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Nov. 10th, 2007 08:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittydesadeI'm really not looking forward to going to work.
When I started on the emails team I wasn't sure what to expect. After a while it settled into a routine of, go into work. Maybe take a few phone calls over the course of the day. Handle a lot of customer emails, most of which were the same issues. Items arrived broken, Items didn't arrive at all, product questions, can you custom make this for me, will this arrive by such and such a date. As with most retail jobs, some customers were nice, some were nasty, some were just downright weird. Among them, the one woman whose email consisted solely of "DID YOU USED TO HAVE A SOLAR LIGHT THAT WAS SQUIRRELS?" In all caps. No kidding.
I went in, I did emails, I asked senior reps if I had a question of procedure or a judgment call I didn't feel sure of making. We all did our jobs and went about happy.
Nowadays I go in, I do emails. I talk to the Service Monitor to see what email box I'm assigned to that day. If not, I'm on the phones, because we have at least twice the number of reps doing the emails that we did before. Which is fine. We also have two new catalogs. It would be better if they actually did their fucking job.
Once I get actually in to doing emails I cringe. Because I get angry emails from customers and I scroll down or check the email thread elsewhere to see what's going on, if they're just cranky customers or if we fucked up. And now, at least 50% of the time if not more, it's because we fucked up. And I look and I see reps who aren't doing their job. Who aren't leaving notes on the customer's order or the customer's account. If they don't leave notes, even if it's just a note saying cust emailed to ck status -- gave w/tracking how the hell am I supposed to know they even looked at the order to give the customer the right information, if the customer doesn't include the email and it isn't on the same thread? Which happens more often than I'd like.
I've seen emails sent to Department A when they should be going to Department P. Twice when they didn't need to be sent to a department at all, the rep could have looked up the information right there and given it to them without the customer having to wait a week. I don't know about you, but I'd be cranky if I was promised a response within 24 hours and had to wait a week too, right? I've seen customers emailing in about wreaths and getting responses about boot trays. Uh, no. I know the order numbers weren't that far apart and it's easy to transpose digits, but could you at least make sure the objects you're checking on are the same? Wreath =! boot tray. I've seen reps emailing to offer exchange options when the customer clearly stated I would like a refund. (That just pisses them off.)
Basically, we have twice the reps who are doing half the work. Sloppy work. Shoddy work. And there's no one we can go to about it. We emailed their supervisor, who 'will look into it and coach them' and doesn't. I've told a couple reps who sit by me just to talk to me if they have any questions, so there's that. I asked one service monitor if I could take a rep off of emails for half an hour and just do a few emails with her, show her how it was done. Since, clearly, the supervisors aren't doing anything. The trainers aren't training them, I know this because one of the email reps asked me a question that is so basic, it's on the 'Hello World' level. ... that will only make sense to programmers. Um. It's very basic. And she didn't know. And her quality scoring was suffering as a result. So I ask if I can help her along for maybe half an hour.
Two days later I get called into a meeting with the emails supervisor and team lead. "You know, we're really supposed to be doing the coaching here." Well, then DO YOUR FUCKING JOB, GODDAMMIT. Stop letting these reps sit out here and flounder. Take the ones who are deleting actual customer service emails in large chunks because they're on 'spam patrol' out of the goddamn email team. Actually do your fucking job, or step the fuck out of the way and let someone else do it for you. I already know you're on notice for being a fecking incompetent supervisor, or if you're not still, you should be. Other supervisors hate you and think you're doing a shittastic job. I know you're doing a shittastic job. So either lead, follow, or get the fucking hell out of my way.
It's frustrating. And it's every goddamn day of work. And it makes me want to hurt people.
On the other hand, today, there will be nanoing of only one novel. And the rest of the time there will be hanging out with friends who, since they moved up north, I haven't seen much of. One of whom is either pregnant or just given birth! I can't remember when she was due. ... no, she was just pregnant at GenCon so, not given birth yet. And today will be a day of allowing myself to rest. Yes.
And this morning will be a morning of donuts, even if it's not the scheduled week for them.
When I started on the emails team I wasn't sure what to expect. After a while it settled into a routine of, go into work. Maybe take a few phone calls over the course of the day. Handle a lot of customer emails, most of which were the same issues. Items arrived broken, Items didn't arrive at all, product questions, can you custom make this for me, will this arrive by such and such a date. As with most retail jobs, some customers were nice, some were nasty, some were just downright weird. Among them, the one woman whose email consisted solely of "DID YOU USED TO HAVE A SOLAR LIGHT THAT WAS SQUIRRELS?" In all caps. No kidding.
I went in, I did emails, I asked senior reps if I had a question of procedure or a judgment call I didn't feel sure of making. We all did our jobs and went about happy.
Nowadays I go in, I do emails. I talk to the Service Monitor to see what email box I'm assigned to that day. If not, I'm on the phones, because we have at least twice the number of reps doing the emails that we did before. Which is fine. We also have two new catalogs. It would be better if they actually did their fucking job.
Once I get actually in to doing emails I cringe. Because I get angry emails from customers and I scroll down or check the email thread elsewhere to see what's going on, if they're just cranky customers or if we fucked up. And now, at least 50% of the time if not more, it's because we fucked up. And I look and I see reps who aren't doing their job. Who aren't leaving notes on the customer's order or the customer's account. If they don't leave notes, even if it's just a note saying cust emailed to ck status -- gave w/tracking how the hell am I supposed to know they even looked at the order to give the customer the right information, if the customer doesn't include the email and it isn't on the same thread? Which happens more often than I'd like.
I've seen emails sent to Department A when they should be going to Department P. Twice when they didn't need to be sent to a department at all, the rep could have looked up the information right there and given it to them without the customer having to wait a week. I don't know about you, but I'd be cranky if I was promised a response within 24 hours and had to wait a week too, right? I've seen customers emailing in about wreaths and getting responses about boot trays. Uh, no. I know the order numbers weren't that far apart and it's easy to transpose digits, but could you at least make sure the objects you're checking on are the same? Wreath =! boot tray. I've seen reps emailing to offer exchange options when the customer clearly stated I would like a refund. (That just pisses them off.)
Basically, we have twice the reps who are doing half the work. Sloppy work. Shoddy work. And there's no one we can go to about it. We emailed their supervisor, who 'will look into it and coach them' and doesn't. I've told a couple reps who sit by me just to talk to me if they have any questions, so there's that. I asked one service monitor if I could take a rep off of emails for half an hour and just do a few emails with her, show her how it was done. Since, clearly, the supervisors aren't doing anything. The trainers aren't training them, I know this because one of the email reps asked me a question that is so basic, it's on the 'Hello World' level. ... that will only make sense to programmers. Um. It's very basic. And she didn't know. And her quality scoring was suffering as a result. So I ask if I can help her along for maybe half an hour.
Two days later I get called into a meeting with the emails supervisor and team lead. "You know, we're really supposed to be doing the coaching here." Well, then DO YOUR FUCKING JOB, GODDAMMIT. Stop letting these reps sit out here and flounder. Take the ones who are deleting actual customer service emails in large chunks because they're on 'spam patrol' out of the goddamn email team. Actually do your fucking job, or step the fuck out of the way and let someone else do it for you. I already know you're on notice for being a fecking incompetent supervisor, or if you're not still, you should be. Other supervisors hate you and think you're doing a shittastic job. I know you're doing a shittastic job. So either lead, follow, or get the fucking hell out of my way.
It's frustrating. And it's every goddamn day of work. And it makes me want to hurt people.
On the other hand, today, there will be nanoing of only one novel. And the rest of the time there will be hanging out with friends who, since they moved up north, I haven't seen much of. One of whom is either pregnant or just given birth! I can't remember when she was due. ... no, she was just pregnant at GenCon so, not given birth yet. And today will be a day of allowing myself to rest. Yes.
And this morning will be a morning of donuts, even if it's not the scheduled week for them.