I want to thank the 1st guy who ever said LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR SUPERVISOR.

[henslee]

Nothing checks a mouthy sales rep like these 6 words. They are not original but wow... when dealing with a creep you can feel tat millesecond of hate zap you through the phone.
.

[napi21]

1. It's a great tactic for lots of reasons.

Most of the time, the first person you speak to in a customer service dept is uninformed, new to the job, and not trained very well. Even sometimes, you have to go through several levels of "supervisors" to get someone you can communicate with!

[henslee]

2. Thats exactly it. My old aunt screwed up on the internet and

called ONE MINUTE after booking online to change a time -- she hit 6 a.m insted of 6 pm. Supervisor let her cancel transaction and just start again.

[hfojvt]

3. sometimes, in that regard

"supervisors" have authorization and capabilities that customer service people do not.

[ChoralScholar]

4. For those of you who would like to experience it from the other end

take a look at

http://www.techcomedy.com

Take a listen to "let me speak to your supervisor (manager)" gone completely wrong. (warning: explicit language)
http://www.techcomedy.com/calls/speak_to_manager.mp3

http://www.techcomedy.com/calls/super.mp3

My point: being able to speak to a supervisor is great, but customers are not ALWAYS on the up-and-up.

[napi21]

5. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not slamming all CS people!

I worked Customer Service for 4 1/2 years, and believe me, what it did was turn me off talking on the phone at all!!! When our home phone would ring, I'd say "Sombody better answer that, 'cause I'm not!"

Most people are fairly nice, at least to begin with, but those who are mean, abusive, and just downright nasty really screws up your day completely.

From what I can tell, things have gotten much worse since so many co.s have outsourced their cust. serv. jobs. They really don't train the people, and are looking for one thing...CHEAP!!!

When you can't understand what that person is saying, and they really don't understand you, it turns people off to all CS people.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. CSR speaking here: and yep we get out on the floor with

less training than we ought to have, although I must say my current employer has really socked it to us training wise...there is just a lot to learn and you just can't remember it all at once. You have to get your reflexes and system tools down pat to be really good.

However, when I get the I need a supervisor or manager, I put on my most warm and sympathetic voice, and tell them I have to log the call, and if they can tell me a little about the issue, I will be happy to check their record to see if the situation is being addressed or has been completed. It works just about every time. And most of the time, I find that the problem is being addressed, and we are just waiting on results. I have this melty Southern accent, and if I lower my voice pitch down a couple of notches it sounds even warmer..not quite Kathleen Turnerish but you get the idea. It seems to be calming...and that is really what you have to do to anyone who comes in on your line already pissed off.

I actually LOVE CRS work, the more I learn about my company and its details, the more I love a particular position, too.

Yeah, I know I am weird!!!!!

[napi21]

8. No, you're not at all weird. I think it takes a special personality to

to a good job in CS. Unfortunately, there are very few CSRs like you. Seems to me, most of 'em are there just for the paycheck.

[ronnykmarshall]

6. Thank you ...... customers can be assholes.