rapport

what i have learned, from working in the (telephone) customer service industry over the past six months or so, is that never trust anything you are told. basically, the people on the other end of the phone know about as much as you do, they just pretend to be informed and authoritative. if you are calling to contest a bill, to ask a question, to fix something; be sure to call more than once. do not take the word of anyone behind the phones, regardless of how eloquent or well-versed in the subject they seem.

the goal of customer service sales reps is to get you to do something -- fill out an application, leave feeling placated, etc -- or to pass the buck on responsibility. beyond that, they could really care less. trust and honesty are keywords in these industries, however, intensive training is not.

generally how a call center works is that one or two supervisors know everything and then that knowledge is diffused throughout the office in sporadic burst of memos and emails. situations where one representative thinks one answer is right while another rep thinks completely the opposite is common. more than likely, both of them are wrong.

when dealing with tough questions, things get kicked "upstairs" when customers get hot -- or ask questions that are outside of the rep's limited expertise. any so called "expert" who is barely a cut above minimum wage labor is hardly an expert at all. except me. i mean, i'm totally trustworthy and know exactly what i'm talking about.