Rumor Mill
the question for the day is...how can Cingular improve cust serv?
we all know that Cingular hasnt been the best about cust serv...some reps are great..i consider myself one of them...but you gotta admit we got some dumbazzes working for us...and it only take them talking to one customer to ruin it for the person they talk to next....look people we have great tools in our computer USE them....have a great day
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well i think they need to lay off those people who arent doing well and should hire more tallented people. i think that cingular should focus on customer care and service, becuase without that, the customers will leave and the business will have problems.
if it takes 10 mins plus for a wait time that shouldnt be tollerated.
maybe hire more workers. etc..
if it takes 10 mins plus for a wait time that shouldnt be tollerated.
maybe hire more workers. etc..
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well its been said that you never get fired for your stats.., but i work for cingular , and im a customer also.. and there have been several ties that i just wanna ask the rep im talking to "how the heck did you get this job"...its bad when a rep doesnt even like to call in about a bill issue or phone problem. cause you just pray you get a good rep
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yea, thats very true. i had some problems when i was a cingular/att wireless customer. hold times were terrible. they need to desperately fix things there.
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They need to train the customer agents better. Back in the Bellsouth Mobility days the customer service won awards.
Now if a customer has a problem they will let them go and get a new customer.
Not cost effective and good service.
They need to bring back the QCC department.
http://www.wirelessconsultant.net »
Now if a customer has a problem they will let them go and get a new customer.
Not cost effective and good service.
They need to bring back the QCC department.
http://www.wirelessconsultant.net »
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What also needs to be focused on is the quality of the customer care.. now a days, the management is more focused on the stats, worrying about wether the reps are having too many short calls, too many holds, or too many transfered.. I came from AT&T, and at least there quality was the main focus.. I see now going into being a Cinular rep, how the customer service has dropped, and why there are so many problems with a handful of the reps.. they are pressured to keep the stats perfect that the service aspect of the job has been forgotten.
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I agree with all of you. I work for a exclusive agent for cingular, and customer care sucks. I have acess to POS 2 and all, but for some things you need to call care to fix a problem, and if it's a big one that another agent messed up or cingular's billing messed up, I find myself praying to get a good rep who knows what they're doing and has a nice attitude about it. I find most of the time they aren't really sure what to do, and they try to pass the buck to someone else who passes it again, or they say they need manager approval cause they're scared about getting in trouble.
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I agree with Zoya. As a Team Manager for Cingular, it is VERY disturbing how we concentrate all of our efforts on the PAR stats to make our call center look the most efficient, instead of the level of customer service that we provide to our customers. Once Cingular does away with PAR, then maybe it can focus more on what pays the bills ... THE CUSTOMERS!
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It is very comforting to see that a Team Manager/TL sees it this way too.. it is slowly becoming more noticable by our TL's and Managers that PAR is a pain in the rear end. I agree, we need to have the center being as efficent as possible, but keep the quality top notch too. Any suggestions?? lol...
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i used to work in an ATT call center for RM ... and the PAR metrics they had us FOLLOW religiously was jsut horrendus... if you missed it by even .01% they would write you up...
right up to the week i left they also started implementing something STUPID to us... they has us raise out HANDS to transfer a call... no matter if it was to CARE or a frickin spanish call... that's why i left that company... URG...
that and the call cneter that i used to work for is shutting down... so i'm happy about that...
but that's all in the past... thank god...
right up to the week i left they also started implementing something STUPID to us... they has us raise out HANDS to transfer a call... no matter if it was to CARE or a frickin spanish call... that's why i left that company... URG...
that and the call cneter that i used to work for is shutting down... so i'm happy about that...
but that's all in the past... thank god...
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I think the main problem with Cingular customer service reps is pay. I think Cingular is not an attractive option for high quality reps. I live in the Chicago Area and there are two other Cell phone companies with call centers in the area. Both companies Verizon and US Cellular are starting reps off at about 5000 a year more than Cingular on average. The managers are just as overworked and underpaid. That has made so many quality reps and managers leave in the last two years. Cingular has a lot of quality people up top but the front lines is lacking in quality at times. It takes a good care rep for any company about six months to get good and a year to get dam good. Then they get a better offer and leave.
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They can take lessons from verzion wireless customer service!!! They are top notch!!! 😁
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One answer is: Change the corporate culture to one of candor with customers. I am a reasonably well-informed cell user with 4 years experience with ATT and now Cingular. The account is owned by my employer. In my area (southern Sarasota County, FL), ATT often dropped calls even when the phone was stationary. Tech service said there was nothing they could do, not enough towers. Cingular took over and the rep persuaded our company to switch to GSM. I asked specifically about the coverage in my area, and was assured it was "very good throughout that area". In fact, the coverage is terrible and getting worse. Dropped call frequency has gone from 1-2 per day to nearly every call. I use a headset, so have watched my signal meter stay at ful...
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Its ridiculous of you to be upset that Cingular or any carrier would sell a phone to someone that was in a weak coverage area. How many people only use their phones in one area? If you were only going to be at your office or home then use your landline. Also many of the maps that show coverage strengths weren't availabe when the company was AT&T, so the representatives weren't necessarily misinforming you on purpose. Cingular providers more detailed information on coverage then what was available by AT&T.
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With all respect, I think you miss my point. I did not say AT&T misrepresented, I said that when Cingular took over and told us to switch to GSM (just a few months ago) I asked specifically about coverage in this area, since I do business mainly in this area. I discussed the weak coverage under the AT&T system and asked in detail about coverage here with GSM. My complaint is that the sales rep and mutiple customer service and tech reps have all stated that the coverage is excellent here, when their own data, the MTI coverage map, confirms that it is not. Yes, I see that misrepresentation as a problem.
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I also work for cingular kinda, I am third party hired which means we get information last. We also handle a huge call flow we process everything I have many times been called by customer care and asked how to credit something in the billing systems that is ridiculous. You guys are getting paid way more then I am and you have more benefits available to you. I have been called and also told one of our numbers is the magic number the number to fix anything wrong. This is infuriating because I work on conversion rate and I have reps for blue and orange calling me asking me how to do their jobs. I only had a week of training and I am doing fine how long did they train customer service. Basically, all I think customer care needs to do is do...
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Personally, I am not convinced that the customer service reps are the whole problem, or even the majority of the problem.
The problem mainly lays at the feet of policies of Cingular Wireless. Cingular rips people off.
If you dont believe that, try to send a phone back.
The problem mainly lays at the feet of policies of Cingular Wireless. Cingular rips people off.
If you dont believe that, try to send a phone back.
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what dept do you work and where... i work for cingular and customers that i talk to whether they are mad or happy when they call they end up being happy when they get off the phone....
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I agree with the above comment. I am a rep for Cingular and I stay focused on assisting my customer with their problem, not placing the blame on others. It is more satisfying and alot more effective when you can accomplish something with a customer rather than assist and then complain with the customer about our service. I can't control their situations that led to my intervention, but I can control my reaction, attitude and outlook when dealing with the customer. I feel that anyone who has participated in this forum obvoiusly has a short term career in mind with Cingular. Rather than using a public forum like this to anonymously report their opinions so that all, including customers, can see; I encourage you to take it a step further b...
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Great the only stats I have trouble with is AHT and transfer/conference.
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I feel that anyone who has participated in this forum obvoiusly has a short term career in mind with Cingular. Rather than using a public forum like this to anonymously report their opinions so that all, including customers, can see; I encourage you to take it a step further by using the Customer Service Steward program. I challenge you to attempt to indentify a problem, and rather than complaining about it rather spinelessly in an anonymous forum, attempt to find a solution. But, being as this program has been available for use and you would rather waste your time and energy on this forum rather than working on a solution,
I dont think it is consistent of you to comment about how spineless i may or may not be (ironically a comme...
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I dont think it is consistent of you to comment about how spineless i may or may not be (ironically a comme...
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We also need an escalation desk with a group of supervisors ready to take those tough escalations. they could ahve floorwalkers like they do in training all the time walking the floor ready to take those sup calls and answer questions.
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simplymarcus said:
We also need an escalation desk with a group of supervisors ready to take those tough escalations. they could ahve floorwalkers like they do in training all the time walking the floor ready to take those sup calls and answer questions.
Not true.
Escalation desks are bandaids on a heart attack. Useless and usually more harmful. Cingular's customer service is a direct result of poor Customer Service Management. If I were the CEO, heads would roll until my Executives came up with a plan to better train my CSRs.
CSRs should have no less than 6 weeks of good, motivational training. Cingular reps are horribly trained and the fault lies with the Executives who refuse to fix their thinking. On...
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I for the most part completly agree with you.Cingular is trying to get reps more training on managing difficult calls. Your on the right track about customer advocacy. I have tried numerous times to speak up for the reps on the floor because management at Cingular is completly out of touch. I have written countless emails about stats and reasons behind poor stats and what Cingular managemnet could do to help us out. That semems not to be working because there is a lot of finger pointing going on. Managers are saying the reps are not doing their jobs and the bad feelings are crossing over into the calls. Managers are trying to keep their jobs by blaming reps and saying that they need to fire most of the reps or force them to quit. The attitud...
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what i find particularly funny regarding the whole cingular customer service issue is that while the attwireless side has vastly superior customer service, cingular blames their customer service problems on the att wireless side of the merger. if you look purely at quality scores, the attwireless side resolves a larger percentage of calls, while the cingular side is fantastic at falling exactly in cingular's most important metrics (ie. keeping the calls under 600 seconds, getting the customer to call other department's rather than transferring). in short, the "blue" side has been much better at assisting customer's with their problems (regardless of whose fault it is) while the "orange" side has been better at doing what the CEO's feel is ...
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I totally agree with you.. I'm in the transistion center that has blue and orange.. It is hell trying to get to the right dept when trying to reach a dept.. I remember a couple days that stand out.. I called CSE Care needing to get to a dept that research an order.. now normally that wouldn't be too tough.. you'd think. But the rep gave me a 1-800 number that she said would be to the dept.. I got a voicemail machine for an employee of TD Waterhouse.. a stockmarket company. Come on ppl.. not only do they need to give correct info, but make sure the numbers are current. My only complain thus far with dealing with CSE is that their numbers change so often that they don't even know what is right. I try to call Avalon Ridge.. get the recordin...
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Punk0Rama said:...
what i find particularly funny regarding the whole cingular customer service issue is that while the attwireless side has vastly superior customer service, cingular blames their customer service problems on the att wireless side of the merger. if you look purely at quality scores, the attwireless side resolves a larger percentage of calls, while the cingular side is fantastic at falling exactly in cingular's most important metrics (ie. keeping the calls under 600 seconds, getting the customer to call other department's rather than transferring). in short, the "blue" side has been much better at assisting customer's with their problems (regardless of whose fault it is) while the "orange" side has been bet
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My center has the floorwalkers for the entire center, not just for training.. our RedHat support and Res reps are one in the same.. as that is what I do everyday. And i'm on the floor for all the reps.. Our CSE side also have the floor walkers too. I don't know what center you are in, but I do hope you guys get that kind of support soon.. We've had it since Oct - 05.. before that we went to the Internl AWS res.. what a laugh that was.. and before that we had our own internal res desk.
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You guys are former blue reps. Once you guys are fully trined at the end of the year that help will vanish.
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Accually nope.. because we are a contract site.. our CSE dept that is being established will continue on having a REDHAT/RES support team. Right now we have about 22 RES reps for CSE.. and 24 for former AWS. Though we are rotating through 4 days a pay week of Care shifts, the rest are REDHAT/RES.
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i used to work in an ATT call center for RM ... and the PAR metrics they had us FOLLOW religiously was jsut horrendus... if you missed it by even .01% they would write you up...
right up to the week i left they also started implementing something STUPID to us... they has us raise out HANDS to transfer a call... no matter if it was to CARE or a frickin spanish call... that's why i left that company... URG...
that and the call cneter that i used to work for is shutting down... so i'm happy about that...
but that's all in the past... thank god... .
right up to the week i left they also started implementing something STUPID to us... they has us raise out HANDS to transfer a call... no matter if it was to CARE or a frickin spanish call... that's why i left that company... URG...
that and the call cneter that i used to work for is shutting down... so i'm happy about that...
but that's all in the past... thank god... .
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