How to be a Better Customer

How to be a Better Customer

Or The Guide to Improve Communications with a CSR

Let's all face facts. More and more interactions are being handled over the phone or over the internet rather than face-to-face. Our society has become a much more white-collar, customer service oriented environment than ever before. As a result, there will be many times that you will speak to a CSR or Customer Service Representative to resolve an issue for you. How can you ensure that you get the best possible service? How can you make these interactions as smooth as possible, keeping it positive and light and ensure you get the correct resolution? This handy guide will help you answer those questions and it can be applied to any interaction over the phone, whether you are speaking to technical support, a billing agent, or just general customer service. In short, it will help YOU become a better customer.

1. Don't Call When You're Angry

Everyone's first instinct is to call right when they find out something is wrong. More often than not, this leads to a worse call for everyone involved. At this point in time, you are irrational and will not listen to reason. In short, you are The Hulk, more Lou Ferrigno than Bill Bixby. More than half of the call will be spent listening to you vent rather than resolving your issue, which in turn, may cause more frustration as it's taking so long to resolve the issue. CSR's are trained to let personal issues go during a call. If they are not ready to take the next call due to heightened emotions, they are instructed to give themselves a time out or a breather before moving on. You should do the same. Chill out instead of Hulk-out.

2. Have Applicable Information Ready

Always have your applicable information ready at the start of the call. If you are making a payment, then have your bank and account information in hand. If you are calling for technical support, have your account information and the problem device accessible to recreate the issue. A common misconception is that all systems have a way to auto-populate your information or account status. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Sometimes, CSR's have to verify and re-verify basic information. It may be a limitation of their technology. It may be a requirement of their process. Either way, having the information ready will help shave off time on a call and make it start smoothly, setting the tone for the rest of the call. Not having the information makes you look unprepared and not at all serious about resolving this issue.

3. Fix the Problem

In most cases, you are calling a CSR because you are having an issue that needs to be resolved. Always keep this goal in mind. You want the problem to go away as quickly as possible. The CSR wants the exact same thing. Many people lose sight of this focus either because they are irrational (see number 1), too concentrated on assigning blame (see number 7), or too proud to admit when they may have done something wrong (again, number 7). Remember that you and the CSR have the same goal in mind. Keep that focus and it will be done as quickly and painlessly as possible. Now, if you're goal happens to be to rip some CSR a "new one" then please see number 1.

4. The Dynamic Duo

Problem resolution can only be accomplished by both parties. You need the CSR's help to resolve your issue. The CSR needs your help to get information on how to resolve your issue. Just as you cannot get the resolution you want/need if the CSR is difficult to work with, so it will be if you are the same way. Most times, CSR's are completely reliant on the customer to get information. After all, CSR's cannot actually see what you see so they must rely on your ability to communicate. In most technical related CSR training, they will do an exercise where CSR(A) must explain how to put together a puzzle to CSR(B) who cannot see the final picture. Imagine if CSR(A) could not or refused to communicate with CSR(B). Solving the puzzle, thus resolving the issue, becomes infinitely more difficult. Plus it makes CSR(A) look like a dick.

5. The Customer is NOT Always Right

Whatever you do, don't ever say the phrase, "The Customer is always right." CSR's, and truly any customer facing employee, have had this mantra drilled into their head. They don't need to be reminded.  If you are indeed right, the CSR will usually find that out in the course of probing and investigating your issue. In most cases, the customer that actually uses this phrase is actually wrong and is trying to force their opinion using a lame slogan designed to engender a false sense of importance in a feeble attempt at retaining repeat business. There are many things companies will do to try to keep a customer but there are always limitations. It doesn't matter how much a customer says that the sky is green, they will still be wrong as the sky is most definitely pink.

6. You Get More Flies with Honey

This goes along with entry number 1. Remember that when you call in for Customer Service, you are asking for help. This is not the time for you to instruct the CSR on how to do their job and to berate them. While it is the CSR's job to help you, it makes it more difficult when you are rude about it. When you begin to lose your cool, scream, and generally act in a vulgar fashion, you just appear like a child throwing a tantrum. People will be less inclined to work with you and help if you act in this manner. Remember that this interaction is a professional one for the CSR. It is best for you to carry that professional mindset as well. You will get better results this way. And unless you skipped that day in Kindergarten, there shouldn't be a reason why you don't know this rule. But then again, common courtesy is about as common as common sense, which is to say, not common at all.

7. Curses!

This is basically a continuation of number 6. Cursing at the representative is never appropriate, unless you are calling a phone sex operator, in which case cursing is not only appropriate but also encouraged. However, in the non-fetish related world of Customer Service, cursing has no place. It is perfectly understandable that you are emotional, and possibly angry, in which case you should follow number 1. And while you’re at it, check out number 3 again. Cursing does not help fix the problem. It doesn’t make the CSR go any faster. It doesn’t achieve resolution any sooner. It doesn’t even help make your point as a simple explanation would. In all actuality, the only thing cursing actually accomplishes is make you look ignorant and unable to express yourself intelligently. If that, and not fixing the problem, is your goal, then by all means, have at it. No one is going to stand in the way of you achieving your goals.

8. The Power of Humility

There is absolutely nothing wrong with admitting you are wrong if you are indeed wrong. The best CSR's are trained to accept accountability for an error even when it is not their error. The same should go with you. Be honest with the CSR and yourself and accept that there may be a chance that you are wrong. Far too many times, time is wasted on playing the blame game, which then impedes the problem resolution process. The usual mentality for Customer Service is to resolve the issue first and assign blame later. The usual mentality for a Customer is to assign blame first and resolve the issue later. The intended result should always be fixing the problem (see number 3). If blame needs to be assigned, it can wait until the more important issue is addressed. In most cases, the truth of who created the problem will come out in the course of investigation anyway. So if it was you, they will find out. And at that point, you had better not respond with "The Customer is always right." See number 5.

9. Ignorance is Bliss

There is nothing wrong with being ignorant of different processes or policies that may affect your account. The issue is when you think you know or you pretend to know. It doesn't matter how educated you are or how much customer service experience you have. You will never know the ins and outs of a company's policies and processes more than the CSR that works for that company. For some reason, customer's always have the uncanny ability to become the "expert" at whatever they are complaining about. For instance, being an "expert" at Customer Service or suddenly knowing "all about computers". FACT: if you were such an expert then you wouldn't need to call someone for help. No amount of failed experiences at call centers that litter your resume changes that. Listing your work history or educational background just makes you appear pompous and wastes time that could be better spent fixing the problem rather than vainly inflating your ego.

The next time you are calling into Customer Service for help, keep these guidelines in mind. Follow them and your interactions will go much more smoothly, much more quickly, and with greater success for resolution. If not, then you are free to contact me with any complaints. I'll have a customer service representative standing by.

Video Review: Batman: Under the Red Hood

There's something that you should know about me, and if you're reading this blog, you probably should know this already since we're probably friends. I love Batman. Comics. Graphic Novels. Cartoons. Video Games. Batman is my favorite "super'hero of all time. And The Joker? My favorite villain. I could wax intellectual at length about how these polar opposites are perfect examples, metaphors if you will, of the age old battle of Order vs. Chaos, Society vs. Anarchy, Logic vs. Madness.

In the last 30 years, there has always been some kind of Bat-presence in the media, keeping the Dark Knight Detective alive and well in the consciousness of the people. Whether it was the 80's which birthed The Dark Knight Returns and Year One (both essential Bat-readings by Frank Miller) to Tim Burton's first Batman film in 1989, or the 90's which may have seen the decline of the movie franchise but the rise of Batman in animated form in Fox's Batman: the Animated Series, or even the new millenium which saw the rebirth of the Batman films with Batman Begins, there has always been the Batman in one form or another to varying degrees of success.

And that brings us to now. From the animation studio that brought to life the DCU comes Batman: Under the Red Hood, which adapts Judd Winick's run "Under the Hood" in the Batman comics. How does it stack up to other Batman movies? Read on to find out.

The Plot

The movie begins with a scene taken straight from the famous Batman story "Death in the Family" which featured the death of Jason Todd, the second Robin. The Joker beats Jason senseless, as Batman speeds to his rescue. Before Batman can get to the warehouse where the violence is taking place, it explodes in front of his eyes. He sifts through the rubble to find the lifeless body of Jason Todd and he falls to his knees, a raging howl of pain erupting from within him.

Right from the opening sequence, you know you're in for a dark film. This isn't your normal Saturday Morning cartoon. There is violence. There is death. There is murder. As the film continues, we meet the mysterious Red Hood, a newcomer who is performing hostile takeovers of the Black Mask's assorted gangs. He offers mob bosses protection from both Black Mask and the Batman. In return, they agree not to sell drugs at schools. He's a villain with a soft spot for the kiddies.

Of course, this puts him in a crash course with Batman. You see, the Red Hood believes that he and Batman are the same: both vigilantes protecting the city. The difference is that the Red Hood doesn't have a problem wtih killing villains. He is an anti-hero in the strictist sense, someone who is convinced he is doing the right thing, willing to cross any line, as long as it is done for the greater good. Batman, the hero who will bend rules but never break the cardinal one: to murder, stands in the Hood's way. And whenever they meet, there are fireworks.

The Good

1. Complex characters: We have a very flawed Batman in this movie. From his failure to save Jason at the beginning of the film, to his arrogance and obsession through the later part of the movie, we see a Batman who is haunted by his greatest failure and his single-minded tenacity with rectifying that mistake. We see a father wrestling with the burden of losing a son, even to the detriment of his first son, Dick Grayson (Nightwing) who is trying to help but gets shut out. The Red Hood is a great character, a perfect foil not only to Batman but to Nightwing as well, showing how approaches to vigilantism can really differ.

2. Voice Acting: I love Kevin Conry as Batman's voice. He is the bar that others must attempt to reach. After being disappointed by Jeremy Sisto in the Justice Leage: New Frontiers animated movie, I was a bit wary of Bruce Greenwood tackling the role. But Greenwood does the role proud, equalling Kevin Conroy in many ways, and in my opinion, bettering it in others. Greenwood just has a very authorotative and gravelly voice naturally that his Batman has a lot of gravitas just by whispering. Incredible performance. I was also wary of John Di Maggio as The Joker but he done the remarkeable, he created a Joker that was not Cesar Romero, Jack Nicholson, Mark Hamill, or Heath Ledger. He gives him almost a drawl when he speaks (not the manic pace I have come to expect) that is really unsettling so that when he cracks into laughter, it's all the more disconcerting. His Joker comes off as mad but very calculated, a very lethal combination. He actually reminds me a bit of Hannibal Lecter, someone who speaks with such a deliberate pace but has complete and utter madness just boiling underneath. Another much deserved shout out goes to Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing. Someone needs to make a Nightwing movie with this guy. Seriously. His voice and intonation is perfect. He reflects Nightwing's more lighthearted outlook with every line he does, a perfect juxtaposition with Greenwood's Batman. You can tell that this guy was once Robin, the flamboyant boy wonder who grew up to be his own man.

3. The animation: The style in the movie recalls the look of the Animated Series, with the deco designs of the buildings and the extensive use of angled shadows. CGI is used sparingly and it really blends into the work. The character designs are really well done, with my favorites being the Batman, the Joker, and the young Jason Todd.

4. PG-13: This is the first of the DCU Animated Movies that I feel really earns the PG-13 rating. This is not really a movie I would recommend for little kids. While there is a lot of action, there is also a lot of drama which might lost kids. They might also be put off by the Joker as he's played much more like a serial killer and not as the cartoony Clown Prince of Crime that he's usually portrated as. There is also a lot of violence in the movie and while most of the murders happen off-screen, the impact is still there.

The Bad

1. Where did Nightwing Go: Bad plotting has Nightwing appear literally out of nowhere and then disappear halfway through the movie. I would have liked them to really delve into the Batman-Nightwing-Red Hood triangle much more. Actually, what would have been really great is a scene with Batman and Nightwing speaking after Batman finds out the truth about the Red Hood. This would have been some great dramatic fodder: the son confronting his father about his father's greatest failure.

2. The Black Mask: He was just played a little too over-the-top. Bruce Timm and company may have been going for a 40's Gangster feel with the guy because he would fit perfectly in something like the original Scarface, but he sticks out when compared to the realistic portrayals of everyone else.

3. Not enough Joker: This is really just a nitpick since I love The Joker. I always want more Joker.

4. Not enough Ra's Al Ghul: Really I just wanted to hear more of Jason Isaacs awesome voice for the Demon's Head.

Overall, I loved Under the Red Hood. It was dark, dramatic, action packed, and exciting. Everything I would expect from a Batman film. I would say it is better than Mask of the Phantasm (i.e. the best Batman animated movie). I would even go so far to say that it can hold its own with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, though may pale a little bit due to the fact that its running time is only 75 minutes. Imagine adding another 20 minutes. You could add even more complexity and the aforementioned Batman/Nightwing scene and you would have a perfect Batman movie. As it is, any self-respecting Batman fan should watch this movie. Just like how Batman Begins erased the bad taste left by Batman and Robin, Under the Red Hood erases the atrocities of the WB's Batman Adventures from the later 90's early 2000's that skewed to a much younger audience. It goes back to the feeling of the original Batman: Animated Series with a sprinkle of Nolan's Bat-films for good measure. How could you go worng?

Confession

I don't have very many vices. I drink occasionally, but really only when I'm at a party or we are entertaining family. I don't do drugs, except for the odd over-the-counter sleep aid here and there. I don't gamble, which is strange considering where I live. But I do love to shop.


I love shopping for almost anything but clothes and DVD/Blu-Rays in particular. My movie collection has risen above the 1400 mark. My closet is bursting at the seams, pun fully intended. I'm crazy about it. I have clothes I probably haven't touched in years. I have a stack of about 250 DVD's that are still unwatched. It's like a disease.


And like any addiction, I go from high to high, looking for my next score. An Elie Tahari tie? Sure, why not? Ooh, wing tips from Florsheim. I don't have those. Terminator 2 has another release on Blu-Ray? The feeling, the high, I get is hard to describe. It's like you've got these nagging thoughts, this weird empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, and this noise is talking to you...no, yelling at you. Your palms get all sweaty. Your neck feels clammy and your senses are heightened. Sometimes its so bad, it feels like I might puke. But then I buy that thing. That Old Navy scarf. Or that discounted DVD of the Karate Kid. And suddenly it all goes away. It's all quiet and puppy dogs and sunshine. Sick, I tell you. Sick.


Part of me wants to figure out where this sickness came from. Psychoanalysis would probably point to growing up in the Philippines comfortably but by no means rich. Going further back, you could probably trace it to my parents spoiling me as a child with Voltron toys and almost any Transformer I wanted. If you believe in Nature versus Nurture, then you could probably say I got it from my grandmother who is kind of a hoarder. Whatever the reason, I am afflicted and have to deal.


What I really think it comes down to is that I'm a collector. I like to have fullsets of things. Anything else would be positively uncivilized. This would explain why I had to have Terminator Salvation on Blu-Ray, since I already had the other 3 movies. That goes for X3 too since I loved the first two and had to complete my set. The good news here is that I've pretty much gotten all the DVD's I could possibly want thus my purchases have become fewer and farther between.


Now, clothes are a different story since there are always new styles and trends coming out every season. And for a bit there, I was hooked on that too. But as I've grown a little older and I've learned more about fashion, I've realized the power of classic pieces more and more. An Yves St. Laurent grey wool tie will always be in style. The same goes for a Polo Ralph Lauren dark blue heavy cotton tie. You get classic pieces like a pair of good khakis, a couple pair of dark wash jeans, and a grey v-neck sweater. These aren't just clothes, disposable bits of fabric that rotate in and out of your collection. These are investments that you can wear year in and year out because they are timeless.


As a result of this, I'm not really into buying trendy things. I'm more focused on versatile and timeless pieces. The good news is that I already have most of that so my collection is almost complete. Maybe there is light at the end of the tunnel.


Now if I could just find a good navy blue blazer.

If the Internet had Existed: Star Wars

Here's a little thing I like to call "If the Internet had Existed", something I hope to revisit every so often in the future. The basic concept is that I write blogs and reviews for things from the past as if the Internet had existed back then. Just to make this absolutely clear: I don't write it from the perspective of someone today reviewing something from the past. I write it from the view of someone in the past writing is as someone would on the Internet of today. Still with me? Without further ado... my Star Wars Review.

Well, I’m back y’all and I’ve got news. I was lucky (or unlucky, depending on your point of view) enough to be part of the preview audience for an upcoming science-fiction movie called Star Wars. A WARNING to everyone: there are SPOILERS contained within. Now, mind you, I use the phrase “science-fiction” loosely. The Day the Earth Stood Still is science fiction. Invasion of the Body Snatchers is science fiction. 2001: A Space Odyssey is science fiction. Star Wars, despite the title, is not. It’s more like those Buck Rogers serials from the 1940’s? Remember those? Chances are most people want to forget them, which is exactly the problem with this movie. It’s 1977 for god’s sakes. No one wants to see stories of hotshots gallivanting around space with their “laser swords.” (Will somebody get Mr. Lucas a physicist? Light doesn’t just stop at a certain point!) People want to see movies about evolution and alien invasions. We want to see movies about giant bugs and nuclear radiation. If we wanted to get our fix of adventures with buckled swashes, we’d stick with pirate movies.

The Plot:

I’ll try not to spoil too much of the plot, not that it had very much of it. There is an evil empire set loose in a galaxy “far, far away” that is looking to create the ultimate doomsday weapon. A small gang of rebels are trying to smuggle out the plans for this weapon to find its ultimate weakness. The fate of the entire rebel movement lies on the shoulders of a young farmboy, an old mystical Samurai wannabe, and a gunrunning space pirate. Oh yeah…and they have to save the princess too. How original. Is it a bad plot? Of course not. It's just not very...new. In fact, I've seen it or some variation of it so many times before.

What worked:

1. The special effects were incredible. They have space battles better than…well…the're better than any movie I’ve ever seen. No paper plates with fishing line here, no sir. The space battles look real. And I mean real. The final sequence in the trenches of the “Death Star” is a sight to behold. 

2. I also enjoyed the performance of relative newcomer Harrison Ford (American Grafitti). His character, the space pirate, was both funny and very believable. I think that we might have a breakout star in this guy.

What didn't work:

So on to what I didn’t like. God…where do I start? 

1. The main character, Luke Skywalker played by freshface Mark Hamill. He has to be the whiniest protagonist I have ever seen put on film. You don’t want to root for the guy. You want to shut up his incessant whining. “But Uncle Owen…” It’s like nails on a blackboard I tell you. Which leads me to...

2. His sidekick, a robot named C3-PO. I bet the PO stands for Pissed Off because I can tell you that’s how people felt anytime he was on-screen. Is this the kind of thing that passes as comic relief because I can tell you that he was neither funny nor his appearance a relief. 

3. Alec Guiness (Bridge on the River Kwai). Why oh why did you decide to be involved in this obvious B movie? You are so much better than this!

4.  My final nitpick of the movie involves the music. Of course, we were given a temp track to listen to, so it might be an unfair evaluation. Taking a cue (pun intended) from Stanley Kubrick, Mr. Lucas decided to use a score of classical music. This just didn’t work for the movie. As if the movie wasn’t hokey enough, to see it played to Wagnerian opera was just too over-the-top. But maybe that’s what Lucas wanted. Maybe he really wanted this movie to be a farce. Somehow, I doubt it. I hear a rumor that John Williams might be scoring the movie. Maybe he’ll be able to spin some Jaws magic on the sucker. I still think he should go for my number one choice: Jerry Goldsmith. Now there is a good composer.

Anyway…to sum up. I predict that this movie will just come and go in the theater. I mean, there is a reason that the studios stopped making those sci-fi serials in the 1940’s. Audiences are just too sophisticated for that kind of story.  I mean, seriously. Laser swords? A mystical energy called “The Force?” It’ll never fly. If it's lucky, it may achieve cult status, though I pray that it doesn’t. The last thing the world needs is a sequel to this tripe. Here is a message to Mr. Lucas if you are reading this: Go back to doing stories about 50’s teens in diners. Or if you have to do Science-Fiction, at least do it right. I mean, you are the guy that did THX-1138 after all. Don't waste your time on this juvenile fairy tale.

Back in Time!

Just checked out Hot Tub Time Machine. Overall, a pretty funny flick that had its moments. A few too many gross out things but hey, what are you gonna do? I think the movie was a bit rushed. There could have been a little bit more characterization in it to make these guys really seem like best friends who had lost touch with each other. For me, it was a pretty good 2.5 out of 4. If they worked on the character bits instead of trying to skip from one funny scene to the next, it probably would have been a 3 or higher.

The movie did make me think, however. No, not in the way that Inception did. Or Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I was trying to boil think of a pivotal moment in my life that I would go back to and relive and possibly change. Would it be some moment in High School? Probably not as I generally dislike that period of my life, save for my senior year, which was awesome.

Would then be some time in college? I'm not too sure about that either as I generally really liked college. I mean, even the bad spots were better than some of those in High School. Plus, I'd met some really great friends then, friendships that I still hold dear today.

I dunno. Maybe I'm just not old enough to be able to look back on my life and find a "What could have been if..." moment. What did John Cusack call it in Say Anything? A "dare to be great" moment. Or maybe I didn't have any of those types of moments. How sad would that be? Living my life still waiting for that "dare to be great" moment that may never come.

Or maybe it's simply that I am happy and content where I am right now. And I realize that everything leading up to this point was simply prelude to this exact moment. That regardless of if I grabbed that "dare to be great" moment or not, it still led me to this exact time and place. And this is exactly where I want to be.

Have I don't some stupid things? Of course. We all have. And I will probably continue to do stupid things. But I've also done great things. Sure, maybe not "Oscar worthy" great, but great nonetheless. And I would never trade those for anything, not even for the opportunity to erase the bad stuff.  So please, you can keep your time travelling Hot Tub to yourself. I'm cool.

Well, how about that DeLorean?