Earlier today I said, "I wish that once, just once, I could call a place and not have to jump through twenty five minutes of computer menu just to talk to a person. Or better yet, go and see a person to get my problem handled immediately." Crazy, isn't it?
In our fast paced, profit driven world, it's hard to find a company that allows you to speak with an actual person without jumping through a series of hoops designed (in my opinion) to frustrate you until you hang up deciding that your issue isn't dire enough for the hassle. But what do you do when you have no choice? When the issue is with your bank card or your utilities?
Well, you have to call. You have to jump through the menu hoops. You have to speak with the customer service representative. You have to repeat all of the information you submitted in the menu hoops to the customer service representative plus whatever additional information they desire. You have to pray to all you hold dear that the person speaks a dialect of English that you understand. You have to pray that they have the listening and comprehension skills to deal efficiently with your problem. You have to hope they are having a good day, are not over worked and are adequately paid so that they do not resent your very call from the minute it clicks on their headset. That's a lot of hoping, I know. And you pay for this hope.
Sadly, you are usually rewarded with one of the aforementioned hopes falling so far off the charts that it takes everything you have not to hang up on the call. What kind of service is this exactly? Who is this serving?
Today I noted an unfamiliar pending transaction on my debit card account. I called the customer service number immediately. I explained that I did not know of the charge, answered all the requisite questions, including whether or not this was a child support account. The CSR went through asking me, "Are you sure no one had access to the account." Yes. "Are you sure your husband did not make the charge?" Hi, it's a child support account, therefore I do not have a husband. "Are you sure your boyfriend did not make the charge?" Uh, yes, nosy bitch. "Are you sure that no one you know made the charge?" ...yes. "Are you sure that you were not in Miami on the day the charge was made?" Um, on Thanksgiving? I am pretty sure I was in Ohio which is nowhere near Miami.
After being grilled as to whether the charge was *really* a charge I did not make, she went into crimestoppers mode, I guess. She informed me that she could see that the company was out of Miami, Florida and that the transaction was an internet transaction. "Have you made any internet purchases recently that you may have forgotten about?" Now, this lady has in front of her, my entire financial history from this month and all proceeding months. A quick scan would show her that I do not have enough money to go making purchases that I forget about. I know, asking for logic is just going too far.
"Well since a fraudulent purchases has been attempted on this account, we are going to have to cancel your card." Wait, a minute, hold the phones, I only have one way to access this account and my money, this card. I attempt to explain this to her and she repeats that my account has been compromised and that she has to cancel the card. I explain that I will not be able to get gas or groceries or take my child to doctor appointments without this card. She says the card should arrive in 5-10 business days. Do these people never jump off the script to think about what they are saying? 5-10 business days could take 2-3 weeks in real time. How many people do you know that could survive for 2-3 weeks without access to their money? I ask her this. Her suggestion? Borrow money from my family. She must have worked for the Romney campaign. If only it were that simple.
I'm getting upset by this point, I ask for a supervisor. She ignores the request and says that she can offer me expedited service that will cost me $18. I ask how this is benefiting me and again ask for a supervisor. She says, "How do you want your card mailed, regular, or expedited?" I ask for a supervisor. She continues to badger me with this phrase no matter what I say until which point I am in tears and shaking and tell her I do not want to hear another syllable out of her mouth, I demand a supervisor. She puts me on hold...for forty-five minutes. And then hangs up.
I proceed to have an anxiety attack.
Trying to calm myself and listen to my partner who continuously tells me to call them back, I try to call back. Computer hoops. I put in my card number and the computer tells me that card is no longer active. Beautiful. I start crying harder. I put in a series of other personal things until it asks for my pin, when I put in my pin, I am told that pin belongs to a card that is no longer active and the menu restarts. Somehow I managed to get through it again and talk to a Customer Service Representative who at least showed some emotion, when I explained what happened, I heard her intake of breath. She said she would get a supervisor and if it took more than a few minutes, she would come back to me and tell me. She comes back to tell me that my card had indeed been cancelled and the call had been escalated to a supervisor the last time which is likely when it hung up. She told me she was transferring me to that department and I should immediately ask for a supervisor when someone picked up.
Hold music again. Being eaten by anxiety and overwhelmed, I handed the phone off to my partner while I broke down crying. When someone got on the line my partner explained what was wrong and tried to handle the situation for me. He was told by that CSR that he did not care what was wrong with me if I did not get on the phone immediately that he was disconnecting the call. So I took the phone.
This guy wasn't any better. He kept saying that this was no one's fault and that I just had to take the expedited ship because that was the best way to handle this situation to everyone's benefit. I asked how exactly this benefited me and he said, "Well you will get access to your funds." Oh, I didn't know that was a privilege now. It's child support to which I am entitled. And for this benefit, I would be paying $18 for shipping, but he would waive their $5 processing fee. Awesome. In the end, I was beaten, I have to be able to buy groceries and gas.
At some point in the conversation, I asked if I could ensure that the first CSR was disciplined for her disservice. The answer? "We have no way of knowing who that was or what center she was out of." And there in lies our problem.
There is no accountability. That person who is handling your sensitive information and treating you like dirt for calling in about services for which you pay, they can do as they wish. Sure some call centers have tracking information and IDs which are supposed to be given to the customer but more times than not, they are neglected or ignored. I have found that more and more frequently. No one knows with whom you spoke or how to find that person.
But what recourse do we have? Right now I am feeling pretty powerless. The State of Ohio chose this program, if I do not have a personal checking account, which I do not as I am recently divorced and still trying to handle such things, then I default into this card program. I can deal with banks--my last bank has twice been sued and settled lawsuits for fraudulently charging customers--or I can deal with them. Any way I go, I am at a disservice.
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