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the amazing incompetence of CSR's

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slap_happy
Frequent Contributor

the amazing incompetence of CSR's

I just want to say again, thanks to everyone on this forum for the excellent information and tips etc. I have learned so much in such a little time.

 

instead of me getting into specifics Im sure you guys will agree, not all the time but most of the time the CSR's from any one of the banks including amex has no clue about the product or perk or miles, CLI, hard pull, soft pull etc. when a customer can correct and educate a CSR about their very own product, about what can and cannot be done etc. shows bad on the bank and on the CS team. credit is not to be taken lightly, an error can change a persons life. credit cards are not rocket science, they should know their own product. its amazing how many times I have asked a simple question that you all can answer and the rep goes "can you hold so that I can look into to that" and then comes back with the wrong answer! I think some of you guys can probably make some money doing a seminar for the CS teams! Smiley Wink




Message 1 of 8
7 REPLIES 7
Creditaddict
Legendary Contributor

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's

credit is SO confusing to so many and it doesn't stop with the person just because they get a job at a bank and I think it's upsetting and sad that the bank doesn't want to train their employees to know anymore about credit now that they work for them than they did when they started and I think that's partially because of cost of training and partially because the bank has spent billions lobbying for the credit laws and regulations they have that allow them to misguide and confuse the consumer to edge themselves anyway possible to earn more money (that is evident with the law of providing credit scores but the law didn't specifiy "what kind of credit scores" the banks provide us so instead of them all providing fico scores they took the chance to provide about 50 different versions of plus, fico, enhanced, etc... and not even the same type of credit score within the same bank sometimes)

Message 2 of 8
slap_happy
Frequent Contributor

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's


@Creditaddict wrote:

credit is SO confusing to so many and it doesn't stop with the person just because they get a job at a bank and I think it's upsetting and sad that the bank doesn't want to train their employees to know anymore about credit now that they work for them than they did when they started and I think that's partially because of cost of training and partially because the bank has spent billions lobbying for the credit laws and regulations they have that allow them to misguide and confuse the consumer to edge themselves anyway possible to earn more money (that is evident with the law of providing credit scores but the law didn't specifiy "what kind of credit scores" the banks provide us so instead of them all providing fico scores they took the chance to provide about 50 different versions of plus, fico, enhanced, etc... and not even the same type of credit score within the same bank sometimes)


I think its obvious that most of the people working in CS is not trained (and it would be sad if the reason is so that the bank can make more money) but at the same time, I would not expect to get a job at home depot electical dept. if I have no idea what the difference between an outlet and plug is! peoples financial life depends sometimes on whats in the CR. a small change can be damaging and when the CSR is giving wrong information that can be a problem.




Message 3 of 8
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's

A very good rule of thumb is: expect that every request for credit, such as initial app, recon, subsequent recons, CLI requests etc, MIGHT result in one or more HP, NO MATTER what you are told.

 

Even in good faith, where a CSR knows it should be a SP, the SP might raise questions and a UW who was unaware of the initial conversation might do a HP of a different CRA.  This is a permissible purpose that you, perhaps unknowingly, gave your consent to.

 

 

Message 4 of 8
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's


@slap_happy wrote:

@Creditaddict wrote:

credit is SO confusing to so many and it doesn't stop with the person just because they get a job at a bank and I think it's upsetting and sad that the bank doesn't want to train their employees to know anymore about credit now that they work for them than they did when they started and I think that's partially because of cost of training and partially because the bank has spent billions lobbying for the credit laws and regulations they have that allow them to misguide and confuse the consumer to edge themselves anyway possible to earn more money (that is evident with the law of providing credit scores but the law didn't specifiy "what kind of credit scores" the banks provide us so instead of them all providing fico scores they took the chance to provide about 50 different versions of plus, fico, enhanced, etc... and not even the same type of credit score within the same bank sometimes)


I think its obvious that most of the people working in CS is not trained (and it would be sad if the reason is so that the bank can make more money) but at the same time, I would not expect to get a job at home depot electical dept. if I have no idea what the difference between an outlet and plug is! peoples financial life depends sometimes on whats in the CR. a small change can be damaging and when the CSR is giving wrong information that can be a problem.


What I view as pure customer service doesn't follow the same rules as support, and I'd argue the Home Depot example falls under support rather than CS (though customer service is unarguably a function in any support role... I started my career in Dell support, where we had clear demarcations between different tiers and my terminology may be different than the rest of the industry as a result).

 

Like anything, there's people who are going to perform better than others in any given role, but in general, much like people, performance is likely to be average, and I can nearly guaruntee you that the people you're talking to on the front lines are not paid nor rewarded for the completeness of their answers... trying to pontificate on a complex subject simply takes longer, which means less calls serviced during each hour (or day depending how they're looking at the metrics) and that means less performance from a management perspective, and less bonuses and other opportunities.

 

In short, there's a huge disincentive to do anything but be efficient in answering customer inquiries and going on with life in most call centers.




        
Message 5 of 8
longtimelurker
Epic Contributor

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's


@Revelate wrote:

 

In short, there's a huge disincentive to do anything but be efficient in answering customer inquiries and going on with life in most call centers.


And that's sort of best case.   Over the years, my (big telecom) company has had programs where reps had to try to sell additional products to each caller and were evaluated (with supervisors going over recordings of the calls) on whether they did this or not.  So you would call complaining that your home phone was STILL out of service, your bill was wrong for the third month in a row, and your internet was slow, and their job was to ask if you would be interested in adding premium caller ID.

Nice for all involved.

Message 6 of 8
Revelate
Moderator Emeritus

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's


@longtimelurker wrote:

@Revelate wrote:

 

In short, there's a huge disincentive to do anything but be efficient in answering customer inquiries and going on with life in most call centers.


And that's sort of best case.   Over the years, my (big telecom) company has had programs where reps had to try to sell additional products to each caller and were evaluated (with supervisors going over recordings of the calls) on whether they did this or not.  So you would call complaining that your home phone was STILL out of service, your bill was wrong for the third month in a row, and your internet was slow, and their job was to ask if you would be interested in adding premium caller ID.

Nice for all involved.


Fortunately I never got stuck doing this: I heard the recent Comcast agent debacle on NPR the other day and nearly died between shock, laughing, and trying to drive at the same time.

 

I do not miss being in a direct customer support role anymore in the current business model of everything must be a profit center.




        
Message 7 of 8
Stralem
Established Contributor

Re: the amazing incompetence of CSR's

Call centers hire cheap and expect nothing less than abject failure. That's how they profit.

 

"Quality" and "customer satisfaction" is for suckers.

I Have Way Too Many of These.

American Express - No CLI or Appreciation Gift in 7 Years

Citibank - Handing Out Credit Limits Like Candy

Chase - Surprisingly, Still Tolerating My Credit-Chasing Ways

Bank of America - My Newest Bae.

Everyone Else.
Message 8 of 8
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