Customer Scare Centers
CCC – Customer Care Center, CCE – Customer Care Executive
Sam stays in Bangalore, he wanted to apply for a new broadband connection for his home in Goa. He called a CCC number found on the Airtel website to inquire about the service.
(call to Airtel CCC)
Sam: Hello, Could you tell me if Airtel broadband service is available in Goa?
CCE: Just a min Sir.
CCE: Ha ha! You are calling Airtel Karnataka helpline and asking about connection in Goa. How am I suppose to know that Sir?
(Stumped! Sam didn’t expect the CCE guy to ridicule him this way)
Sam: Oh! Can you give me the Goa Customer Service number?
CCE: Just a min Sir.
(call to Airtel CCC)
Sam: Hello, Could you tell me whether Airtel broadband service is available in Goa?
CCE: Sir, Your good name please.
Sam: Sam D’silva.
CCE: Thank you sir. Can I have the number from which your are calling.
Sam: (gave the number)
CCE: I see that this is a Karnataka Vodafone number.
Sam: I just want to know about the availability of Airtel broadband.
CCE: But you are calling from Karnataka Sir.
Sam: Yes! I am.
Sam: Where is your call center located?
CCE: Pune.
(Goa & Maharastra come under same telecom service circle)
Sam: I just need to know whether…
CCE: You are calling from Karnataka and asking about broadband in Goa sir. You should call the Karnataka customer service center.
Sam: I called them, they told me to call you, infact I got your number from them.
CCE: But I can’t tell you about the availability of service in Goa sir.
Sam: Then who should I ask?
CCE: How can you get Airtel broadband if you have a Vodafone number?
Sam: (trying to be extremely polite and clear) Ok! Ok! If I take a new Airtel connection in Goa can I get broadband over it?
CCE: How can I know that sir? Since you are calling from a Vodafone number you should be calling the Karnataka Vodafone customer service center.
(He actually said this)
Sam: What???
CCE: Can I assist you with anything more?
Sam: No. Thank You.
(This is a transcript of an actual conversation which definitely did not take place on April 1st)
“Companies are using their customer care centers to scare away consumer from complaining”, says Prof. Pitu.
“Companies are spending their money in signing movie and sports stars and buying ad space rather than investing in training of their CCEs and improving their products. Companies are saving money by reducing call center work force and hiring CCEs with sub-zero IQ. By deterring customer complaints the CEOs create an illusion that no one complains, they have a great product. Time for a salary hike.”
Researchers at Pitu labs conducted a test to find what actually happens when a customer realizes that he/she is about to call a CCC.
About a thousand students from University of Krokosia (remember the movie The Terminal?) participated in the test.
1st the subjects were shown pictures of Snakes, Insects, burn victims, and clips from Ring (I and II), Raaz (II) and their brain activity was recorded. Later each subject was told to write down which pictures/clips they found scary.
Eight days later, all the participants were called again to the test center and were told that Pitu Labs would pay each of them Rs 1000 for participating in the experiment, but the condition is that they should call the Pitu Labs customer service center, get through the IVR and reach the CCE, give their personal details, preferred mode of payment and bank details. And this exercise should be repeated every day until they receive the amount.
Their brain activity was recorded again.
When the researchers used the software to compare the brain activity patterns in Case I and Case II, what did they discover?
The mere thought of calling the CCC created the same type of activity in the brain as the feeling of fear did in Case I.
Have you been through such horror?
Sam stays in Bangalore, he wanted to apply for a new broadband connection for his home in Goa. He called a CCC number found on the Airtel website to inquire about the service.
(call to Airtel CCC)
Sam: Hello, Could you tell me if Airtel broadband service is available in Goa?
CCE: Just a min Sir.
CCE: Ha ha! You are calling Airtel Karnataka helpline and asking about connection in Goa. How am I suppose to know that Sir?
(Stumped! Sam didn’t expect the CCE guy to ridicule him this way)
Sam: Oh! Can you give me the Goa Customer Service number?
CCE: Just a min Sir.
(call to Airtel CCC)
Sam: Hello, Could you tell me whether Airtel broadband service is available in Goa?
CCE: Sir, Your good name please.
Sam: Sam D’silva.
CCE: Thank you sir. Can I have the number from which your are calling.
Sam: (gave the number)
CCE: I see that this is a Karnataka Vodafone number.
Sam: I just want to know about the availability of Airtel broadband.
CCE: But you are calling from Karnataka Sir.
Sam: Yes! I am.
Sam: Where is your call center located?
CCE: Pune.
(Goa & Maharastra come under same telecom service circle)
Sam: I just need to know whether…
CCE: You are calling from Karnataka and asking about broadband in Goa sir. You should call the Karnataka customer service center.
Sam: I called them, they told me to call you, infact I got your number from them.
CCE: But I can’t tell you about the availability of service in Goa sir.
Sam: Then who should I ask?
CCE: How can you get Airtel broadband if you have a Vodafone number?
Sam: (trying to be extremely polite and clear) Ok! Ok! If I take a new Airtel connection in Goa can I get broadband over it?
CCE: How can I know that sir? Since you are calling from a Vodafone number you should be calling the Karnataka Vodafone customer service center.
(He actually said this)
Sam: What???
CCE: Can I assist you with anything more?
Sam: No. Thank You.
(This is a transcript of an actual conversation which definitely did not take place on April 1st)
“Companies are using their customer care centers to scare away consumer from complaining”, says Prof. Pitu.
“Companies are spending their money in signing movie and sports stars and buying ad space rather than investing in training of their CCEs and improving their products. Companies are saving money by reducing call center work force and hiring CCEs with sub-zero IQ. By deterring customer complaints the CEOs create an illusion that no one complains, they have a great product. Time for a salary hike.”
Researchers at Pitu labs conducted a test to find what actually happens when a customer realizes that he/she is about to call a CCC.
About a thousand students from University of Krokosia (remember the movie The Terminal?) participated in the test.
1st the subjects were shown pictures of Snakes, Insects, burn victims, and clips from Ring (I and II), Raaz (II) and their brain activity was recorded. Later each subject was told to write down which pictures/clips they found scary.
Eight days later, all the participants were called again to the test center and were told that Pitu Labs would pay each of them Rs 1000 for participating in the experiment, but the condition is that they should call the Pitu Labs customer service center, get through the IVR and reach the CCE, give their personal details, preferred mode of payment and bank details. And this exercise should be repeated every day until they receive the amount.
Their brain activity was recorded again.
When the researchers used the software to compare the brain activity patterns in Case I and Case II, what did they discover?
The mere thought of calling the CCC created the same type of activity in the brain as the feeling of fear did in Case I.
Have you been through such horror?
posted by Unknown at
10:32 AM
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