What Everyone Should Know About Calling Customer Service

For two and a half years, I worked as a telephone customer service representative at a major mortgage company. I will not specifically name this mortgage company, but I will say that it is one of the largest mortgage companies in the country, especially as far as servicing loans. If you have a mortgage, there is a good chance that you make your payments each month to this company.

In my time as a CSR (customer service representative) at this company, I learned a lot about dealing with customer service. The information I learned has helped me considerably as a consumer, and I want to share this information with the world.

What Everyone Should Know About Getting Someone on the Phone:

One of the biggest complaints in calling a corporation such as a mortgage company, a cell phone carrier, or a credit card company, is that it is impossible to get a live person on the phone. It is not impossible; you just have to know how to do it. First of all, I want to recommend that you use the automated system if you are just calling for something simple, like how much your monthly payment is, or when the due date is, or the address to mail the payment to. However, if you have a more detailed question, you should be able to talk to someone.

Different companies have different systems, so getting through to customer service is different at each company. For most companies, if you simply do not press any button at all, you will be pushed through to customer service. It may ask you for your account number several times, however, if you do not push anything it will eventually send you into customer service.

If you are placed on hold to wait for a CSR, do not hang up. Unless you hear a dial tone, or see your cell phone go back to the screensaver, you have not been cutoff just because you do not hear hold music. Also, do not hang up because you think you have been holding for too long, unless you plan on calling back at a different time of day. Calling right back will just put you back in the end of the line. When you begin holding for customer service, you are in queue, meaning waiting in line. By hanging up and trying again, you just have to wait longer.

What Everyone Should Know About When To Call:

If the company that you are trying to call only has CSRs available during certain hours (usually standard business hours or an extended variation of business hours), then do not call first thing in the morning if you live on the West Coast. If you live on the East Coast, this may work, because you are competing with fewer people.

Calling midday is almost always the best bet, because you end up competing with fewer callers to speak to a CSR, meaning shorter hold times. Try not to call within the last few minutes that the company has CSRs available. The reason for this is simple. Most companies will not close the customer service phone lines for new calls until a minute or two before the end of business hours. Because the phone lines usually die down towards the end of the day anyway, quitting time for employees is usually the same time that the phone lines close. If you call just a few minutes before, you will get someone on the phone; however, the person you have on the phone has probably worked a long day and is probably ready to go home. They will do the best they can to assist you, but you will not be getting the best service possible because they will be in a rush, and there will be less people available that they can contact if further assistance is necessary (for instance, other departments in the company).

What Everyone Should Know About How To Get What You Want:

When you open up your bill and realize that there is a problem (extra charges, an increase in price, a late charge that shouldn't be there, etc.), you may understandably be upset. If you are very upset or angry, and think that this anger will be evident in the tone of your voice, take some time to calm down before you call. If you call up customer service yelling and screaming, you are much less likely to get what you want.

Yes, that's right, raising your voice or playing "tough guy" is not going to get you anything! Remember that the person you are talking to on the other end of the phone is exactly that- a person. She is someone's wife, mother, or sister. He is someone's child. He or she has feelings and emotions, and even though they are trained not to react emotionally, it is hard not to take it personally when someone is yelling and screaming in your ear. It is also hard not to jump on the defensive. When a CSR is on the defensive, he is not on your side trying to help you. You want the CSR on your side.

Stay calm and do not call the CSR names, or insult them personally. Never use phrases such as "you people" or even "you." The person you are talking did not personally charge you a late charge or increase your payment. Saying, "Why did you charge me a late charge? You received my payment on time!" is not as effective as saying, "Hello, I was charged a late charge last month, and I believe that my payment was received on time." Use "I" statements and you will get much further. The person on the other end of the phone is probably in customer service because he/she enjoys helping people. The CSR is also a consumer himself, and knows how it feels. They want to be on your side, and they want to help you.

What Everyone Should Know About Late Charges and Fees:

While CSRs will not outright tell you this, most companies have a policy about each account being allowed a certain number of waivers. Although it may not seem that way (which is how companies make money), late charges are often negotiable. Often times it is in the companies best interest to waive the late charge to keep a happy customer. Happy customers tend to stay customers, and then they will make more money from you over the long haul. So if you accidentally forgot to send your payment in because you were going crazy with a move across the country, or you just had your first child, or even if you just forgot, as long as it was not a common thing, you can usually ask to have it waived.

Now, if you are late every single month and have many late charges stacked up, don't even bother trying to get them waived. At this point, it is obvious that you have made it a habit to send your payment in late for one reason or another, and they are not going to benefit from waiving it for you one time.

What Everyone Should Know Protecting Your Credit:

Calling in to have a late charge waived because you were two or three days late is one thing, while asking to have your credit corrected is a completely different issue. Understand that companies are under an obligation to report credit accurately. There are laws about this. Because of this, CSRs are trained not to correct credit unless the company was honestly at fault. So if you mailed your payment 30 days late and got a 30-day mark on your credit, understand that it is your fault and it will show up on your credit. There is very little that a CSR can do about it.

The best thing to do is find out early on what the companies policies are about credit reporting. Some companies, such as retail credit cards, do not report every 30 days, they only report if it is 60 days late. If this is the case, then you may not have to be as careful about this account. Other companies, such as mortgage companies and Visa or MasterCard accounts, report automatically if a payment is received even a day over 30 days. You must be very careful about these accounts! If you have to pay a fee to pay online or over the phone to avoid paying late, it is worth it, if this is the case.

What Everyone Should Know About Asking For a Supervisor:

If you are having a problem with a CSR, such as not understanding what your problem is, or you feel that the person is being rude to you, or you think that they just do not know what they are talking about, you may feel like asking for their manager. This is fine, and can often result in you actually getting better service. However, keep in mind that most companies have very few actual supervisors on the customer service floor, and they usually do not take calls. Most of the time, if you ask to speak with a supervisor, they are really just transferring you to a specialty queue for escalated calls. These reps are usually more experienced and have special training for dealing with upset customers. I am not telling you this to deter you from asking for a supervisor; I am simply letting you know that the person you are transferred to probably does not know the person you were previously talking to personally and has no power over him or her. So, when you get this "supervisor" on the phone, there is no point in complaining about the previous representative, or saying that you hope that he/she is disciplined for this or whatnot. There is a good chance that the "supervisor" you are now talking to is not even in the same city as the initial rep.
Asking for a supervisor is a good way to get someone with more experience on the phone, especially if you have a complicated problem. Just remember to again, remain calm, and they will help you solve the problem.

If you want to complain about a person specifically, for instance if they were rude or said something inappropriate to you, or if you know that they gave you false information, then the best thing to do is to put your complain in writing. Ask for the correspondence address, get the full name or ID number of the person you are talking to, and then write a letter addressed to "Customer Service Management." Give specific details about when you called, who you spoke to, and what the issue was. This is the best way of making sure a specific person is held accountable for mistakes.

Just a side note, you can and should also do this if you get exceptional service. If a CSR is really helpful, or goes above and beyond your expectations, you should get the information and write a letter complimenting the service this person gave. Often times, these letters will go on this employee's record and can help the person to get a much-deserved raise or promotion.