Sometimes you should simply LISTEN.
You know, as we are facing a challenging economy, you would think that companies would try harder when it comes to the way they treat customers. Not so in many cases. I’m pretty sure that Paypal doesn’t need me. I’m pretty sure they could care less about me actually. But as a customer that pays a monthly fee for credit card processing, as well as a percentage of everything that goes through, they should.
In July of 2007, I initiated a charge for the purchase of a product by Mr. XYZ. Mr. XYZ entered all his information on a credit card request form and signed it. His product was shipped, and I processed the invoice for payment. Mr. XYZ then disputed the claim through Paypal as he didn’t recognize me as the seller on his credit card statement. No problem. I uploaded the signed credit card document to Paypal on the dispute page, and they emailed my customer. Mr. XYZ said that the claim was indeed valid and the funds were released to my Paypal account.
Fast forward to February 2009 and the dispute is still showing open on Paypal. I call customer service to simply ask if there is something that I needed to do to close the dispute. Mr. Paypal says he will check the claim and puts me on hold. Very prompt in his return to my call, he begins to explain in a loud voice each step of the dispute process including the dates and details of each corresponding item. It’s word for word what I can already read on my screen, and that’s not why I called.
Me: I am aware the funds were released, I just…
Him: Let me finish!!! *said in his best Regan/Linda Blair (from the Exorcist) voice*
I let him ramble, but a part of me wanted to say, “Wait a minute Shithead, I am the customer! How dare you use that tone with me!”
At the end of the day, I am not going to drop Paypal — their organization is respected for providing secure online services. I have to give them credit — Mr. Paypal was an English speaking representative. But still, couldn’t he have just been a little more respectful, a little less condescending, and a lot more open to what the customer (me) REALLY wanted? He could have simply listened.