After being interrupted three times I believed I understood the pressure this agent was under to keep my business; but, her behavior and not being heard made me question the truthfulness of what was advertised. I began to believe she was trained to keep the business or close it out without a refund. The product was advertised with a 90-day Money Back Guarantee and I was well within the 90 days so closing it without my refund was not an option. I had to ask the agent for information on how to return the product, where to ship the product, the name of the company to ship the product to, the Return Authorization Number (RNA) and whether I would get a full refund or a fraction of what I paid. I had to ask how long before I could expect to see my refund and how it would be notated on my credit card. The agent was either completely unprepared and uninformed or purposefully neglectful in providing relevant information. Either way, this was an unacceptable customer experience. Here are a few insights from that call: I have noticed a trend in companies leaving their customer support phone numbers off their websites. It is frustrating to search a website and then have to search the web to find a company’s customer support phone number. Making customers send an email in lieu of speaking with an agent insinuates you want their money but not necessarily a relationship. A company that offers a money-back guarantee should back it products and the warranty it pledged to return customers’ money with the same attention and detail it provides when the customer makes the purchase.

Until my encounter with that agent I had no reason to suspect the company of being unethical. Setting up time-outs to drop callers when they select a return option is unethical. Companies should have Automated Attendant (phone tree – press 1 to reach ABC, press 2 to get directions, etc.) options checked to ensure callers are transferred to active lines. Sometimes changes are made to departments but not to the Automated Attendants that route callers to destination groups. It is a poor business practice to drop callers who select an option to return items. It makes the company look untrustworthy and unethical. Wasting customers’ time with long hold times on the options to return products while quickly getting them directly to an agent to order a product is an unethical practice. Staffing return option lines with inexperienced agents or agents who deceive customers into closing out their accounts without receiving their refund is an unethical practice. Reaching an inexperienced agent is a part of doing business today. However, reaching agents who make you feel like their job is to keep you from getting your money back and who withholds relevant information is an unacceptable practice. Companies that do not know how their agents represent them to their customers do not deserve and certainly have not earned customer loyalty.

I don’t like pointing out problems without offering solutions, so here you go… I am one of the first people to acknowledge that what appears to be unethical in the service industry may just be poor oversight of procedural deficiencies. It is expected and acceptable to reach agents who are trained to help customers realize all the benefits a product has to offer when customers call to cancel orders. Companies should staff their “returned item lines” with specially trained agents. They should not just be scripted with a spiel about the benefits, they should have first-hand experience (if possible) and deeper knowledge (gained through specialized training, testing, etc. showing the benefits and the correct and incorrect application or usage). They should know why customers would not want to use the products and some of the reasons why other customers with similar rationales have changed their minds about returning the product. When agents know they have nothing to offer the customer they should close the call. They should offer the customer to option to come back at any time. Consistently check the routing options in your company’s automated attendants to ensure the lines are active and directing callers to the right destination. There is nothing more frustrating than to be transferred to a line that is no longer in service at a company with whom you do business. It is unprofessional and intimates the company does not care about operational procedures or customer experience. Companies may appear unethical because one option may go to a group that is heavily staffed with agents ready to take calls while another option goes to a line where staffing does not meet the traffic demands, or where the ring time is set longer than other groups. This is a basic function that can make a company look bad and lose customers. Establish a drop-dead time on how long your customers remain on hold and keep to it. Know your busy times and staff accordingly. Establish a FAQ voice or web portal in addition to live agent support. I am Amanda Grihm, author of Rat Bastard Customer Care: Committed to the Fix! This was a frustrating experience for me but it is an experience that may be helpful for companies in the process of crafting or revising customer service strategies.