IF THE EXPERIENCE MOST OF US have had is any indication, there’s something terribly wrong with most customer service in this country.
If you live and breathe and buy products, sooner or later you’ll have to talk to a customer service call center, either here or offshore in India, the Philippines, Ireland or wherever.
How many millions of hours Americans spend each year with customer service reps trying to sort out their problems is anyone’s guess. But one thing is certain: Most of us have had to sit through seemingly endless waits on hold, repeatedly provide our personal information to strings of CSRs, and otherwise endure all the frustrating snafus of trying to solve problems by phone.
If you look a little closer, you might come to the conclusion that there’s an unfortunate mentality that’s set in with the so-called customer service provided by major U.S. companies.
Once companies have happily accepted our money, things change. Instead of treating us as valued individuals, we’re