eBay

siamdao · ‎11-11-2018

Ask yourself what 'special' qualifications do any of the CSR types hold, whether they are in foriegn or domestic call centers. These are basically unskilled positions, filled by folks with limited education receiving the least amount of compensation eBay can get away with paying. These aren't people with MBAs. They don't want to rock the boat. They rely on the income from eBay to feed their families. They are likely receive feedback on their performance as to how well they have fit in to the guidlines eBay has set out for them. Call it CSR Performance Metrics. They won't understand these and will only keep doing exactly as they are told to do by their supervisors (yes, supervisors--these are the people who are never around when you ask to speak with them because they are too busy making sure the CSR doesnt say anything that isn't in line with eBay policy and trying to figure out what 'CSR Performance Metrics' means) . They just want to keep receiving a paycheck.

As an example, the CSR ususally won't know or understand what Seller Service Metrics means (normal people call these statistics) and they certainly will not have the ability to describe how they work and affect you as a seller--I've taken courses in statistics at the under and post graduate levels and would have difficulty making sense of it--statistics can be manipulated very easily to attain an outcome, but I digress. They have received minimal training and likely refer to an online guidebook or help database in almost all of their cases--"these metrics are provided by eBay to help every seller become better at providing quality service to valued buyers". This would be the answer no matter how many times you rephrased the question or attempted to find a different response by using e-mail/Twitter/Facebook queries. Do you think that when they put you on hold that they are conducting an emergency meeting with fellow co-workers or supervisors to help find a solution for you? The answer is no. They are using a search tool with keywords taken from the conversation they have had with you up to that point "customer is angry that I cannot answer his or her question about service metrics". They will then supply you with the imformation that pops up on their screen.--"I can understand that you are frustrated and will pass on this information to the related department". At this point, most reasonable people will know that they are wasting their time. They will know that in the future that the eBay CSR has limited or no (almost always) ability to a) make changes specific to your account or b) provide you with a reasonable workable solution or c) provide an answer to your question that any other reasonably well informed person could.

However, some will continue to persist in their efforts to get an answer that satsifies them--an exercise in futility IMO. This is when the eBay CSR launches the all purpose WMD. They will say in no uncertain terms that they "cannot change things on the computer, wish they could be of more help and hope you have a great day/night/weekend/metltdown". When you hear them utter something to this effect, hang up the phone and take 10 deep breaths and say to yourself , “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”.

ed8108 · ‎11-11-2018

EBay has not yet put into effect a monetary charge when you speak with a customer service rep.

So at times, some callers may receive exactly what they pay.

However, be courteous & polite to your CSR.

siamdao · ‎11-11-2018

Please, don't give them any ideas lol. I recall the paid per minute psychic hotlines from the 1990s 😉 And yes, being polite always helps.

v7bbn_0 · ‎11-11-2018

I believe the CSR's paycheck comes from the company that operates the call center itself and that is whom they are ultimately responsible to. The call center itself gets paid by ebay for the contract they hold and until said contract expires and so long they operate and fulfill their obligation within the parameters and specifications of the contract.

That having been said, I completely believe they adhere to a set of rules from their end of things much like sellers do on ebay. Like you said it is all about performance metrics, in some sort of order most of them realize it doesn't necessarily pay to be helpful, rather it pays to meet specifications and probably they even have "top rated" status for "least time on hold" and other such garbage that in reality holds little connection to how that truly "helps" a seller in need of assistance.

Once you understand these things it goes a long ways towards explaining the CSR's behaviour when one of us calls. Basically, even if they want to be helpful (which I'm sure there is no shortage of that) they too know in some sort of order how to game the system, these people are human, they want to get paid, they face a lot of the same frustrations we do...

In ways it's a miracle of academic proportions that corporations even manage to function at all.

annadryl · ‎11-11-2018

I'm sure ebay hires their phone people from an employment agency just like everyone else. They don't necessarily have to be ebay experts or have phone rep experience on the resume.

A roommate of mine was hired by a big bank. She had a day of classroom training to learn P&P's and a day of supervised phone time total training. I'm not sure of the training that ebay does, but from experience, their reps often do more harm than good. Their job is just to be there and possibly help in some way.

Ebay is a complicated site. There's so much to know! They should hire many of the vet responders here on these boards.

v7bbn_0 · ‎11-11-2018

I believe the reason most CSR's have a middle eastern accent is no mistake, I believe Ebay's CS is outsourced to companies far removed from ebay itself... I believe all large corporations completely remove their CS from their physical locations, some (if not most) remove themselves from CS so much it's not even the same company anymore (which is what I believe to be the case with ebay) and in many cases it's not even in the same country.

I believe ebay's CS is handled by (literally) customer service companies, make that companies whose sole function in life is to provide CS, that is what these companies do... They provide CS and not just for ebay but for any company that wishes to retain their services, and in ebay's case these companies happen to be located overseas in countries such as India, Pakistan, the Phillipines and on.

In third world countries being a "CSR" is a coveted position, their employees went to school to learn how to speak English (actually most countries teach English) some specifically because their goal in life is to land a job as CSR. The better they learn how to speak English the higher their chances, many spend time after school practicing English and probably even take off campus courses. Those who can speak English so well that we can't tell them apart from a full-blooded American stand a very good chance at being hired by one of these companies.

Dang I'm getting long in the wind...

So let me conclude...

These are the people whom we are dealing with when we call CS.

That is what I believe to be the case.

annasunicorns · ‎11-12-2018

My ebay csr experience has always been top notch. But. I only call between 8 and 10 am pst. Only about actual transaction issues, there are too many glitches to deal with on the phone every time when i can google or ask here. And last called in april. Since august there have been only a couple transactions each month, no problems at all to call about.

tunicaslot · ‎11-12-2018

I've only had one problem with CS in 20 yrs - knocking on wood - and that's from both American and foreign CS. I've had a harder time understanding the Tracfone or Dell CS than I did the Ebay reps when it came to how well they spoke English.

vintagecraze50 · ‎11-12-2018

Excellent customer service from Ebay for over 10 years. Better than most companies and they are always helpful to the point that they can be based on the rules that everyone must follow here. Happy upcoming holidays to all of them and the massive calls that will be coming in.

robot-hands · ‎11-12-2018

@v7bbn_0 wrote:

Those who can speak English so well that we can't tell them apart from a full-blooded American stand a very good chance at being hired by one of these companies.

Why hasn't ebay hired any of those?

twnpopcards · ‎11-12-2018

@robot-hands wrote:
@v7bbn_0 wrote:
Those who can speak English so well that we can't tell them apart from a full-blooded American stand a very good chance at being hired by one of these companies.

Why hasn't ebay hired any of those?

Because its cheaper to oursource it to a foreign company just as Ebay has done with the programming which seems to have constant untested glitches. At this point in time Ebay is all about cost cutting and paying as little as possible for any services performed, regardless of the final results. The catalog is another example of this concept and the eventual cry for free help from the sellers to try and fix it.

Until Ebay steps up and determines that they are going to have to pay more to get what they actually want, this is what both buyers and sellers will continue to be dealing with going forward.

newview · ‎11-12-2018

Having worked part time evenings at a Call Center for a few years to make ends meet, I can tell you the training is minimal, and the criteria by which your performance is measured has everything to do with calls per hour and adherence to scripted communication, and absolutely NOTHING to do with caller satisfaction.

I answered calls for:

VISA Credit Card

Bank of America

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Chadwicks of Boston

JUNO Free Email

Chadwicks of Boston

I'm ̶p̶r̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ ̶s̶u̶r̶e̶ certain the lunatics have taken over the asylum.

paulhua3 · ‎11-12-2018

I have found CSRs to be very helpful, probably because anchor stores get the best.

treasure.hunter.d · ‎11-12-2018

I'll only comment on the call centers that are located in the Philipines, as they are the only ones that I know for certain this applies to.

The call center industry in the Philipines is one of the largest, if not the actual largest employers in the country. The parent companies are constantly opening new call centers to service increasing deamnd that is driven by their "work for peanuts" reputation, and actual business structure. Increasing demand however runs into a problem when you do not have an unlimited supply of workers to staff these call centers so every time some new company opens a new call center they end up poaching a lot of staff from another call center, and it's done by simply offering a few more peanuts. The workers know this and they know the likelihood of them staying anywhere for any significant length of time is not high so they have no interest, and no financial incentive, to learn anything, and I mean anything, beyond the most basic skills/knowledge they need to warm a chair with their behind until such time as the next opportunity comes along and they take their few extra peanuts to move on to the new call center that just opened. They all use virtually identical rigs so little training in that area is needed and so long as the hire can show proficiency with the headset and console, badda boom, badda bing, they are in.

Wet, lather, rinse, repeat. Done until they figure out how to get outta there and come to North America where they will find an equally pointless job and send most of their money back to whatever family are still in the Philipines. That money being sent back btw IS top 2 of the largest industries, or economic forces is perhaps more appropriate, in the Philipines!

So with ebay showing no sign of ceasing the race to the bottom in cost/skill etc with support, it's not likely to ever get any better at least where these cal centers are concerned.

robot-hands · ‎11-14-2018

@twnpopcards wrote:
@robot-hands wrote:
@v7bbn_0 wrote:
Those who can speak English so well that we can't tell them apart from a full-blooded American stand a very good chance at being hired by one of these companies.

Why hasn't ebay hired any of those?

Because its cheaper to oursource it to a foreign company just as Ebay has done with the programming which seems to have constant untested glitches. At this point in time Ebay is all about cost cutting and paying as little as possible for any services performed, regardless of the final results. The catalog is another example of this concept and the eventual cry for free help from the sellers to try and fix it.

Until Ebay steps up and determines that they are going to have to pay more to get what they actually want, this is what both buyers and sellers will continue to be dealing with going forward.