Customer Service Call Lasts 10 Hours
Consumers at one time or another have to contact customer service concerning a product or service. They call seeking help in placing an order or have a question about the service or item an industry provides. Either they’re checking on the shipping, a charge, reporting a problem, needing instructions on how to exchange a product, or even how to operate an item. Assistance can be available around the clock, year round, depending on the business.
When we do call, it can be a trying and lengthy process. From the customer’s perspective, the wait to speak to a live person can be a drawn-out automated limbo. It’s filled with silence, beeps, updating commentary from a prerecorded voice, or music. We’re forced to number punch thorough a labyrinth of options, put there to supposedly guide us towards a more effective or applicable department. Each infuriatingly long passing minute without assistance can send some people over the edge. It bubbles up until the unfortunate customer service agent gets onto the line, and becomes victim to an unleashed tirade of dissatisfaction.
On the other side of the phone, help desk operators have to endure crackling, poor mobile connections, language barriers, confusion, enraged or impatient customers, profane diatribes, verbal sexual harassment, and distracted or multitasking callers.
Ideally, we hope to get an agent who is helpful and knowledgeable, one who can expedite a resolution with little to no wait time or fuss, and give us excellent assistance and advice. However, in the case of a Zappos.com, a customer service rep went above and beyond for over 10 hours, trying to persuade the caller to relocate to Las Vegas, NV, according to Today.com.
Zappos.com is an online retailer with headquarters based out of Nevada. They sell clothing, shoes, and accessories, and provide customer service 24/7, 365 days a year via online chat and 800 number. Amazon.com is their parent company, and made a point to allow Zappos to continue operating as they had before the acquisition. Zappos spokesman Jeff Lewis expressed that providing good customer service is a top priority, even though Zappos has a free-spirited, laidback work environment.
The customer, a college student, initially called to buy a pair of Uggs boots. The transaction progressed into a discussion about the city, where the student was considering moving. This level of service, though record breaking, is the echelon of customer care the company prides itself on.
