As I continue to explore the impact of social media on care – and the inverse of that – care on social media - I’ve been spending some time on www.YouTube.com. I pop in now and then to investigate what is happening and to see who is in the cross hairs when it comes to not being able to hide from a bad experience……..This week, I happened to notice a re-occurring theme that can be defined as nothing other than “prank calls.”
It would appear - that in addition to truly irate customers – live agents in call centers are increasingly becoming the target of pranksters. Remember the days – ok – not that “I” ever did this – but in junior high school, high school (before the days of Caller ID) when you’d place late night calls to unsuspecting teachers, classmates, members of the rival team…?….It seems that that whole activity has become a genre of sorts on www.YouTube.com.
There is a 1-800-Flowers agent being harassed by an “audio recorded Sylvester Stallone. There is someone who calls Microsoft using a Darth Vadar voice from Star Wars.
On one 1-800-Flowers call – a person is trying to convince the operator that the company is ruining his chances of happiness with his fiancé because the Tulips he ordered were supposed to come smelling like Vanilla. He says the company offered a cinnamon or vanilla option and he wants this issue addressed. Unbelievably – the agent continues - unsuccessfully to find the order, and addresses the concerns for over 8 minutes.
Darth Vadar partakes in this revelry too as he calls a Microsoft call center looking for “the plan.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2SIZ5qsSQ&mode=related&search
And, it doesn’t end there. The postings that follow these recordings build on the momentum of the audio clip. People rate the prank. Suggest how to make it better. And – they continue to comment on how “customer care people” are terrible anyway.
From a Care perspective, it just reiterates what all Care organizations need to realize. Joke or not – agents need to always be “on their game” – even when it is on someone else’s terms. With it so easy to capture and distribute audio – a joke “gone” bad – can still hurt an organization beyond that 1:1 interaction.
Have you ever witnessed (someone else) play a practical joke on a company or service provider? How was it handled?