Today's Random News

**ChaoofNee** · 16 Jul 2014, 10:15 AM

MISTER Manager, you mean.

**Calliander** · 16 Jul 2014, 10:32 AM

Well… manager. We just say, "manager."

**Diff-chan** · 16 Jul 2014, 11:35 AM

Customer facing jobs are really bad in that people are often punished for shit that is completely out of their control. It's not this call center guys fault that this customer wants to cancel. In fact it is largely the fault of many other people who will all go unpunished for it. You certainly can't pin Comcast's high level of dissatisfaction on call center shmucks. Yet Comcast has came up with a system that punishes call center schmucks and call center shmucks only. Doesn't make any sense.

**Joust Williams** · 16 Jul 2014, 11:49 AM

That's one of those things where you say "I don't understand" when in fact you do totally 100% understand, it's just the reason is stupid.

**Doc Holliday** · 16 Jul 2014, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Dolemite

Anyway, here's a recording of a guy trying to cancel his Comcast service with a customer service rep who is basically refusing to do so.

This is delicious. It's like a crazy ex girlfriend.

**Calliander** · 16 Jul 2014, 12:36 PM

Originally Posted by Diff-chan

Customer facing jobs are really bad in that people are often punished for shit that is completely out of their control. It's not this call center guys fault that this customer wants to cancel. In fact it is largely the fault of many other people who will all go unpunished for it. You certainly can't pin Comcast's high level of dissatisfaction on call center shmucks. Yet Comcast has came up with a system that punishes call center schmucks and call center shmucks only. Doesn't make any sense.

It makes perfect sense. Tie customer satisfaction to the performance of the lowest possible people in the organization, give those people inadequate training (make sure to hype it as otherwise, though), and set them loose under lousy managers.

If they meet the goals, it's a win for you. If they don't, you punish them monetarily, it's a win for you. If you punish them enough that they quit or do something(s) to get fired, it's a win for you - then you hire another peon to subject to the process.

It's actually a double-win when they meet the goals because then you can compile data about them to use against the others. "It is easy to meet these goals. Look at these numbers!"

It's simply unethical.

**Diff-chan** · 16 Jul 2014, 12:48 PM

Yea of course. I've seen it in other orgs. These guys just are the convenient scapegoats because they are the last line of defense. It's almost like soccer, if the goalie needs to make a play your team already screwed up.

**Yoshi** · 16 Jul 2014, 01:38 PM

Originally Posted by Joust Williams

don't get me start on 'management'

how in the world is everyone a manager? this implies that everyone has the skills to be one

No it doesn't. Does everyone at IGN have the skills to be a gaming journalist? Your job title and your skill set are loosely correlated at best in many cases.