I have written many times about specific companies' lack of customer service. I find that people suffer from bad customer service in Israel specifically because of the accepted aggressive mentality of Israelis. While they don’t mean any harm, terrible customer service is the outcome.
I have somewhat grown accustom to the abusive way Bezek, Hot, Orange, etc. deal with their customers. Certain things still do tick me off though. Throughout all of my bad experiences I have had, never did I receive terrible customer service not because the company representative on the other line was a jerk, but because the person on the other end off the line didn’t actually speak English!
Let me explain.
I write this blog after hours of being on the phone fighting with simple minions who, to my current knowledge, really do not understand any English. They simply read from a script. The conversation went as follows. I said X they said Y. I said Z they said A. In a case when I said something that they didn’t understand they simply reiterate the last sentence that they had said. No joke! I wanted to give my readership a glimpse into my most recent painful experience. Here goes...
It all started with my “clever” decision to switch all purchases to the new Capital One No Hassle Rewards Card. Capital One is the only credit card (that I know of) that does not have a foreign transaction fee. In addition, they offer the exact exchange rate on purchases made abroad. That, tied together with the fact that they offered me 2% back on all purchases, makes me a proud Capital One Platinum holder.
My most recent episode occurred when I called Capital One to dispute a fraudulent charge on my credit card. I had purchased a Bluetooth adapter for my computer in some shady Israeli hardware store. When I returned to my office to try out my new gizmo, to no one’s surprise, the adapter did not work. I returned the item to the store. Only after the owner had his precious merchandise back did he alert me that there would be no refund or store credit for the damaged merchandise I was tricked into buying.
With the power of a platinum MasterCard in my wallet, I walked off. All the while knowing that while he might have won the battle he would surely lose the war. There was no need for me to get physical or raise my voice. I would flex my MasterCard muscles and get my way. I called up to dispute the charge.
Life was fine and dandy until a few days ago when I tried to make a purchase at New Deli (they make best hot dogs in town). “I am sorry sir, but this card is being declined.” How could that be? I had just gotten my new credit card a few months ago! I gave the man my Israeli platinum card (even more impressive than my American one. It actually has a sim card in it!). “I am sorry sir, but this card is also being declined.” I thought the worst. Maybe the Mossad had somehow found out about my hot dog obsession and had canceled my bank accounts and were now searching for me. It took me a quick second to realize how silly that possible scenario was. (Turns out my Israeli card not working was just a fluke).
I got back to my office and told my employees that I would be making a business call and therefore would be unavailable for a bit. I closed my office door and put on my investigative hat. I called up Capital One “customer service". “I am sorry sir, but I see here that you contacted us a few days ago and canceled that credit card. A new one has been issued.” Apparently they had mistakenly confused my story. Capital One thought I had called them and explained that someone had stolen my credit card. Capital One had already canceled my credit card. I was quickly explained that it was impossible to reactivate the card and that was why a new one had already been issued. I would be receiving the new card in the mail within 10-14 business days.
After 3 hours of fighting with incompetents on the phone I was finally transferred to someone located in the United States. “Sir, I am sorry about the confusion and I will reactivate your card. There will be no need for the replacement card. You should be able to use your original card now.”Apparently the nice man located in the United States was just as incompetent as the other 15 Indians who were getting paid just under $1 an hour. You cannot reactivate a shut down card.
I got my replacement card in the mail overnight UPS from the United States. Of course my wifes name was spelled wrong.
When outsourcing your Customer Service please at least try and make sure the people who will be working for you ACTUALLY speak English. I learned a long time ago that you always get what you pay for. Its too bad Capital One is perfect for my spending needs or I would cancel it! I guess my revenge is in the fact that it costs a full month’s Indian’s salary to UPS the credit card to Israel. Still unsure who came out with the upper hand on this one…
