In the past few months, since covid took over, I have noticed that customer service is getting worse with issues that need to be resolved. It feels like no one is taking responsibility for their work, and when you do get a customer service rep on the line they are working from home, and you can't hear them, or the line goes dead. I was trying to work out a tax issue with the provider of my payroll system and twice my line went dead with the customer service rep. When you call back you have to go through the whole process all over again just to press zero to talk to someone. Now you would think that during a pandemic and when people need help that customer service would be there to help. However, people were let go and customer service has suffered greatly. Now that companies have brought people back the customer service part of business is still stuck and not responding.
Good example, USPS. The United States Postal Service is getting worse. I have sent documents to clients, and it never got there, I have sent tax returns to the IRS and State of California, and it never got here. I am waiting on mail to get to my business post office and the lady told me this morning that the main distribution center did send her anything. When mail gets lost the Post Office never does anything to track it. Their response, "It's out of my hands". Recently I was online with QuickBooks Payroll Online. The issue was that the reports they are mailing to California EDD does not match what is reported in EDD. Even the payments do not match. I asked the customer service agent if there was a direct line into their tax compliance office staff. The response was, no we don't even have a direct contact to them. When I first signed on with QuickBooks payroll, they were supposed to take all of my prior payroll information and upload it into the system. Never happened and screwed up the reporting and created problems for my client. Last week QuickBooks asked me to email them all of the documentation that I had and that I would receive an email from them. Not a single email. I can't even talk to anyone in payroll directly to resolve the issue. Businesses had gotten bad at resolving issues, and having people working at home without the resources next to them to resolve problems, does not cut it any longer. I am a small business and I rely on products that help me service my clients. When we have companies that provide these products to us online, and we are paying for them, we expect to get service, quality service. Since Covid began, the Customer Service aspect of business has drifted away and those that rely on these Customer Service agents for help are not getting it. At least, I feel I am not getting the support that I need. Even when you call into Comcast to correct something with the internet you have to go through so many steps, and you never get to talk to someone. They repeat the same message over and over and nothing gets done. It took me 3 months to get them to correct my internet from going up and down. It isn't just one company with a bad customer service problem, it is the majority of the companies out there. Covid came and companies dropped providing good customer service. This working from home is not working anymore when it comes to providing solid customer care. However, I will mention one company that has done an excellent job and that is T-Mobile. You call into them, and you get help. Gold stars for T-Mobile. Maybe I am the only one concerned with the quality of customer care that we am getting from companies who we am paying for their services. Based on my experience at the moment, and during Covid, customer service stinks. Get it together out there in business land. If you like my blogs and podcasts, support me by going to: www.buymeacoffee.com/michaellodge Comments are closed.
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Support our Podcasts, Vlogs and Blogs by buying me a coffee!! Click on the image below AuthorMichael Lodge is a Nationally Certified Professional Mediator specializing in business disputes, as well as family conflicts. He has written three books and hosts an international podcast on IHeartRadio and other podcast media stations. Archives
May 2023
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