Lester of Eastern Canada (8/19/03):
Screw it! I don't care if I get fired, this has to be said.
To all the people who are getting a raw deal from TracFone:
We get little (5 days) of training. Most of the agents on the floor learn the procedures from other agents, it's a trial by fire.
About 60% of the people who work as a customer service rep don't know what they are doing, they will just BS you untill something kinda works.
The amount of stress we get put through would cause most people to quit. [btw, the turnover rate at the building I work is huge! most people are there for way less then 6 months {it's mostly 2-3 months}].
"Stress Management" is a foreign concept.
All we can usually do with a phone that is not working is:
- reprogram the phone [which requires about 15min of time and 9 lines of code into the Phone. 1 line of code = about 21 numbers]
- Make up a case for the local carrier [usually Bell, 360, or BAM], their techs take a look at it. You, the customer, call back in about 24h, it may be working then. *Note* if this doesn't work, we go back to "i", do all the codes over, resend the case, wait another 24 hours, and if it's not working then, you send the phone into the Tracfone warehouse in Miami [you pay the S&H; to send it]. then replace it with a used [aka Reconditioned] fone.
I have personally seen reconditioned phones that don't work getting sent to the customer, the customer then calls us, gets bounced around the automated system, finally he may get someone who knows what to do [which is about a 40% chance], they yell, scream, swear [I have had all of these, and personally, I don't blame them.] at us, and all we can do is try to get them to send the phone back into the warehouse [again they pay the S&H; to ship it to us], and there is a good chance that the 2nd phone we send them may not work.
Then the process starts all over again! I HAVE HAD IT!
