For all the bitching done about America this is one thing America does best
 

Customer service..seriously. I just had to call my American bank because my card got flagged for unusual activity. That happens to me now and then because I live in the UK and they wonder what is going on when I am using the card there.

I called my local branch back home and had wonderful customer service and the problem was solved within five minutes and everyone was polite, etc. If I had called my local UK bank branch they would have snarled through the whole process.

I hate to say it but you just got lucky.

;)

Nope..everytime I go home I am amazed by how I notice the whole 'service with a smile' thing. Even the grumpy people are less grumpy.

It's cuz you have that sexy British accent hun! You do have one right?

:)

Yet another great money making banking strategy?Bank of America pulled this scam on me all the time in 2003..Its simple, they are holding the funds of million of account holders and making points on your money. I am sure it was a debit card as mine was. They held my own money all the time..

The only people that make money in banks are the people that own them.:2 cents:


Mr. Romance

I completely agree with you Sarah! America is fantastic for customer service; whenever I make a call to an American company, I get to talk to a real person within seconds, my issues are always solved immediately and to my complete satisfaction, and I feel genuinely appreciated as a customer.

In Canada, it's practically impossible to reach a real person, and when you do finally get somebody on the phone, they act as if they are doing you a HUGE favour just by talking to you and often will just make an excuse as to why they can't help you with your situation.

It's a true pleasure doing business with Americans!

Yup, debit card. It happens every few months and usually when I have just been paid. The branch people have nothing to do with it and are always happy to unblock it. Really annoying that it just happens though. I would rather they called me or something than for me to find out at the till.

not at all...i use British words but still sound like I am from PA

for the most part - though I am with cibc and royal bank - they have great client service and I often get calls asking how their service was the last time I visited. yet.. other banks I walk away from.

Drive through a wendy's pick-up window and that whole customer service thing takes on a whole new dimension.

"Whatchoo mean we fo-got yo fries...pfft"

While I agree, it is much easier to talk to an American and have them understand what you are trying to say (if you are an American vs. trying to talk to an outsourced phone guy in India...grrr), customer server worldwide is garbage. Once in a while you'll find a jewel in the dung heap but they are few and very far between.

Yeah they would flag my account for "Radical spending" when I shared my concept above with my branch manager, she had nothing to say...Anyway I was living in Manahattan Beach Cali at the time and one night I was on a date and she had to pay for the dinner...

Mr. Romance

OK so I'm old and crabby, plus being English very cynical.

When I do business with Americans it's fine. BUT!!! when I go for a meal and this grinning fool tells me his name and that he will be my server and is there anything he can do for me..........

I feel like saying, "Deliver what I ordered, within 30 minutes, hot and refrain from wiping it around you arse and we will get on fine"

I always stop myself though.

Then they tell me, as I'm leaving, to have a nice day, to which I reply "I will have a nicer day if you stop grinning like a Cheshire cat."

It's the insincerity of it all that gets me. I would rather the honesty of the English. "We're on minimum wage, we don't have any ambition and we don't give a fuck if you buy anything or not".

Good customer service was once considered an asset by most American businesses.

Now there are many that consider it as a cost which must be controlled, so they have outsourced the function. Those who have will one day wake up and wonder where their market share went.

Consider yourself fortunate that your bank has kept customer service in-house. If you are real lucky, they will keep it that way.

I would take a little bit of a fake smile over treating the customer like crap. I love the UK but it wouldn't hurt counter staff or the like to smile now and then. The people in the same jobs in the States are in just as crappy an environment.

Trust me, people in the UK know about outsourced customer service. Especially with the banks.

Tell me about it. I phoned the operator in Orange County CA, to get the emergency number for UK Visa Card. My US bank did not know it.

In the beginning the girl kept telling me to go to my long distance provider, I told her she was my long distance provider. She then put me through to some one else and I knew something was wrong.
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I was speaking to someone who cared, really cared, who tried to find out the answer, who spoke to her supervisor, who also tried to find out and also cared. They both spoke Excellent English. They were in Bombay. :thumbsup

I eventually solved the problem, Eva phoned information in Czech. They gave her the info in seconds.

They're happy because they're brainwashed.
They honestly believe at $4.20 an hour and dealing with the "public", they've got it made in the shade.
:)

Obviously Dell and EPassporte must not be considered American companies any more... along with Netflix, DirectTV and a bunch of others to whom "customer service" is an apparently meaningless concept.

Sarah, I think you have to distinguish between businesses which still routinely let you talk to people and those which have put up a barrier to keep the customer at arm's length. With banks of both countries, I have always found it easy to speak to people who are courteous and helpful. That said, due mainly to minor glitches, I have probably needed to talk to my bank here more often over the last 10 years, than I needed to talk to banks in the UK during the previous 30. In fact, I cannot actually remember ever having a problem with a UK bank.

As to restaurants, I agree with Paul. I prefer good service, but if I can't get that, I will take sullen disinterest over fake hospitality any day. At least it is honest. And I really don't want to tell a supermarket cashier how I am today...

Pah..I worked the candy stand at a cinema for a few years during high school and college. I knew I was getting crap money and my feet hurt like hell from halfway through the shift. However, I knew my life was easier if I smiled and was nice to customers.

You probably talked to someone in India.

Maybe you should change banks. I never have a problem with mine that can't be resolved with one phone call.

My bank has excelent customer service, Most banks do sometimes you get an asshole

Mine has excellent service as well.

I second this. Except the custoer service of some adult sponsors. But generally speaking, customer service is amazing in the US.:thumbsup

Most call centers are in India!

Nope, a good old Quakertownian

Sorry to dis agree, but the CS inside the US, is usually the best. They actually speak your language, and you dont have to have them repeat the statment 10 times, and they get the job done.

I have the same thing happen with my bank from time to time. I live in Mexico, and my bank is in the US. They call me about 1 time ever 3 or 4 weeks to verify a purchase. I usually hang up, and call them back just to be on the safe side. Once I asked them why they dont just make notes on the account, and they said they would rather make the long distance call, and have my account secure!

People are brainwashed because they are required, as part of their job, to be friendly to customers? LOL.

Actual businesses typically have decent customer service, they have to, there's too much competition. If my bank treats me like shit I'll have no problem strolling across the street and giving my money to a different bank. It isn't being "fake", its being polite, there is no reason to be rude to someone you're dealing with. And often enough, the person is a very friendly type to begin with, so it isn't as fake as it may seem.

Here's the perfect way to see the difference (I've actually had many discussions about this). Go to an American Restaurant owned by second generation Americans, the service is great. Very polite, always there to help out, they fill your drinks before you even ask. Then go to a foreign Restaurant (in the United States) owned by immigrant families, say a sushi place, and the service is absolutely horrible. You practically have to beg to get your order taken. You see your server 3 times throughout the meal; taking your order, delivering your food, delivering your bill.

america also are nice in the streets, people will smile at you who dont know you. in england its like everyone is missing the muscles to make them smile

I amazed how many banks you must have tried throughout the world to be able to make that statement :winkwink:

Well, I am not saying it is limited to banks but that was just the way I used customer service today. I have used a lot of banks in the UK to be able to compare. However, it is a general issue from the person at the supermarket check out to the person in the call centre. I am sure ther are places in other countries that do it well to but in my own experience of traveling around North America and Europe and dealing with countries all over the world through the internet I generally find the attitude of those providing customer service in the United States to be one that remembers the 'service' bit of the title.

Wait untill your banks outsource the helpdesk;-)

Inclined to agree Sarah.

The US service industry, generally, is good in comparison to several other countries (and sure agree about the UK).

The ultimate test of the service industry is in asking anything out of the ordinary, for which, there may be no programmed response :) Had to use this a few times and still think the US came out good.

Can't say which country may be top of the league - prob may be the US, - but there are several areas where customer service is OK - tho sure would not include the UK in that category :winkwink:

Hey, I was making a tongue-in-cheek comment for the most part, but it is true that some of your "brands" down there really go for the Rah Rah. Pre-store opening cheering, motivating sessions where everyone joins in chanting (think of those sideline dances football teams do, same idea).

People flipping burgers for minimum wage actually proud of it ... not teenagers, adults! The companies do a really good job in making them feel like part of the "winning team". Hence, the pleasant smiles and my brainwashed comments.

But again, I'm not talking about ALL happy employees, but certainly America leads the way in motivating employees. And everyone is so touchy-feely now (canada too) they don't even say "Areas of Improvement" on performance reports ... it's "Opportunities".

:Oh crap
I'd like to see companies actually treating employees as mature human beings rather than coddling them .. a little off-topic, sorry :)


Wow, prejudice much?
;)

The USA is good, but not always the best. I have had some difficult moments with people of... um... another race, when I needed to get shit done. They are just too lazy to care many times and I ALWAYS gave to get a manager to get the job done.

Now, the best thing to do is call and ask right for the manager. To hell with the piss-ants.

Sadly.. true. It's brainwashing and propaganda. Who else would work for peanuts, live off extended credit and keep a smile on their faces? Unreal. It's also not a joke - serious stuff when folks believe the bullshit.

Love the change of status from "Areas of Improvement" to "Opportunities" :1orglaugh

Actually, interestingly enough, it is only INTERNATIONAL American companies that I have luck with. Don't even dare try to lodge a complaint about a local retailer. VERY rarely do you get any sort of satisfaction. More often, you get a response that is basically an f* u!