Why was my wife rushed on the phone when asking for information about her account?

armabelle

Hi there. My wife was just on the phone with BOI for a problem with "verified by visa" and was very upset at how she was rushed on the phone. The person on the phone did try to help but did so in a very impatient way and wouldn't hold on while my wife got details and wrote information down. My wife had spent a lot of her time holding to speak to this person so that she could get this very important information and when the person told her that she couldn't hold because the lines were busy we really could not believe this. Could you please help us understand how you can talk to your customers in this way? What if you are helping someone who is a bit older of age and they may need an extra moment to digest what could be confusing information at first? Surely people who help your clients on the phone should go at your customers speed and not their own? If the lines are too busy is that really your customers fault and should they be the ones who suffer as a result of your bank being understaffed?

Bank of Ireland: Alison

armabelle wrote: »

Hi there. My wife was just on the phone with BOI for a problem with "verified by visa" and was very upset at how she was rushed on the phone. The person on the phone did try to help but did so in a very impatient way and wouldn't hold on while my wife got details and wrote information down. My wife had spent a lot of her time holding to speak to this person so that she could get this very important information and when the person told her that she couldn't hold because the lines were busy we really could not believe this. Could you please help us understand how you can talk to your customers in this way? What if you are helping someone who is a bit older of age and they may need an extra moment to digest what could be confusing information at first? Surely people who help your clients on the phone should go at your customers speed and not their own? If the  lines are too busy is that really your customers fault and should they be the ones who suffer as a result of your bank being understaffed?

Hi armabelle

Thanks for taking the time to get in touch with us here on Boards. 

Please pass on our sincere apologies to your wife. We can totally understand why you're both unhappy with how the call was handled by one of our colleagues and will ensure this is passed onto our Verified by Visa Team. 

Time should have been taken to ensure your wife had all the information she needed and the offer any further assistance if required.  We will forward this without delay and apologies again to you both. 

If your wife needs further assistance from our Verified by Visa Team please do get back in touch with us.

Many Thanks
Alison

njjj

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

Ally Dick

njjj wrote: »

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

That's no surprise. The last few years has brought horrendous change. Many of the jobs outsourced to India, and changes to terms and conditions, and work practices, which bring pressure all the time. It's no longer a caring place to work

Pawwed Rig

Agree with above. All of the Irish banks bankrupted themselves and the guys at the bottom suffered due to the actions of those at the top. They have been very bleak places to work for the last years.
The guys in the call centres have targets that they have to hit of calls to get through so cannot spend time with customers.

Ally Dick

Many branch staff were taken out of their towns and sent to central locations in Dublin to answer phones for customer service. That frustrated the local public too who no longer can call into their branch to discuss problems. Also any unfortunate staff member who stayed in branch banking is now a "greeter" with a clipboard and is on their feet in their branch showing customers how to use the machines. In the IT department, the permanent staff were shafted in favour of a much cheaper India model, and a much dearer Accenture model, which makes no sense, other than allowing Boi management to absolve themselves of responsibility for IT. They simply write a cheque or invoke a penalty clause when things go wrong. It's all gone so cold and callous

amber2

And everything they do is monitored.

Mongfinder General

njjj wrote: »

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

Are they paid to smile?

Ally Dick

Mongfinder General wrote: »

njjj wrote: »

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

Are they paid to smile?

Used to be part of the service. Now they're getting badgered so much, there's nothing to smile about

Mongfinder General

Ally Dick wrote: »

Used to be part of the service. Now they're getting badgered so much, there's nothing to smile about

True. Dealing with the public is obnoxious a lot of the time. Everybody is an expert on Banking it would appear.

armabelle

Mongfinder General wrote: »

njjj wrote: »

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

Are they paid to smile?

I don't think my wife cares if they smile but she expects not to be rushed after being on hold until she understands what has been said to her. She spent her time holding now the person should be patient. That is the least she should be entitled to.

armabelle

njjj wrote: »

Bank staff are often very impatient and stone-faced, you seldom see them smiling

The bank staff I have met in the store have been pleasant enough. I mean, there is always the sour-kraut among them but that goes for anywhere. However, this kind of thing I have never before seen / heard where a representitive rushes you and when you ask for a moment they literally tell you that they have other people on the line and have to go and can't hold any longer. This comes after about 2 minutes on the phone not 20. in 2 minutes my wife was supposed to have digested all this new information and written some of it down. God forbid she should have a question or two.

Mongfinder General

armabelle wrote: »

I don't think my wife cares if they smile but she expects not to be rushed after being on hold until she understands what has been said to her. She spent her time holding now the person should be patient. That is the least she should be entitled to.

Absolutely. Your wife deserves respect and common courtesy. The people who don't deserve it are those who vent and abuse staff. Unfortunately I find that it's easier to remember the bad stuff

regi3457

armabelle wrote: »

Hi there. My wife was just on the phone with BOI for a problem with "verified by visa" and was very upset at how she was rushed on the phone. The person on the phone did try to help but did so in a very impatient way and wouldn't hold on while my wife got details and wrote information down. My wife had spent a lot of her time holding to speak to this person so that she could get this very important information and when the person told her that she couldn't hold because the lines were busy we really could not believe this. Could you please help us understand how you can talk to your customers in this way? What if you are helping someone who is a bit older of age and they may need an extra moment to digest what could be confusing information at first? Surely people who help your clients on the phone should go at your customers speed and not their own? If the  lines are too busy is that really your customers fault and should they be the ones who suffer as a result of your bank being understaffed?

Banks only care about profit and making more of it. Your wife was speaking to someone who obviously is part of a very small team and was highly strung and overly stressed by the work flow that day. Banks reduce costs by reducing labor transferring the burden on the staff who then transfer it to the customer. In-store it is different because it is harder for someone to be rude to your face but on the phone some people feel that it is OK to be rude or rush customers in that way.

Tow

Ally Dick wrote: »

Many branch staff were taken out of their towns and sent to central locations in Dublin to answer phones for customer service. That frustrated the local public too who no longer can call into their branch to discuss problems. Also any unfortunate staff member who stayed in branch banking is now a "greeter" with a clipboard and is on their feet in their branch showing customers how to use the machines.

Those are the lucky ones who did not get issued a P45. When the wife's company banked with BOI she was regularly in the branch and saw the changes over the years. Her friendly teller was in tears the day she told her 12 of them were getting the sack, to be replaced by machines. It annoys me every time I see the reps here Ctrl C+V 'a member of staff will be happy to show you how to use a machine'. Eventually they moved bank last year, as the service was so bad. Her boss was told me he save the Branch Manager an ear full when he phoned them to ask why they left.