Had it up to here with your carrier’s service department? We feel your pain. Check out our top tips for getting results (and even cash) from customer service.
Call on a landline
If at all possible, call customer service from your landline rather than your cell phone. That way, if the customer service rep asks you to check a feature on your phone or remove and replace the battery (a favorite catch-all remedy that the service folks pull out when all else fails), you won’t have to hang up, call back and start all over with a new representative.
Stay on the line
Keep in mind that if you’re on the customer service line with a reputable wireless carrier, their service reps can’t end the call without your approval. So if your problem isn’t resolved to your satisfaction but the representative is trying to wrap up the call, just say you’re still not satisfied and don’t hang up. Keep asking questions and make the service rep come up with a better solution (or better yet, see if they’ll hand you off to someone who’s better equipped to help).
Ask for a ticket number
Some cell phone problems can’t be solved during the length of a service call; you might have to wait a day or even a week for the issue to be fixed. If that’s the case, ask the customer service rep to open a service ticket and get the ticket number (or a “case” number, depending on the carrier). That way, when you call back, you can give the number to the service rep and they’ll pull up the service ticket, and you won’t have to start from scratch. Another benefit is that customer service departments are under a certain amount of pressure to “close” their open service tickets, and since that can’t happen until you’re satisfied with the result, you can expect faster service and even follow-up calls from your carrier.
Escalate the call
Not getting anywhere with your customer service representative? If you’re not making headway with your problem, ask to be transferred to another service rep -- or better yet, request to “escalate” your call to a manager. Service call managers are often more knowledgeable about various hardware and service problems and have greater authority to make changes to your account or grant you a credit; which leads us to…
Ask for a credit
If you’re having intermittent or ongoing trouble with your data or voice service – or if you’re just plain unhappy with how your call is being handled – ask for a month’s credit on your account. You’d be surprised how often customer service reps will fork over a full- or partial-month’s credit for your trouble. Also, the higher up you are on the customer-service food chain (for example, if you’re on the line with a manager), the more likely it is you’ll get an adjustment.
Don’t get mad; get persistent
It’s easy to lose your cool when you’re going in circles with customer service reps, but while it’s tempting to bang a head or two, you’re better off staying calm and courteous. Remember that persistence is the key to customer service; the longer you’re on the phone with a representative, the more that service call costs the carrier, and they the greater incentive they have to resolve your problem and move on to the next customer.
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