[Foodnova]

I'm fully prepared to take a beating for what most of my colleagues do/say, just like I do every day at work anyway... but.. that's another subject. From where or what gender I am not saying for obvious reasons. I'm merely here to make both of our experiences better

What do CSR's do that aggravate you the most? What do we do/say that let's you know "hey, this person's legit"? Any other feedback is greatly appreciated

 

[BubblePuppy]

Welcome to DBSTalk. Your input from "the other side " will be very interesting and informative.
I have had excellent response and assistance from all of the CSRs that I have worked with. Some of them even went above and beyond. It is all about respect and treating them as I want to be treated.
Thank you for your hard work and patiences.

 

[SteveHas]

Good question Foodnova, and welcome.
Having been a customer service manager in the high volume printing industry for many years I have some some experience with this on both sides, (but not in SAT TV).

I'm not even so sure its the CSR's fault.
The biggest complaint I seem to read here, or experience for myself, is inconsistency in the answers we all get.

That to me indicates a training issue, not a bad CSR.

I should point out that in 12 years of satisfied D* service I have had very few problems with CSRs. Come to think of it just once.
Installers though....

 

[Foodnova]

Good question Foodnova, and welcome.
Having been a customer service manager in the high volume printing industry for many years I have some some experience with this on both sides, (but not in SAT TV).

I'm not even so sure its the CSR's fault.
The biggest complaint I seem to read here, or experience for myself, is inconsistency in the answers we all get.

That to me indicates a training issue, not a bad CSR.

I should point out that in 12 years of satisfied D* service I have had very few problems with CSRs. Come to think of it just once.
Installers though....

I can't really get in to our training process, but plenty are lackadaisical or even completely ignorant of completing it. You'd be surprised how many people still need assistance with the hr34 support.... and it hasn't even really gone live yet. That will definitely separate the good from the bad and lazy. Some take calls too personal, which may or may not be a good thing, but more often than not, bad. When your CSR is putting you on hold, they look to agents like me for help

I appreciate the feedback so far guys. Thanks for the welcome

 

[dpeters11]

For me it's inaccurate info (like when I was told that an hr34 was not guaranteed to be replaced with another 34), or being asked to go through unneeded troubleshooting steps. If a customer says they are getting a signal error on all receivers, don't make them check the cable on a receiver.

Of course a lot of this comes down to training and requirements by management.

 

[TDK1044]

I have had a pretty good experience with the CSRs overall. I think that one issue I would question is for them to understand that sometimes a cookie cutter response based on a written script isn't the way to go.

I had an issue a while back where one of my HR24 DVRs was running very hot and not activating its cooling fan. It was even displaying a message that the maximun safe operating temperature of the device had been exceeded.

The CSR I was talking with was useless. All she did was keep telling me that the machine would cool down. I told her that I had two other HR24s that were working perfectly, and I also told her that 149 degrees and rising is dangerous and approaching the point that the device will catch on fire.

All this woman would do is recite a script that said that the HR24 would be fine. I hung up the phone and PMd a member here (who now works for DirecTV) for advice. He put me in touch with a DirecTV technical division in El Segundo, California, and arrangements were made for me to ship the DVR directly to them. They also arranged to ship me out a new box.

Sometimes, common sense has to superceed whatever script is written on a computer monitor.

 

[Foodnova]

I have had a pretty good experience with the CSRs overall. I think that one issue I would question is for them to understand that sometimes a cookie cutter response based on a written script isn't the way to go.

I had an issue a while back where one of my HR24 DVRs was running very hot and not activating its cooling fan. It was even displaying a message that the maximun safe operating temperature of the device had been exceeded.

The CSR I was talking with was useless. All she did was keep telling me that the machine would cool down. I told her that I had two other HR24s that were working perfectly, and I also told her that 149 degrees and rising is dangerous and approaching the point that the device will catch on fire.

All this woman would do is recite a script that said that the HR24 would be fine. I hung up the phone and PMd a member here (who now works for DirecTV) for advice. He put me in touch with a DirecTV technical division in El Segundo, California, and arrangements were made for me to ship the DVR directly to them. They also arranged to ship me out a new box.

Sometimes, common sense has to superceed whatever script is written on a computer monitor.

We surprisingly a very small amount of script to read, if ever. Some terms and conditions have to be made aware of or we get wrist slapped, but unless it involves bundling, not much script

That usually only happens when it's new territory an agent is expanding to and trying to handle themselves instead of auto-transferring the second they realize they can't/haven't chartered down that path before

 

[trh]

:welcome_s Foodnova. In 13 years, I've only had 1 or 2 instances where I wasn't happy with my CSR. Like in August when I upgraded to MRV and I had two SD DVRs that had to be upgraded: "You will receive two R-22s". "I thought those weren't in production anymore and very hard to come by?" "That is all we ship out for MRV upgrades." Wrong -- I got R16s.

Also, I think you should change your signature line. I suspect you won't get heckled here.

 

[MysteryMan]

What aggravates me are the series of recordings ("I want to order a movie" or "I want to pay my bill") we have to put up with before we're finally connected to a CSR. Would be nice to be able to bypass the recordings and just get down to business.

 

[dpeters11]

Also, I think you should change your signature line. I suspect you won't get heckled here.

Agreed, the CSRs that post here are one of the kinds we like.

 

[trh]

Foodnova -- you might want to go read this thread. Its about a customer that bought a nomad, decided he didn't want it and sold it. But the new owner's can't get it activated on their account.

 

[carl6]

Foodnova,
I think there is a required signature disclaimer you must use if you indicate you are a DirecTV employee (DirecTV policy). For your own benefit and protection, you should check into that before doing much forum posting (here or elsewhere).

Having said that, thanks for your interest and initiative.

 

[Cyber36]

In the 17 years I've been with DTV, I've never had a bad experience with any CSR. Treat people the way you want to be treated & see how it goes....

 

[Carl Spock]

Foodnova, thanks for posting. Welcome to the best board on DirecTV out there.

To your original question, my biggest problem with CSRs is their inability to say the words, "I don't know." When I call about something which, because of this board, I know to be true and get a CSR who says the opposite, it's frustrating. I've learned not to argue and just politely hang up. I'll call back later to get somebody who is aware of the situation and then everything works out fine.

To give you a specific example, in December there was a billing problem and credits like the HD Access Free for 24 Months didn't show up on people's accounts. I read on DBSTalk about people calling in and the CSR saying, "Mr. Customer, you are right. That credit is missing. Let me enter it here and you'll find it applied to your next month's bill." When I called in, I got a CSR that said that the credit had expired. That's why it wasn't on my account. Huh? It doesn't expire until the middle of this year. I hung up and called back. The second CSR agreed it should have been there, along with a missing $10 a month anniversary gift credit, and quickly applied those two credits to my account. It took a couple of weeks but they showed up as a negative balance on my statement. Problem solved. If the first CSR had said, "I don't see the credits and I don't know why," things could have happenend much differently.

As a guy who hired entry level salesmen for 30 years, I understand it is tough to get a neophyte to say, "I don't know." But it can be done. If DirecTV could get CSRs to admit they don't know everything and not, in the worst cases, make up stories out of whole cloth, their public relations would be much better.

 

[NR4P]

Foodnova, welcome.
I think the number one common complaint here is that CSR's promise what cannot be delivered. Its often that we see customers complain that a CSR promised them an HR24 and then a refurb HR21 shows up.

I believe there is a like-for-like program for defective products. H25s for H25's etc but so many old and new customers claim they were promised something and they get something else.

Thanks for checking.

 

[Ira Lacher]

I will say that for the most part, I have been very satisfied with my CSR experiences. Most I talk with seem very eager to want to please the customer and continue the perception that the customer is benefiting from his or her association with DirecTV.

But there was one notable instance when I was offered an upgrade to whole home plus additional equipment for a certain price, which I accepted, only to hear a far higher price on the confirmation call. The rep I spoke with on the confirmation call informed me that the CSR who made me the whole-home upgrade offer for that particular price didn't have the authority to do so, and therefore DirecTV couldn't fulfill it for that price; I would have to pay the higher price. You can imagine how that made me feel! And I said so in further calls to DirecTV retention.

I realize that every organization has its bad apples. But since the conversation I had with the "rogue" CSR apparently was not recorded, DirecTV said there was nothing they could do. I canceled the order and was left with a very bad taste in my mouth about the company for weeks afterward. In fact I researched alternatives, but a better value doesn't exist in my area, and so I have reluctantly stayed with the service.

But that was an excellent example of how a horrible experience with a CSR can utterly destroy a customer relationship. All any customer wants are fair, honest and knowledgeable answers, prompt action and maybe an occasional above-and-beyond response.

 

[Herdfan]

FoodNova.

Welcome to the board. Just a single question.

Are calls really recorded for quality assurance? It just seems that given some of the crazy answers, and repetitive crazy answers given to customers, if someone were actually listening to the recordings, points of emphasis could be communicated to CSR's.

For example, with the launch of the HR34, many members have reported that CSR's were telling them that you have to have a certain model of Samsung TV for it to work. Now we here all know that is not true, but why are CSR's allowed to keep repeating the same misleading information? Back in college, I did some phone support work, but before every shift we had a quick meeting which would cover things like this. And if the supervisor had to repeat it every day he/she would. At some point, even the dumbest ones would finally figure it out.

 

[Martinrrrr]

Foodnova, thanks for posting. Welcome to the best board on DirecTV out there.

To your original question, my biggest problem with CSRs is their inability to say the words, "I don't know." When I call about something which, because of this board, I know to be true and get a CSR who says the opposite, it's frustrating. I've learned not to argue and just politely hang up. I'll call back later to get somebody who is aware of the situation and then everything works out fine.

To give you a specific example, in December there was a billing problem and credits like the HD Access Free for 24 Months didn't show up on people's accounts. I read on DBSTalk about people calling in and the CSR saying, "Mr. Customer, you are right. That credit is missing. Let me enter it here and you'll find it applied to your next month's bill." When I called in, I got a CSR that said that the credit had expired. That's why it wasn't on my account. Huh? It doesn't expire until the middle of this year. I hung up and called back. The second CSR agreed it should have been there, along with a missing $10 a month anniversary gift credit, and quickly applied those two credits to my account. It took a couple of weeks but they showed up as a negative balance on my statement. Problem solved. If the first CSR had said, "I don't see the credits and I don't know why," things could have happenend much differently.

As a guy who hired entry level salesmen for 30 years, I understand it is tough to get a neophyte to say, "I don't know." But it can be done. If DirecTV could get CSRs to admit they don't know everything and not, in the worst cases, make up stories out of whole cloth, their public relations would be much better.

I just had a similar case. I received a replacement DVR. I hooked up the replacement and the last step was to contact DirecTV to finish the activation. The CSR told me to be sure to mail back the broken DVR. I told her that there was no return kit included whit the replacement DVR. She put me on hold and came back and said that I definitely needed to return the broken DVR and she would mail out a return kit right away. After seven days, no return kit showed up. I called DirecTV to see what step I should take to get the broken DVR back. The CSR looked up my info on the broken DVR and came back and said to throw away the broken DVR because DirecTV no longer used those DVRs due to out-dated technology of the DVR. Two different CSRs and two different instructions. Both CSRs were very nice, it just seemed that, as you say Foodnova, the training was incomplete for the first CSR that I talked to.

 

[Foodnova]

FoodNova.

Welcome to the board. Just a single question.

Are calls really recorded for quality assurance? It just seems that given some of the crazy answers, and repetitive crazy answers given to customers, if someone were actually listening to the recordings, points of emphasis could be communicated to CSR's.

For example, with the launch of the HR34, many members have reported that CSR's were telling them that you have to have a certain model of Samsung TV for it to work. Now we here all know that is not true, but why are CSR's allowed to keep repeating the same misleading information? Back in college, I did some phone support work, but before every shift we had a quick meeting which would cover things like this. And if the supervisor had to repeat it every day he/she would. At some point, even the dumbest ones would finally figure it out.

They are. There's a whole site dedicated to nothing but quality control

There's a lot of people who get in trouble on a daily basis and recently a fairly high up morning supervisor was let go for that very reason. Everything is handled closely with logs and other agents are supposed to notify their higher ups when something is incorrectly noted or just plain unachievable,

If some of you guys who have had the problems with this like described above would like to know, the site I work at is tested by our own quality people very harshly and because of it we average one of the top sites in what called "1 call resolution, no callbacks relating to previous issue"

 

[mrdobolina]

As a now 15 year subscriber, I have also very rarely had bad interactions with phone CSRs, and even when something has gone wrong, it ends up being a technical issue and is fixed quickly. For instance, one time I called to upgrade my package. I soon had the additional channels I had added, however HD was not working. I called back and it turns out that the CSR forgot to re-add my HD subscription after upgrading me. Fixed quickly. Overall, though, the CSRs are friendly, helpful, and understandable.

The one thing I don't like is going through all of the steps to check things out, and that's mostly because of this forum. I've already done 99% of what they want me to check upon calling. Even if you tell some CSRs "Yeah, I already ran this test, and the disk check utility and the full system scan" etc. I had to tell one CSR recently 6 times that my receiver was constantly, on its own, running the disk check utility and finding hundreds of disk errors. He insisted on waiting on the phone with me until the receiver came back from the utility, and it was only 50% done! I finally told him I would call back, and when I did the new CSR immediately recognized that my 8 year old HR20-100 was finally done.

One thing I like is when a CSR recognizes how long I have been a customer and immediately seems to understand that I know what I'm talking about. One lady was very surprised when she saw that I was a then 14 year customer and told me I was by far the longest-time customer she had ever spoken with!