Once again, people are pretty harsh with the opinions about eBay's CSRs. I do get that some lack training to a great degree (and I've had my share of instances where the CSR didn't seem to understand me, and cases where I called back more than once to try and find someone who could help me).
I thought I should share my experience of walking a mile in their shoes...
Support by phone tends to be wrought with problem situations because let's face it, no one calls eBay to tell them how wonderful it is to sell on their site. Everyone who calls in has a problem. I'm sure the majority of callers are civil and the calls are uneventful. I'm going to give eBay staff credit that even when I was upset with them, they stayed calm and rational and did their best to stay professional.
This week I spent three consecutive days on low level support (because we are severely short in staff), and yesterday was a holiday in Quebec and they needed French customer support (which doesn't really exist in the rest of Canada, but I am able to take those calls).
Today was a terrible day to take calls and I found that I was getting yelled at a lot of the day... I got yelled at because I couldn't escalate a claim past the top manager (who the caller spoke to but wasn't happy because she wasn't getting her way), I got yelled at for not talking to someone who was not on the policy he was calling about (he was calling in for a friend, privacy laws in Ontario prevent me from discussing anything with him), I got yelled at by a lady who trashed her own house and got angry her claim was being denied (I was familiar with the file and read the police report), I was yelled at by people who didn't want to listen to all the menu options and kept selecting #1 and reaching me, when I wasn't the right department. I got a caller who reached me three times even though he was given a no contact order by our company because he was harassing his case manager (I would not transfer the call). After being yelled at by one lady, she hung up to try and get another agent, got me again and yelled at me some more. People who have without prejudice files call and yell at me because we aren't paying their expenses due to an ongoing investigation (we can't transfer those calls to anyone but the handler, and I've noticed when their case worker is away these particular people call back tons of times to try to get someone else to help them on an "urgent basis" - but in investigation claims, they do not go beyond the handler and their supervisor).
Today wasn't a very fun day and for what it's worth I'm glad I work in back end support dealing with paperwork (basic admin duties) and getting documents into files electronically so our staff who works from home can manage their case load.
One of the reasons I got picked to cover these three days as being the most senior person on my team and the most knowledgeable about the company and how things work, I was the best fit for the job. I told my supervisor I didn't want phones to be a habit because getting yelled at all day stays with you long after your work day is finished.
I thought it might be worth sharing this insight with other readers in the forum who have never had the misfortune of being a low level support person on a phone queue, to understand what someone goes through all day while doing that job.
C.
