I do not exist

[calimac]

Yesterday I tried contacting the software vendor whose product we use at my library. Usually I phone them, but this time, weird things happened when I called either of their numbers and I did not get through. Details aren't important, but I found on their website they also have an online chat function. I tried that and it worked, and after we finished the business I'd wanted to consult about, I raised the issue of the problems with the phones.

I can't get over their response, even though it's the one I usually get in such circumstances. They said - and I have it right here on the chat transcript - "We have not been having any problems receiving phone calls." So I put right back, "Yes, you have been having problems receiving phone calls. You've had problems receiving mine. You just didn't know that, because you didn't receive them."

Then they said, "This is the only comment we've received such as yours."

That assumes nobody else just gave up. There's something uniquely belittling about being told you're the only one with this problem as if that somehow mitigates it. So I said, "I feel like I'm being told I do not exist. But I do exist, and this happened."

Then they said they'd check into it, but I didn't want to wait around while that happened. So I thanked them, said we'll see what happens next time, and logged off.

Comments

Pullman?

[lsanderson.livejournal.com]

It's another modern version of the Pullman letter, only, err, verbal...

[andrewducker]

That kind of behaviour really annoys me. Someone is going the extra mile to try and help - at least _try_ and see if they have a real problem.

[vgqn.livejournal.com]

Really annoying. I once called in a problem after having called in the same problem a week earlier. The person told me that no one had ever complained about it before. As if I needed any proof that they either a) lied or b) never bothered to record complaints.

I do think that overall, though, customer service has gotten better. It used to be utterly standard that if you complained about something, the service rep would condescendingly explain that that was how it worked, utterly deaf to the idea that the way it worked was precisely what you were complaining about. These days I encounter many more people who seem to understand that change is not only possible, but is often a good idea.