I Can Get On With Just About Anyone...
Now that's either because I am so easy going or by the law of averages I am not coming into contact with enough people to disprove the theory.
Anyhow, I had to deal with a utility company today by phone...I did not have to wait long on the phone and it was all quite straight forward. I appreciate the people in the call centre have procedures to follow and have to protect customer details under the Data Protection Act etc...especially if they realise and(I)admit that I am not the person named on the utility bill.
But on the grounds that I declared who I was and who the account belongs to, I am phoning in details and not trying to buy a service(and I can do so automatically without talking to someone)and that does not differentiate that I am the person named on the utility bill, sometimes some operators are easier to deal with than others. I found this person patronising and I was initially as patronising back(which is unusual for me)but because that is not my nature I could not keep it up and I found myself apologising for being so.
However, a few minutes later I decided...as I have phoned in the meter reading(and that was the original problem)the meter reader was so quick at disappearing that we could not catch him coming out of a neighbouring house(nor did he gives us enough time to get a key to open the garage where the meter is)I thought why not pay it and get it over with...to wait for the bill to drop on the doormat is only prolonging the agony of parting with the cash so I phoned back.
I spoke to a different person who was much more pleasant, chatty and polite...and as she appreciated I was paying a bill...who would be trying to do something "Funny" if they are paying money owed(whether the debt is their own or on behalf of someone else)so this customer services operator was easier to deal with and did not put up all kinds of barriers.
I'm not so happy with how much I had to part with but hopefully prices will come down(they say that they will)and the weather improves hopefully the heating will not be on as much.
Anyhow, I had to deal with a utility company today by phone...I did not have to wait long on the phone and it was all quite straight forward. I appreciate the people in the call centre have procedures to follow and have to protect customer details under the Data Protection Act etc...especially if they realise and(I)admit that I am not the person named on the utility bill.
But on the grounds that I declared who I was and who the account belongs to, I am phoning in details and not trying to buy a service(and I can do so automatically without talking to someone)and that does not differentiate that I am the person named on the utility bill, sometimes some operators are easier to deal with than others. I found this person patronising and I was initially as patronising back(which is unusual for me)but because that is not my nature I could not keep it up and I found myself apologising for being so.
However, a few minutes later I decided...as I have phoned in the meter reading(and that was the original problem)the meter reader was so quick at disappearing that we could not catch him coming out of a neighbouring house(nor did he gives us enough time to get a key to open the garage where the meter is)I thought why not pay it and get it over with...to wait for the bill to drop on the doormat is only prolonging the agony of parting with the cash so I phoned back.
I spoke to a different person who was much more pleasant, chatty and polite...and as she appreciated I was paying a bill...who would be trying to do something "Funny" if they are paying money owed(whether the debt is their own or on behalf of someone else)so this customer services operator was easier to deal with and did not put up all kinds of barriers.
I'm not so happy with how much I had to part with but hopefully prices will come down(they say that they will)and the weather improves hopefully the heating will not be on as much.
posted by The Great Gildersleeve | 4:49 pm
2 Comments:
I too can (and do) get on with anyone and it is very odd for me to be overtly miserable or downright rude. Telephone operators of utilities are probably the most trying (as in your patience, not their effort) of all human beings so I sympathise with your predicament. I've just had a repeat of the one of my first blogposts when I posted a letter I had written to the gas company...for some reason they think I use 3 times more gas than the average family (this is me who lives alone, is away 50% of the time, gets his laundry taken out, rarely cooks meals - and when I do it's short and sharp easy stuff - and doesn't like the cental heating on!) grrrrrrrrr...
Our utility bills are high because Mum likes to be warm and its on for long periods but it has been cold this past few months and just when you think you may save money, it gets cold again.
We are lucky that we mainly spend our money on food and the comfort of staying warm as we spend most of our time indoors at home. One day we may not be able to afford these essentials so whilst we can lets enjoy it!
It's also warmer if we stay upstairs(you can also get into bed if it turns colder too)
It is said that prices are to come down a little so maybe we can save something towards our bills when they climb up again next winter as they will.
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