Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 28, 2016 17:56:36 GMT -5
Well, you can think of it this way: that level of compensation does not encourage people to stick around long enough to learn much more than how to be really nice and friendly.And I imagine that all the internet banking brings a lot more complication to the job of teller. From my experience, the banks treat the 2 areas as very separate entities and don't encourage the branch people to venture there, other than to encourage their customers to use their internet services. If they need help on the internet side, call this 1-800 number. That's just my experience with it as an individual and business customer. I beg to differ, I think there's some new "culture" of saying "yes! and being nice and positive" which overshadows all else.
I had a change in management and apparently 'mission statement' because now it's more important to say "Yes! We Can!!!" even when we can't. Saying "No. we can't do that." is UNACCEPTABLE. Not everyone has the tact/cleverness to tell someone "no" without actually saying "no". And not every one is bright enough to figure out that the creative answer that gave them a feel good and sort of sounded like a "yes" was actually a "No". I'm not sure why management meant to add in a layer of obfuscation - but that's what's happening.
I think what management really wants is for people on both sides to be willing to compromise when the answer is "no" instead we are being forced to say "Yes" no matter what. The "yes" thing is being re-enforced with our performance goals and any time it comes up there's a reminder that it would be best if we said 'yes! we can do!". It's getting really stressful and we're having more problems than before the "just say yes!" campaign started.
We are all highly compensated professionals who provide a service to other departments.
I hear what you're saying, but that wasn't the aim of my statement. What I am saying is the compensation encourages turnover in these type of jobs--turnover which makes it harder for these people to actually be helpful. More experience here would bring more knowledge to help, but what's the most Home Depot will be willing to pay these people for being really helpful and sticking around? I imagine not much.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Oct 28, 2016 20:30:24 GMT -5
I don't think it's the employee that is stupid or incapable of doing a job.
It's companies are hyper focused on pleasing the customer which with the exception of us in here often means being a happy pepppy people pleased than an expert.
This is a huge focus of Nebraska med. They are leading experts in A LOT of fields but the number one complaint is they are "not nice enough".
I lost count of how many customer service surveys I did during my pregnancy.
I don't want an asshole for a doctor but at the same time isn't it more important they look after my and the baby's health than whether they told me to have a nice day?
That attitude is on steroids in the service industry to the point where happy employees are more valuable than experts.
Yes you can be both but it seems a lot of companies are willing to sacrifice the latter in order to provide a "pleasant shopping experience".
This whole thread makes me think about the south park episode involving yelp.
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haapai
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Post by haapai on Oct 28, 2016 20:38:16 GMT -5
Can we talk about Enterprise? Rent a car from them and they will relentless hound you for some sort of gold star or cookie. They'll fish for feedback at the counter, during your vacation, online, and via phone for days. Does anyone know the magic words to get them to go away?
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 28, 2016 20:45:39 GMT -5
Can we talk about Enterprise? Rent a car from them and they will relentless hound you for some sort of gold star or cookie. They'll fish for feedback at the counter, during your vacation, online, and via phone for days. Does anyone know the magic words to get them to go away? I don't know because Mercedes is the same and I can't figure out how to get them to go away. When I finally told the sales guy off for continuing to contact me (even though he didn't have the vehicle I wanted and I was very specific about what I wanted), then the sales manager started in. Now that I've told the sales manager off, the general manager is reaching out. BTW, when I say "told off", I mean in a polite way, as in "unless you have exactly what I asked for at exactly the price I told you I'd pay, please don't bother me again."
I finally got the blood bank to stop calling me by telling them if I ever received another call asking me to donate, I would never donate again. Since I donate a lot of blood, that would be very bad for them. They apparently got the message because they do not call. So maybe try that - tell them that if they ever call or email you again, you will never rent from Enterprise and will tell all your friends why?
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 28, 2016 21:31:13 GMT -5
I don't think it's the employee that is stupid or incapable of doing a job. It's companies are hyper focused on pleasing the customer which with the exception of us in here often means being a happy pepppy people pleased than an expert. This is a huge focus of Nebraska med. They are leading experts in A LOT of fields but the number one complaint is they are "not nice enough". I lost count of how many customer service surveys I did during my pregnancy. I don't want an asshole for a doctor but at the same time isn't it more important they look after my and the baby's health than whether they told me to have a nice day? That attitude is on steroids in the service industry to the point where happy employees are more valuable than experts. Yes you can be both but it seems a lot of companies are willing to sacrifice the latter in order to provide a "pleasant shopping experience". This whole thread makes me think about the south park episode involving yelp. I've recently developed a new appreciation for those customer surveys and the results of the surveys. About 10 years ago, I had a cyst on my neck removed. I left the hospital with only verbal instructions and my neck oozing because it wasn't even covered up with a bandage. I didn't remember all the instructions, as I was still coming to from being put under, so I ended up with an infection and a scar that needed to be fixed a few years later. Nowadays, the hospitals release you with a printout with all of your personal post-op instructions. My last C-section delivery, I received a follow-up call from a nurse to see how I was doing. My husband had surgery last week in a center, not a hospital. I asked about post-op instructions. They said they were in this generic booklet, except my DH had gotten some different verbal instructions from the Dr prior to. He couldn't stomach his pain meds/anti-inflammatories, so just didn't take them. A call from a nurse would have been nice. And, I've dealt with several ass-hole doctors and also a nurse in my time. I think bedside manner is important in that field. At a store or a bank? Just be polite.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2016 7:47:42 GMT -5
Can we talk about Enterprise? Rent a car from them and they will relentless hound you for some sort of gold star or cookie. They'll fish for feedback at the counter, during your vacation, online, and via phone for days. Does anyone know the magic words to get them to go away? I just got hit with this on Tuesday when I returned a car, I made the mistake of saying my experience was "OK" and then they asked me 3 times what was wrong, I said nothing! My experience was OK which was sufficient, I received the value I expected for my money, since when did "Excellent" become "Average"? Apparently that response got me a follow up call a couple of days later that I dismissed quickly.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2016 7:53:28 GMT -5
I don't think it's the employee that is stupid or incapable of doing a job. It's companies are hyper focused on pleasing the customer which with the exception of us in here often means being a happy pepppy people pleased than an expert. This is a huge focus of Nebraska med. They are leading experts in A LOT of fields but the number one complaint is they are "not nice enough". I lost count of how many customer service surveys I did during my pregnancy. I don't want an asshole for a doctor but at the same time isn't it more important they look after my and the baby's health than whether they told me to have a nice day? A long, long time ago I read a memoir by one of the Mayo brothers (founders of the Mayo Clinic) and he said that the kind of doctor who was brusque, never sat down while talking to the patient, wore immaculate white shirts with cuff links, and was so good other doctors sent their families to him or her got sued more often than the amiable goof-up who as pleasant, sympathetic and wore a cardigan sweater. So, there are good reasons they want doctors to have a good bedside manner. This thread brings up two issues close to home right now. First of all, I called yesterday to talk to the nurse at DH's oncologist to ask about setting up a transfusion for him. I'd lost the number so I called the number listed under the doc's name on the hospital Web site. I got some "resource center". I asked for the nurse by name. He wanted DH's name, date of birth, address, etc. Then he asked how I'd heard of their hospital. WTF? I repeated what I was trying to do. He connected me to a number- the wrong person, but at least she got the number I needed. Second- my dealings with "schedulers" at the blood bank, which I see was mentioned earlier. I made an appointment to donate platelets, which I've never done before, in their on-line system. I got there and found I needed to get my blood tested for HLA antibodies next time I donated whole blood before I could donate platelets. Then I got a call a couple of weeks later. The woman said I was eligible to donate platelets and would I like to make an appointment? Ummmm, OK. So I showed up and... you guessed it. Not eligible. At the blood bank they said the schedulers probably just got my name from a list- probably because I'd signed up before and it had been over 2 weeks (you can donate platelets every 2 weeks). So, now I've been tested and I AM eligible and I made an appointment for Wednesday. Two days ago I get a call. Would I like to set up an appointment to donate platelets? I just did, you %$$#! They have a special promotion and you get more loyalty points if you donate 3 times between now and January 4. Can she set up two other appointments? No, I'm the primary caregiver for my terminally ill spouse and will make them when I can. OK, she says, I see you need some time. Can I call you again later to set appointments? *&^%##! NO! And I don't do surveys unless there's an incentive. "A chance to win" something does not qualify. I'm a prolific contributor to TripAdvisor because I get plenty of information I can use from what others post, and I do tons of e-Rewards surveys because I get Hilton points, AA miles and Starbucks $$. I skip the rest.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 29, 2016 8:22:01 GMT -5
I've been getting calls to donate blood, as a blood donor. Except I've never donated blood. If they take too many vials for a blood test, I pass out and feel sick. DH doesn't donate either. How they got my number, I have no idea.
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Oct 30, 2016 19:18:52 GMT -5
Nobody wants to hire "Negative Nancy" now. So, we have a workplace full of "Happy Peppy Puppy People". As a result a lot of businesses now do not function very well because every idea is now a Great Idea! No matter how stupid, inefficient, costly, etc. You don't dare be a Negative Nancy now and point that out. Soooo, now we have a lot of happily brain dead people running things, lol. It's like you know me.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Oct 30, 2016 19:43:40 GMT -5
There is a reason most of these people are doing making low wages at minimum wage paying jobs. Yes...it's because they have to deal with snotty, picky people for 8 hours (or however long their shift lasts). I agree with those who say there has been a huge increase in "friendliness" because businesses are competing harder than ever for our dollar. The downside of that is that it has issued a new breed of entitled, snotty, demanding customers.
If we are now bitching about too much friendliness, we don't have enough to do. It's one thing to complain about employees doing their jobs. It's quite another to bitch that they dare talk to you while they are doing it. Who do we think we are anyway that we don't have a second to smile and say "thanks" and mean it instead of acting like a cashier shouldn't DARE ask you about your day? Jeez Louise.
I don't think the problem is the service people. I think it's those of us who think we are just too damn good to have to deal with them. If we were all as smart as we think we are, we wouldn't have to ask for help.
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rob base
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Post by rob base on Oct 30, 2016 19:46:32 GMT -5
I believe u r overlooking the "knows nothing" part of the equation.
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 19:51:56 GMT -5
Reading comprehension is a lost art...
Friendliness is not the problem, the problem is that the employees are unhelpful. Most of us go to a business for a certain good or service; it is a problem for businesses to be staffed by people who are friendly but unable to provide a good or service.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Oct 30, 2016 21:35:29 GMT -5
Yup, I think this has always been a problem and is getting worse. I want to go to a store, pick up what I came for and get out as quick as possible. Best Buy was always the worst offender for me, I swear 10 people had to ask If I needed anything in 10 minutes. When I bought a computer the sales person tried 5 times to connect personally before I finally said to just ring up my purchase. From prior threads, I realize that I - and it sounds like you - want a lot less social interaction than many other people. I do just about everything humanly possible to avoid having to go into the bank lobby at all, yet every time we discuss stuff like this there are people who post about how much they enjoy going in to the post office daily to socialize. Maybe people that crave that type of social interaction are what this new wave of employees is geared toward? (This is my idea of Hell. I would honestly consider cutting off my own finger - maybe even my favorite finger - and sacrificing it to the God of PleaseJustRingMeUpAndStopTalking if I never, ever had to go into the post office or the bank again.) Unless somebody used your name in posting, this was the kind of attitude my post was directed at. So, no. I don't have a reading comprehension problem. You have an "I forgot what I posted" problem.
"Just ring me up and stop talking"
Yeah....I'm the one with the problem. Your above post had zero to do with an employee's knowledge or lack thereof and everything to do with the fact that they dare try to talk to you.
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 30, 2016 21:50:48 GMT -5
Well, there is a difference between genuine social interaction and scripted social interaction. Something to do with sincerity. Like people greeting you with "how are you?", and walking right by before you can even answer.
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 21:59:42 GMT -5
Oh, I think we've touched a nerve here. I completely understand that people with no friends or who don't have a busy schedule depend greatly on the Walmart greeter or the post office clerk for basic human interaction. And other people just really enjoy small talk with strangers so are receptive in any situation to a lengthy nonproductive talk with a stranger. But for the rest of us, we go to a business specifically for a purpose - to buy a good or service. We don't go to socialize. And although we're polite and appreciate politeness, we have to limit the time we spend because we have a huge list of other things we also have to do. Not wanting to spend a long time socializing and not wanting to stand in a long line because one of the Lonely Hearts is socializing does not mean that those of us with a life aren't polite with the employees or that we object to basic pleasantries.
Nobody has complained that an employee has dared to speak to them or that an employee shouldn't DARE ask about a customer's day. And nobody has suggested that they don't smile and say "thanks" when we interact.
The OP wasn't about too much friendliness, it was about how companies are misdirecting their efforts to only offer friendliness with no substance. Those of us who are seeking a business transaction and not to replace the human interaction that is missing in our daily lives want actual substance and service - friendliness is not a substitute.
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Green Eyed Lady
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Oct 30, 2016 22:09:49 GMT -5
Oh, I think we've touched a nerve here. I completely understand that people with no friends or who don't have a busy schedule depend greatly on the Walmart greeter or the post office clerk for basic human interaction. And other people just really enjoy small talk with strangers so are receptive in any situation to a lengthy nonproductive talk with a stranger. But for the rest of us, we go to a business specifically for a purpose - to buy a good or service. We don't go to socialize. And although we're polite and appreciate politeness, we have to limit the time we spend because we have a huge list of other things we also have to do. Not wanting to spend a long time socializing and not wanting to stand in a long line because one of the Lonely Hearts is socializing does not mean that those of us with a life aren't polite with the employees or that we object to basic pleasantries. Nobody has complained that an employee has dared to speak to them or that an employee shouldn't DARE ask about a customer's day. And nobody has suggested that they don't smile and say "thanks" when we interact. The OP wasn't about too much friendliness, it was about how companies are misdirecting their efforts to only offer friendliness with no substance. Those of us who are seeking a business transaction and not to replace the human interaction that is missing in our daily lives want actual substance and service - friendliness is not a substitute. You are the one who changed the OP into "just ring me up and don't talk". Not me. And then you try condescension (which was a massive fail) by implying I have a reading comprehension problem. Now you are all pissed off you got called on your crap and imply people who enjoy a bit of personal interaction with those lowly service people have no friends. I don't think you are the one that touched a nerve here.
You are a peach. I bet those people who work in those stores run like hell when they see you coming. I highly doubt you have a huge issue with people trying to interact with you....anywhere.
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 22:22:07 GMT -5
There is a reason most of these people are doing making low wages at minimum wage paying jobs. Yes...it's because they have to deal with snotty, picky people for 8 hours (or however long their shift lasts). I agree with those who say there has been a huge increase in "friendliness" because businesses are competing harder than ever for our dollar. The downside of that is that it has issued a new breed of entitled, snotty, demanding customers.
....
I don't think the problem is the service people. I think it's those of us who think we are just too damn good to have to deal with them. If we were all as smart as we think we are, we wouldn't have to ask for help.
Yep. That's definitely the issue here. Looking back at the OP, I can see where I'm going wrong. At Home Depot, it's completely unreasonable for me to expect their employees - who are standing at the door to "greet" you and specifically ask "how can I help you?" - know where things are located in the store. It's totally snotty and demanding to ask where something is to begin with and then to expect that if the employee didn't know where something was located that they call over someone else who could help. Who the heck demands that type of service anyways? Sheesh, I must be pretty dumb to have to ask for help locating an item in that store. And as for the bank, I really should adjust my expectations to what's reasonable. After all, between my business and personal accounts I only usually have around $750k there on any one day, yet I require and use absolutely none of their employee time 99.9% of the time. And even though I never have overdrafts or require a single minute of personal assistance on their part since I do my transactions online, it's completely demanding and unreasonable to expect that once a year I go into the lobby and ask them a crazy question like, "how much would it cost to send a $10k wire transfer to this bank account and routing number?" Gosh, now that I think about it, I can't imagine how entitled and snotty that behavior must have appeared! And when, after lengthy research, when they still couldn't tell me whether this wire transfer would cost $25 or $45 (or some other random amount) I wasn't happy with their suggestion that I just "do the transaction and we'll see what fees post"... yikes, that was totally unreasonable and demanding on my part. I really should have just made cheery small talk about the weather for a while and then left without an answer. I've probably scarred those poor employees for life with my whole "please tell me what the fee will be" shtick. Oh, the shame!
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 22:26:07 GMT -5
Oh, I think we've touched a nerve here. I completely understand that people with no friends or who don't have a busy schedule depend greatly on the Walmart greeter or the post office clerk for basic human interaction. And other people just really enjoy small talk with strangers so are receptive in any situation to a lengthy nonproductive talk with a stranger. But for the rest of us, we go to a business specifically for a purpose - to buy a good or service. We don't go to socialize. And although we're polite and appreciate politeness, we have to limit the time we spend because we have a huge list of other things we also have to do. Not wanting to spend a long time socializing and not wanting to stand in a long line because one of the Lonely Hearts is socializing does not mean that those of us with a life aren't polite with the employees or that we object to basic pleasantries. Nobody has complained that an employee has dared to speak to them or that an employee shouldn't DARE ask about a customer's day. And nobody has suggested that they don't smile and say "thanks" when we interact. The OP wasn't about too much friendliness, it was about how companies are misdirecting their efforts to only offer friendliness with no substance. Those of us who are seeking a business transaction and not to replace the human interaction that is missing in our daily lives want actual substance and service - friendliness is not a substitute. You are the one who changed the OP into "just ring me up and don't talk". Not me. And then you try condescension (which was a massive fail) by implying I have a reading comprehension problem. It's still a reading comprehension problem. The OP never changed - the thread is still about friendly employees who are unhelpful.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Oct 30, 2016 22:37:09 GMT -5
Preach. I do think its hard for people like me who prefer straight forward truth instead of what I see as market or sales speak. Maybe someone can come up with a straight forward person to sales speak dictionary so we know what to say and how to translate all the stuff we hear.
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Mardi Gras Audrey
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Post by Mardi Gras Audrey on Oct 30, 2016 22:37:44 GMT -5
I can tell you from my time in retail is that the issue is a combination of things. You only get so many labor hours to staff the store. At a lot of places, you don't get allotted hours to train. So the person you hired yesterday counts against your budget the same way the person who has been working there for 20 years does. So, you start off "down a person" if you want to train them properly (You essentially need 3 people to take the place of 1 when training new staff. You have the new person, an experienced person who is training them, and another experienced person to help out because the trainee isn't going to be as fast/efficient as the experienced folks). You need extra labor hours but corporate won't give them to you so the newbie is usually thrown out there after a few hour overview of things.
The second issue is how impatient people are nowadays Everything needs to be done NOW or yesterday The public is mean and nasty when they don't get what they want, when they want it. So, even if newbie is trying, if they are slow (because they are learning), they get screamed at for being "Stupid" or "incompetent". Even when you explain that they are new and learning, a lot of customers don't care and make personal attacks on the poor cashier/attendant. I've seen people scream at cashiers about their physical appearance, intelligence level, etc because the cashier was a little slower and in training. Most employees will try to head this off by being super friendly, hoping that the customer won't get totally irate if they are friendly enough. It seems to work in most circumstances (I guess it is harder to be a total jerk when someone has been really nice to you. You will still get some customers who are over the top but most will remain somewhat civil if you are super friendly.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Oct 30, 2016 22:49:37 GMT -5
Hmmm... and some people thought Naughty Bear was too dramatic recently. I understand some of your frustration but if that branch does not do any wire transfers to PR, how would they know? I'd understand you being mad at them more if you were in FL where I'd expect that might be somewhat usual, but if its something no one else does, why should they know for certain how it will work?
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 22:57:53 GMT -5
Hmmm... and some people thought Naughty Bear was too dramatic recently. I understand some of your frustration but if that branch does not do any wire transfers to PR, how would they know? I'd understand you being mad at them more if you were in FL where I'd expect that might be somewhat usual, but if its something no one else does, why should they know for certain how it will work? I am in Florida.
As I said in the OP, I don't blame the employees, I blame the employers. This is a training and resource issue. Even though I'm in Florida where wires to PR are common, I wouldn't expect a banker to know the WT fee off the top of her head but I do think employees should be able to easily look up fee information. Or when they can't look up fee information, when they call the 1-800 help line, the person who answers the line should be able to look up fee information. Or the branch manager should be able to look up fee information.
As for being "mad", I wasn't mad at the employee. She was very polite and trying to help. It's not her fault that she hasn't been trained or that the bank doesn't give the employees tools to research. I am frustrated at the leadership of these companies for their lack of emphasis on training. Do they really think that it's OK to just staff stores with warm, friendly bodies? I'm almost thinking that from a psychological standpoint, many customers might prefer fewer store employees as long as those employees were really well trained and knowledgeable. I know personally I'd rather wait a few more minutes for good help than keep encountering tons of employees who are nice and want to make small talk but can't actually help with any actual business.
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Opti
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Post by Opti on Oct 30, 2016 23:04:05 GMT -5
Hmmm... and some people thought Naughty Bear was too dramatic recently. I understand some of your frustration but if that branch does not do any wire transfers to PR, how would they know? I'd understand you being mad at them more if you were in FL where I'd expect that might be somewhat usual, but if its something no one else does, why should they know for certain how it will work? I am in Florida.
As I said in the OP, I don't blame the employees, I blame the employers. This is a training and resource issue. Even though I'm in Florida where wires to PR are common, I wouldn't expect a banker to know the WT fee off the top of her head but I do think employees should be able to easily look up fee information. Or when they can't look up fee information, when they call the 1-800 help line, the person who answers the line should be able to look up fee information. Or the branch manager should be able to look up fee information.
As for being "mad", I wasn't mad at the employee. She was very polite and trying to help. It's not her fault that she hasn't been trained or that the bank doesn't give the employees tools to research. I am frustrated at the leadership of these companies for their lack of emphasis on training.
Ahhh, well then, for some reason I thought you were in MD. Yes in Florida I would expect a bank that wasn't just a regional bank to be able to find that out. There are many things people do not get trained on. Sometimes its experience that teaches you where to look or time on the job.
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milee
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Post by milee on Oct 30, 2016 23:09:25 GMT -5
I am in Florida.
As I said in the OP, I don't blame the employees, I blame the employers. This is a training and resource issue. Even though I'm in Florida where wires to PR are common, I wouldn't expect a banker to know the WT fee off the top of her head but I do think employees should be able to easily look up fee information. Or when they can't look up fee information, when they call the 1-800 help line, the person who answers the line should be able to look up fee information. Or the branch manager should be able to look up fee information.
As for being "mad", I wasn't mad at the employee. She was very polite and trying to help. It's not her fault that she hasn't been trained or that the bank doesn't give the employees tools to research. I am frustrated at the leadership of these companies for their lack of emphasis on training.
Ahhh, well then, for some reason I thought you were in MD. Yes in Florida I would expect a bank that wasn't just a regional bank to be able to find that out. In Florida at a national bank that everyone would recognize the name of.
I do also have business accounts at a nice little regional bank and their customer service is fantastic, but their online banking sucks. I really wish they would improve their online banking and I'd happily ditch the big name bank. But again, I have to have good online banking because I am a low needs customer who prefers to do everything online.
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whoisjohngalt
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 14:12:07 GMT -5
Posts: 9,140
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Oct 30, 2016 23:32:20 GMT -5
Wire transfers?? My Bank had to re-order my checks 3 times bc they couldn't get it right. I pretty much gave up at that point.
My only wish for any kind of customer service is that they are honest.
If you don't know the answer - tell me. If it's above your pay grade and you can't really address my issue - don't have an ego and just tell me.
Your friendliness is not going to make me forget that you just wasted my time bc you really had no clue what you were doing, but was "trying to help me". Tell me you don't know and send me on my way. I'll find the next person or the next.
And if that makes me impatient - so be it. Just bc I am not getting paid for my time doesn't make it any less valuable than for someone who is on the clock
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Lizard Queen
Senior Associate
103/2024
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Post by Lizard Queen on Oct 31, 2016 6:12:57 GMT -5
Probably won't help, but for a frame of reference, from the receiving end through BofA, wires from China were $50, ACH's from Canada were free.
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Deleted
Joined: Oct 14, 2024 13:31:09 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 31, 2016 7:49:09 GMT -5
As I said in the OP, I don't blame the employees, I blame the employers. This is a training and resource issue. Even though I'm in Florida where wires to PR are common, I wouldn't expect a banker to know the WT fee off the top of her head but I do think employees should be able to easily look up fee information. Or when they can't look up fee information, when they call the 1-800 help line, the person who answers the line should be able to look up fee information. Or the branch manager should be able to look up fee information. I agree. I lived on the East coast for 25 years and have been here in the friendly Midwest for 13 but still have to remind myself to calm down when a service person makes small talk and I'm in a hurry- this IS the Midwest and it's one of the reasons I like it, after all. I do, however, hate dealing with amiable people who can be perfectly convincing but know nothing, or company systems that make it difficult for employees to do their jobs. Two notable examples: one is the system the airlines use. I've had some of my worst waits, either at the desk or in line, when a change needs to be made to an itinerary. It's gotten slightly better (Delta, bless them, re-scheduled me easily and at no charge when I blundered and showed up at the airport at the time the flight took off), but it can get really involved, with the employee calling over another one and the two of them squinting at the computer screens and poking through menus. Getting nasty won't help. They're doing their best and still have to serve the lengthening line behind me. The other is home improvement stores. I was looking at tile in Home Depot and asked an employee in the area about installation costs. She gave me a range that sounded reasonable. It took another employee at least half an hour to enter information in the computer to refine the quote and it was well over the top of the other employee's range. (No complications such as weird-shaped spaces, fancy designer tile borders or very small tiles that would have increased the estimate.) I ended up doing it myself.
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Green Eyed Lady
Senior Associate
Look inna eye! Always look inna eye!
Joined: Jan 23, 2012 11:23:55 GMT -5
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Post by Green Eyed Lady on Oct 31, 2016 7:53:43 GMT -5
Yes...it's because they have to deal with snotty, picky people for 8 hours (or however long their shift lasts). I agree with those who say there has been a huge increase in "friendliness" because businesses are competing harder than ever for our dollar. The downside of that is that it has issued a new breed of entitled, snotty, demanding customers.
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I don't think the problem is the service people. I think it's those of us who think we are just too damn good to have to deal with them. If we were all as smart as we think we are, we wouldn't have to ask for help.
Yep. That's definitely the issue here. Looking back at the OP, I can see where I'm going wrong. At Home Depot, it's completely unreasonable for me to expect their employees - who are standing at the door to "greet" you and specifically ask "how can I help you?" - know where things are located in the store. It's totally snotty and demanding to ask where something is to begin with and then to expect that if the employee didn't know where something was located that they call over someone else who could help. Who the heck demands that type of service anyways? Sheesh, I must be pretty dumb to have to ask for help locating an item in that store. And as for the bank, I really should adjust my expectations to what's reasonable. After all, between my business and personal accounts I only usually have around $750k there on any one day, yet I require and use absolutely none of their employee time 99.9% of the time. And even though I never have overdrafts or require a single minute of personal assistance on their part since I do my transactions online, it's completely demanding and unreasonable to expect that once a year I go into the lobby and ask them a crazy question like, "how much would it cost to send a $10k wire transfer to this bank account and routing number?" Gosh, now that I think about it, I can't imagine how entitled and snotty that behavior must have appeared! And when, after lengthy research, when they still couldn't tell me whether this wire transfer would cost $25 or $45 (or some other random amount) I wasn't happy with their suggestion that I just "do the transaction and we'll see what fees post"... yikes, that was totally unreasonable and demanding on my part. I really should have just made cheery small talk about the weather for a while and then left without an answer. I've probably scarred those poor employees for life with my whole "please tell me what the fee will be" shtick. Oh, the shame! LOL!! Nice attempt at deflection, Scarlett!
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973beachbum
Senior Associate
Politics Admin
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Post by 973beachbum on Oct 31, 2016 8:14:32 GMT -5
I wouldn't ask a teller at the bank about a international wire transfer. And although clearly I'm an idiot since my second job is at a grocery store, but my wire transfer training taught me that a US state to Puerto Rico is international. I didn't care why it just is.
Speaking of companies like Moneygram and Western Union they literally built a business of transferring money. And I am pretty sure that you can do it all online from your bank account to theirs. So instead of trying to get the person who does regular banking things like deposits and such maybe try using a company like Moneygram who does this all day every day?
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swamp
Community Leader
THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS!!!!!!!
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 16:03:22 GMT -5
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Post by swamp on Oct 31, 2016 8:23:30 GMT -5
I wouldn't ask a teller at the bank about a international wire transfer. And although clearly I'm an idiot since my second job is at a grocery store, but my wire transfer training taught me that a US state to Puerto Rico is international. I didn't care why it just is. Speaking of companies like Moneygram and Western Union they literally built a business of transferring money. And I am pretty sure that you can do it all online from your bank account to theirs. So instead of trying to get the person who does regular banking things like deposits and such maybe try using a company like Moneygram who does this all day every day? I don't know about milee, but I can tell you why I wouldn't want to go to another place to wire money out:
1. It's another trip, and I've got enough to do already. 2. My quickbooks and bank account are linked, so going to another place will require additional bookkeeping entries. 3. I've wired money from this bank before. An international wire cost me $x, a domestic wire cost me $y. A Canada wire costs me $z. What is PR considered? They looked it up on the chart, so I can't imagine it would be a problem. 4. I do all my banking at Bank, I have on average about $350,000 in there at any time in various accounts. They probably want to keep me. I want to keep them.
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