience. Let me try to help you. What was your question?"

I gave him my question and he answered quickly. A little difficult to understand, so I asked a couple of follow-up questions which he answered. He ended by saying that I should feel free to call back if I had additional questions.

I asked him "Is it okay if I call you? I'm sorry, but I do not want to talk to SB again. I really don't think that he and I are a good fit."

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again." Then he gave me contact info for a person that will be taking over my accounts. "If you find that newSB is not a good fit for you, please feel free to contact me."


Now, that is what I call great customer service.



Thank you all for your responses to this matter. I appreciate the encouragement to talk to his supervisor instead of just letting this drop.

[jpcher]

Respond with 'Who do you think you are, Jerry Lewis?'   

(Please tell me someone else got that or I'm going to feel really, really old...)

jpcher, I would definitely follow up with supervisor and ask demand to work with someone else.  Or as someone suggested, see if you can find out where your previous person ended up and follow him/her there.

Yeah, I'm old, too. Your Jerry Lewis reference made me LOL!

oldSB was older than I am, so I'm guessing retirement age.

If he hasn't retired, I'm wondering if there is a polite way to ask whatever happened to oldSB so that I could follow him to wherever he went to? That just seems off, to me . . . although if things don't work with newSB, I just might want to know.

[jpcher]

I cannot fathom how asking a question for clarification would ever be rude.

I think this only gets dubbed "rude" when the customer is being willfully ignorant in an attempt to get a different answer.  The shopper who argues for ten minutes about why the store should accept an expired coupon, for example - sometimes the answer is just "no" and you have to move on.

I completely agree with this.

After our conversation I doubted myself. I thought "Was I looking for a certain answer?" and "Was I being a difficult customer because he wasn't giving me the answer that I wanted?"

In all honesty, I had no clue as to what I wanted the answer to be.

Thank you for clarifying the non-understanding SSy questions as opposed to the "really, I just don't get it" type of questions.

[LeveeWoman]

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again."

Does this mean he's gone?

[VorFemme]

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again."

Does this mean he's gone?

Or possibly has been demoted/reassigned to a job that he can handle.....

[LeveeWoman]

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again."

Does this mean he's gone?

Or possibly has been demoted/reassigned to a job that he can handle.....

I don't know if I'd trust him to cash checks without hacking off the customers.

[jpcher]

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again."

Does this mean he's gone?

Or possibly has been demoted/reassigned to a job that he can handle.....

I don't know and I didn't ask.


The way that supervisor "audibly sighed" told me that there was something up with SB. It gave me the impression that supervisor was doing damage control.

[LeveeWoman]

I get the feeling that you weren't the only one he agitated.

[m2kbug]

I'm glad to hear your situation worked out.  I have been in similar situations where they seem to be answering something completely unrelated to what I was asking, maybe I need to rephrase my question because they don't understand what I'm asking, or  maybe I just plain don't understand what they're telling me.  I have asked to be transferred to another person since our little conversation doesn't seem to be working, or I have called back at a different time, expecting that I would probably connect with someone else who might be better able to help.  I have also asked to be transferred to a supervisor.  In some situations, the customer service person is really limited on what they can do, where a supervisor has a little bit more power and can maybe better help.  This might seem snowflakey, I guess it depends on the situation.  A new person might not really know or understand the specific situation as well.  If SB wasn't really sure, he should have gotten you in touch with someone else, and hopefully also take the time to listen and learn and understand for future reference. 

[wyliefool]

I've been in customer service for years - first as a cashier, then in customer service at a grcoery store, then as an assistant supervisor over a small college campus' computer labs, and now in a bank.

It is not rude to not understand the customer's request.
That being said, it is the job of anyone in customer service to figure out the request and answer it, or if there is a bigger problem, escalate it to another source with more knowledge and authority.
The method I have adopted - because I find it to be the most useful - is to simply repeat back to the customer what I thought they were asking me, in the most clear and concise way possible. Either the customer will say yes or they won't. But at least they know you're trying to work with them and not trying to get rid of them.

It sounds to me as if there is a bigger problem than this one guy, though, if you can't even get his supervisor to call you back.

The guy I just talked to at my insurance yesterday said a couple of times 'I'm sorry, can you repeat the question?' so I figured i was being unclear and should rephrase.

I've also said (at work) 'pretend I've never heard of [thing I have in fact never heard of] and explain that again pls.'

[VorFemme]

He said "Oh, don't worry about talking to SB again."

Does this mean he's gone?

Or possibly has been demoted/reassigned to a job that he can handle.....

I don't know if I'd trust him to cash checks without hacking off the customers.

I was thinking he's either mopping the bathroom at the bank or asking "do you want fries with that" somewhere else.  But Evil & Snarky think that he might have gone into bartending at an Irish pub (traditionally very few women there - so less likely he'd call anyone "Lady").