Today, during my lunch hour, I called Eloan once again, just set my phone to speaker and tried to work while being on hold. The first person who answered, a woman who definitely had not had her morning coffee (remember, it was 9AM on the West Coast when I called) picked up after about 15 minutes. I half-exasperated/half jokingly said, "Finally! A human!" which I think set her off because she was very unhelpful. Took my SSN but didn't ask the other questions to verify it really was "me" (the usual mother's maiden name, date of birth, etc) so now I don't even know if she was really helping me at all. I explained my situation but got silence, then I got impatient and reprimanded their customer service, to which her responses were, "These queries take time," and "we're not here working 24/7 like you think we are." I asked if it always took weeks to respond and she actually said, "Sometimes." I then asked to speak to a manager or supervisor and was immediately transferred to someone's voicemail. It could've been the mailman's for all I know. I left a message, then called back.
Second lady answered and was helpful, maybe not sympathetic, but she did try to help. This time, I got her name and asked for a number or extension to reach her at. She seemed a bit put off by this, but gave me a different toll free # from which I've been calling....in the end, though, all she could do was put in yet another IT request ticket (ooooh this one will be marked URGENT!) and then get back to me "in one business day." To that, I laughed. I couldn't help it. Then it was sort of like, "OK....bye." Ended with a whimper, not a bang so to speak.
I'm in a Catch-22 at this point; in order to access my account (and money) I HAVE to go through customer service. So that means more phone calls, more waiting....
However, from this experience, I am learning ways to deal effectively with customer service....some are from mistakes:
-Don't lose your temper. No one likes to be yelled at.
-Keep words simple. Customer service isn't going to care if you have fantastic vocab. They just want you to state your problem as succinctly as possible. They really just want to transfer you onto someone else's head, which leads me to...
-Try and phrase things so it sounds like you want to work with them to find a solution. This is tricky because I think it's natural to believe that "asking" for help or cooperation is less effective than ordering or making demands.
-Get as much personal info as possible. I should've done this. At least, next time you call, you can throw some name(s) around. On a psychological basis, it might put some responsibility onto that person's head, forcing them to get involved now that I know their name.
Eloan Saga Continues....and Tips on How to Deal with Customer Service
November 15th, 2006 at 09:36 pm
November 15th, 2006 at 09:47 pm 1163627226
I've heard that many companies have computerized voice recognition software on their customer service lines to monitor for poor service. If you're really getting poor service to politely use phrases like "I'm really upset about....." and "May I speak with your supervisor?" Now, given what I've heard about eLoan, they probably don't care whether you're getting poor service! But, I believe that companies that really care about their customers do. I was speaking with a CSR at my cell phone company who was not helpful-- I used a few of these phrases and BEHOLD... she was able to do what I wanted. Perhaps this was conincidental, but I was happy!
November 15th, 2006 at 09:49 pm 1163627351
November 15th, 2006 at 09:50 pm 1163627441
November 15th, 2006 at 10:27 pm 1163629651
BUMMER. Hang in there - you will need great patience to get this all worked out.
November 15th, 2006 at 10:28 pm 1163629712
Now i don't know if it would apply with e-loan but whatever works.