Having worked with a call center early in my career, I believe I am a lot more sensitive while talking with customer care agents. So, a fortnight ago, when I heard my wife screaming at a call center representative, I asked her to give me the phone to save the poor soul on the other side. It was a minor connectivity issue that was preventing my wife from talking to her mother on Skype. But after being handed the phone, I simply could not believe what I heard from the other side. The call center representative was screaming at the top his lungs and was not even letting me complete my sentences. It was as if he was in a personal battle to prove a point. This was not how I remembered I ever dealt with any of my customers.
How I Resolved the Issue?
I disconnected the call, redialed the number and got the issue resolved in a few simple steps. And do you know what the surprising thing was: It was the same agent I last spoke with. Only this time I started the call in a polite manner and modulated my voice upon realizing it was the same agent.0
What I Discovered?
After some investigation, I discovered that my wife was calling a support number that appeared after a Google search. Later, I read through some forums online and discovered that there are freelancers who use Bing and Google advertisements to direct calls towards them and charge excessively for their services. These freelancers do not follow any set rules; they do not treat the customers the right way and sometimes even manipulate the system to earn more. It was an eye opener for me and it should be an eye opener for you as well.
How to Protect Yourself from Manipulative Freelancers?
The best way to stay safe from manipulative freelancers is by calling the number provided by the seller of product. DO NOT USE THE FIRST RESULT GOOGLE THROWS AT YOUR FACE. A good brand will always employ a quality customer care service provider. Agents who work for reputed call center companies are trained well and they talk to customers politely.
In case, you still somehow find yourself in a situation where you have to talk to a freelancer (just like yours truly), you should never let them remote control your system via software like TeamViewer. They can access your critical personal information like Facebook passwords and bank account information, which they can later use for their personal gains.
A call center company with a good name in the market has a lot to lose if the information of its customers gets stolen. On the other hand, a freelancer has nothing to lose and everything to gain. Hence, always check thoroughly before making a call to a customer support company. Stay sure and always secure.
