Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Rude customer service interaction

When a person is dealing with a telephone and trying to get through to a person for customer support, it is disrespect for the machine thelpo abruptly on the person.  Nevertheless, that is how the customer support line behaved towards this person needing service.

The customer service help line number was obtained by logging into the TaxWise customer support website with the Client ID and the super secure password that was required.  On calling the number given there and entering the client ID, I was told that the client ID did not entitle me to help on that line, and the line went dead.

If the website portal of TaxWise cannot provide the correct customer support number for a given client ID, it reflects on the care taken in presenting the site.  It is sloppy programming of the portal, and to compound the insult, no other alternative phone number is given.  I suggest it reflects the poor attitude of the vendor to the customer, and perhaps is an indication of the quality of the customer and technical support staff.

Bah!  Computers and automation are supposed to help people, not be used as an excuse to deny service or be rude to customers.

2 comments:

  1. Same situation here. I tried my trick of calling sales versus customer service and was told I had to call the IRS @ 800-411-6391.

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  2. Excellent idea - in general sales seem more motivated to provide information; however, what was most annoying was calling a number provided on the web portal and being disconnected.

    By the same token, if someone without a VITA Client ID tried to use the IRS toll-free number, they would probably find themselves disconnected.

    So trying to keep that 800 number secret and confidential is really a fruitless exercise.

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