Journal dacetone's Journal: No more M$ for me!
I realized recently, after leaving the Evil Empire, that I really am anti-M$. I mean, I'm a die-hard Mac freak, but after doing product activation for 6 months, I don't hate the customers (well, I don't hate most of them), I just hate the company. Not just the detached hate we feel for, say, Bill O'Reilly, but a seething, boiling-over hate.
I can't believe the shit they do. And I'm not talking unpatched bugs, exploits, etc, I'm talking basic customer service. We (well, you, maybe) pay them obscene sums of money, and just get jerked around. I realize a lot of complaints about them are just FUD, but I *know* customers fall through the cracks. And on one hand, I know it's inevitable with 10 zillion customers, but a company with so much $$$ should be able to afford, at least, a 'customers-who-fall-thru-the-cracks' department, staffed with smart, knowledgable people. Navigating 'customer service' is as bad or worse than dealing with the government 'customer service'. That's sad.
What lead me to this rant was my comment I posted today, on the spur of the moment, in sympathy and sorrow. I realize that I was working for an outsourcer, and strict quality controls have to be used (?) because outsourcers hire people in small towns for low pay, but now that I'm adjusting to my new job for a large, but still very local ISP, I'm having difficulty, because of what got drilled into me at that outsourcer for 'quality'. Tightly controlled scripts on how to answer the phone, put someone on hold, take someone off hold, answer questions, and respond to errors. Deviations were not OK. At all. Now, I got a *little* leeway, because I was acting as a 'supervisor', but the man-on-the-floor does not. And it's really hard to let go of that. I'm driving people in training with me crazy, asking, 'Uh, but *how* do we answer the phones? What do we say when we put them on hold?' and having them respond 'Uh, just say something nice about where they're calling and your name, we don't really care how you take them off hold, what a weird question...' I went from controlled to hang-loose, and it's driving me nuts. I know how 7 of 9 felt when they yanked her from the Borg. You get so used to being squashed, you forget how to think normally.
Now that I'm realizing all of this, it makes me sad. And angry. And, well, happy, of course, because I don't work there anymore. I got the hell out of that damn town. I'm not squashed anymore. Now *that's* a good feeling.
I can't believe the shit they do. And I'm not talking unpatched bugs, exploits, etc, I'm talking basic customer service. We (well, you, maybe) pay them obscene sums of money, and just get jerked around. I realize a lot of complaints about them are just FUD, but I *know* customers fall through the cracks. And on one hand, I know it's inevitable with 10 zillion customers, but a company with so much $$$ should be able to afford, at least, a 'customers-who-fall-thru-the-cracks' department, staffed with smart, knowledgable people. Navigating 'customer service' is as bad or worse than dealing with the government 'customer service'. That's sad.
What lead me to this rant was my comment I posted today, on the spur of the moment, in sympathy and sorrow. I realize that I was working for an outsourcer, and strict quality controls have to be used (?) because outsourcers hire people in small towns for low pay, but now that I'm adjusting to my new job for a large, but still very local ISP, I'm having difficulty, because of what got drilled into me at that outsourcer for 'quality'. Tightly controlled scripts on how to answer the phone, put someone on hold, take someone off hold, answer questions, and respond to errors. Deviations were not OK. At all. Now, I got a *little* leeway, because I was acting as a 'supervisor', but the man-on-the-floor does not. And it's really hard to let go of that. I'm driving people in training with me crazy, asking, 'Uh, but *how* do we answer the phones? What do we say when we put them on hold?' and having them respond 'Uh, just say something nice about where they're calling and your name, we don't really care how you take them off hold, what a weird question...' I went from controlled to hang-loose, and it's driving me nuts. I know how 7 of 9 felt when they yanked her from the Borg. You get so used to being squashed, you forget how to think normally.
Now that I'm realizing all of this, it makes me sad. And angry. And, well, happy, of course, because I don't work there anymore. I got the hell out of that damn town. I'm not squashed anymore. Now *that's* a good feeling.
No more M$ for me! More Login
No more M$ for me!
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