Wednesday, February 24, 2021

A FAMILIAR RANT

       I have written about my dislike for call centers  before this rant. We had a few issues with call centers this week. One would think that banks would be somewhat careful about the service they give but it's not the case.  Yesterday we waited 52 minutes to have someone answer. Then they couldn't answer our question so we waited another 20 minutes to get someone who could give an answer. You have to wait too long for a call center to answer. I would be willing to wait 5 or 10 minutes but any more is just plane rude . The company does not deserve your business. Then people working in call centers are very poorly trained and do not know much about the products. 

      Okay. That was mild. 

      What are we going to do about this problem. They seem to have us as it seems to be all we can get. I think most communication is going on line. 

      Today, I met up with a completely new internet and phone problem.

       Our provincial government cheerfully told us that today we could make appointments for covid-19 vaccinations. Two systems were to be used...the phone and the internet. 

      This was meant to register all the people 75 and over in this province. There are about 290000 of us.

      Things were to open at 8:00 AM and they did. At 8:01 it was reported that the system was overloaded and you could not get on. I tried off and on all day and never got on. They registered 5000 people today. At that rate it will take 58 days just to register us and then they have to find an appointment for us. 

    If it takes this long to do the elderly what will happen to the other people.

     The government is just not willing to hire more people for the call center or provide more servers to register people on line. 

    What ever happened to good old face to face contact? 

46 comments:

  1. It would appear that good old face to face contact has gone the way of the dodo, in many cases.
    Happily, down here in the southern hemisphere it is still possible to walk into a bank and speak face to face with people who are happy to help you. Sure, you have to wear a mask but that's a minor inconvenience if you get a resolution to your problem.
    Alphie

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    1. Yes, we can still walk into the bank but this was the investment side of it.

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  2. Here in England, I had no problem making my online vaccination appointments. Very straightforward. Perhaps Canada should send an emissary over here to see how to do the job. I suggest Secretary of State Lady Jean Micromanager. You can carry her suitcase.

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    1. If I sent Lady Jean over she would for sure screw up your system. It's the registration programs governments buy. Most of the states have the same program and the same problems.

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  3. That is so frustrating. I have retired teacher friends in Illinois who are really struggling to get their shots too. It’s been a little easier here in Hawaii. Thank goodness.

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    1. There is so much information lacking. Now we found a pharmacy a few blocks away that has made an appointment for us to get the vaccination there.

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  4. Yes I agree with you, all that internet stuff is so confusing, specially when you are getting older. The vaccinations are slow everywhere it seems. Here are first the 80 year and older people and nursing people in eldery homes. And then there is confusing over the vaccin, all the time.The European Community is the supervisor for deliver the vaccins and it is taking months before we can finally get a vacination. I sometimes think that they are waiting we eldery have all died before the vaccins arrive at last...:(

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    1. Don't worry. They want the elderly living so that they can sell the expensive vaccine and make an enormous amount of money.

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  5. Maybe they should offer to a narrower age group and add incrementally.

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    1. that would certainly help. They offered ages 75 and older the choice to register.

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  6. Oh, good luck with that. It is amazing we have gone from a pandemic, to a vaccine so quickly. The technology is quite something. I hope it rolls out efficiently for all of us. These politicians are in over their heads.

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  7. I'm so sorry to hear of your difficulties getting registered online. I never wait more than ten minutes before hanging up, you are to be commended for your patience, Red. But eventually you will get there! I hope anyway.

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    1. I am now registered and will get my first shot Mar. 6.

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  8. I don't understand why it has to be this way and our government is doing the same thing. Meanwhile, we already have a system in place where every elderly person is already in the system with contact information and the system was DESIGNED for making appointments and has been used for decades. It is called your local clinic where you go for regular health issues. Here however, because one must be a patient to receive any sort of vaccine, the government refuses to give them vaccines to inject on the notion that it isn't open to everyone.

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  9. Hope you get online and get an appointment, patience I guess. By the way my husband really enjoyed your taste in music:)

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    1. We did get an appointment... in fact two appointments. We found a pharmacy nearby the will be giving shots.

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  10. Such a bummer about the phone lines and call centers. It was all supposed to be so helpful until it wasn't anymore. Yes, they need to hire more people.

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    1. In other words It seemed like a good idea at the time.

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  11. Personal service is a thing of the past. If I call somewhere and a person actually answers, it’s a shock. I hate the answering services too, touch 1 if...etc. Hateful stuff all around, rant over!

    I hear ya!

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  12. I've been trying to sign up for a vaccine shot here in Illinois and have had no luck. I have signed up with various groups who are supposed to let me know when my shot is available but nothing yet. Have tried the local pharmacies, the county health department, my doctors' groups. No shots available. Yet my brother and his wife (who are younger)got their first jab last week when a friend called and found a slot for them. Happy for them but angry for me!

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    1. That's a little different system. We phone in or visit the website to make the actual appointment.

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  13. No one values the customer nowadays. In Italy during our weekly shop it must have been International Ignore the Customer Day. I was the only one at the bread counter but not one of the three staff came to serve me, they all wandered off, came back, still ignored me. Same at the supermarket checkout, too busy counting out change and messing with paperwork to deal with my shopping. As for call centres, whoever invented them should be shot.

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    1. Well, call centers were probably a good idea at the time but they have become very ineffective.

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  14. Call centers ARE frustrating. The plain truth is that most of these businesses just don't care about their customers. I think your provincial government needs a better way to get people registered for their vaccines! Why didn't they break down that group alphabetically by last name, or by zip code or something, and have those subgroups register on certain days?

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    1. I found out that many provinces and states have the same system. It's a pain in the butt in all the places it is being used. You have a good idea about trying to make it run more efficiently.

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  15. I could not agree with you more about call centers. They are among the most frustrating things we have to deal with these days. I hope you and you wife get an appointment for the vaccine soon. I'm not surprised you could not get through on the first day as it is like that in many places. We are listed on three different vaccine sites and have been waiting for a couple of months without any positive responses yet. They are doing vaccines in our age group but there is a vaccine shortage here.

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    1. We did get an appointment and then found another one that is more convenient at a nearby drugstore.

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  16. Our Covid vaccination internet servers overloaded too. It is still a problem for many. We got lucky, but only after many attempts and much impatient waiting. We get our second shot Saturday.
    Don't give up, but also don't stress yourself over it. Eventually you will get the vaccine. Do register your complaint where it might do some good though. Yes, they need to hire more people and increase their infrastructure. Covid is not something to mess around with.

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    1. We did get appointments so now I hope they have the vaccine.

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  17. Face to face is long gone today. Now it's please call this number and sit and wait, someone will be with you eventually. Sad but true.

    About your question Red, The Alaskan Native festival photos were taken in 1998.

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    1. Thanks for the answer. they can make some very attractive clothing. I still have my parka but I sold my mukluks as antiques.

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  18. My county has had the site go down so often they have switched to a lottery of the registered folks who want vaccinated.

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  19. Thankfully, I have not had to make a call center call in a while, Red, but can uncertain your frustration. You certainly have a lot of patience (more than myself) to have hung on that bank call for as long as you stated. The vaccine roll out sounds like it will take a very long time, unless changes are made soon.

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  20. Ya the system overloads and then quits as you are filling out your information.

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  21. Hi Red, What a story. Government these days, be it Canadian or US, is just not cutting the mustard. Sorry to hear about the difficulty of getting an appointment for the vaccine. Hope you are able to get an appointment in the days ahead. Keep us posted. A good weekend to you and the Micro Manager. John

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  22. I guess it’s the same everywhere. The hour they opened the website to sign up to get on a list for covid shots, 30,000 people jumped on line and crashed the site. We finally got on the list but have not been called for an appointment yet. You have great patience to last 52 minutes on hold. Next time have a book to read at hand!

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  23. We have both gotten our fist shot...took three days of me registering everywhere that I could, but I have to admit my state has done well. All of it online. We also had crashed internet sites. So frustrating.

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  24. A rant is almost nothing I could write a book on this subject but it would bring my blood pressure way up and I can't risk it. I spend my days sheltering in place bored to death and working on my coloring books for adults. If and when I get the Covid vaccine I intend to try again Ray

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  25. I'm not keen on call centres but I can manage many tasks myself online so I deal with call centres less than I used to. When my kids first left school and applied for student support it was impossible to get through I would spend hours a day just trying to get a connection because youdrop out of the phone system if there are already a lot of calls. I eventually got help by making a post on the facebook page of the relevant department. Embarassing them helps

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  26. These issues are worth a rant, that's for sure. We are getting our first vaccinations today. I'm surprised as I thought we would be waiting a lot longer. We are in Virginia.

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  27. waiting time sounds horrible and stressful specially when it comes to register for vaccination ,i have no experience with call center so can't say anything

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