...I don't want companies to know these things about me. I don't want to brag about the kind of car I drive or how often I replace it. I don't want to disclose the amount of money I spend repaying loans/mortgage/you name it, because it's no one's business but my own. I'm sick of the junk mail that lands in my box each day trying to sell me things I don't give a [***] about. I no longer answer my landline telephone because 90% of calls to it are trying to sell me something I neither want nor need, and only give my mobile number to people who might actually NEED to speak to me URGENTLY. Everyone else can mail me. If I don't want to read them I can at least delete them and waste less time.
Most of these services are badly run by people who know nothing about their customers and couldn't care less.
Yes, information technology is a good thing, but information Big Brother is something else entirely.
I'd rather live without it.
By the way, when you run the cursor over the link to this reply section it invites you to 'add your own commnet' (sic?)
Quote:>>And, I still wanted to know where they got my number, so I asked for his supervisor. He put the phone down on me. I tried 1471 to call back and speak to someone senior but the number was blocked.
I put the phone down on last night's call as soon as he began to talk. He phoned me back at once telling me I was rude for not listening. I put the phone down again. He rang back and asked me what was wrong with cold calling and didn't I realise he had a family to feed!<<
I get calls like this at least once a month. I get the less extreme version that don't bother to ring back after the first put-down about five times a DAY!!
I've recently tried a suggestion my friend made to me. I simply tell them, "I don't have time to talk to you right now. If you leave me your HOME phone number, I'll ring you back when it's convenient."
At best it flusters them. At worst they just hang up!
Local Government in our region has recently created chaos by pursuing its blinkered goal of having a Call Centre in place within X number of months.
Councillors have claimed until they are blue that public opinion was sought and heeded, but the upshot of it is that they rushed a plan into being in order to fulfil impossible Government targets. In doing so, they are managing to alienate their existing workforce and mightily brass-off their customer base (which, I might add, cannot exactly go elsewhere for its services) by employing managers with no idea of how to run such a vast industrial workforce and paying them huge sums for the priviledge of messing things up.
All of this chaos is down to bad management. All of which, the rate-payers of the borough are paying for. I think that they, the public, (and I include myself in that demographic) would be a little bit sharp-tongued in response to the previous comment about learning curves and improvement.
This system should have been tested and double tested before implementation. Right now, capable employees are leaving Local Government employment in their droves after finding their new working circumstances impossible to tolerate. After a couple of years the whole scheme will be abandoned in favour of some new Pet Government Scheme. It is an abominable waste of the tax-payers' money.
Surely any businessman knows that before you implement such vast changes in how your business is run, you make sure that it works like the proverbial Swiss Clock. Anything else is a waste of time and resources.
Local Government in our region has recently created chaos by pursuing its blinkered goal of having a Call Centre in place within X number of months.
Councillors have claimed until they are blue that public opinion was sought and heeded, but the upshot of it is that they rushed a plan into being in order to fulfil impossible Government targets. In doing so, they are managing to alienate their existing workforce and mightily brass-off their customer base (which, I might add, cannot exactly go elsewhere for its services) by employing managers with no idea of how to run such a vast industrial workforce and paying them huge sums for the priviledge of messing things up.
All of this chaos is down to bad management. All of which, the rate-payers of the borough are paying for. I think that they, the public, (and I include myself in that demographic) would be a little bit sharp-tongued in response to the previous comment about learning curves and improvement.
This system should have been tested and double tested before implementation. Right now, capable employees are leaving Local Government employment in their droves after finding their new working circumstances impossible to tolerate. After a couple of years the whole scheme will be abandoned in favour of some new Pet Government Scheme. It is an abominable waste of the tax-payers' money.
Surely any businessman knows that before you implement such vast changes in how your business is run, you make sure that it works like the proverbial Swiss Clock. Anything else is a waste of time and resources.
Having experimented briefly with a clubcard at my local branch (and I'm aware that this is not a viewpoint expressed from a totally professional standpoint, but bear with me) I can make an observation as follows.
For the inital twelve months of my participation in the scheme I was monitored closely as to my purchases and offered vouchers which corresponded to my purchase patterns, which was quite an active incentment to spend more moeny with Tesco.
However, I have discovered over the last six months or so that Tesco stores seem to be cutting back on their ranges quite dramatically. I cannot decided whether this means that I just tend to buy things that no one else particularly wants or that they're homogenising their products on a grand scale.
Whatever the case, if they continue to cut back on such standard things as loose produce, bread and low fat ranges at the rate my local store seems to be doing, whether this is in response to a trend or something more sinister, I will be forced to find myself another outlet.
Ergo, a customer card cannot be relied upon to buy customer loyalty.
Having experimented briefly with a clubcard at my local branch (and I'm aware that this is not a viewpoint expressed from a totally professional standpoint, but bear with me) I can make an observation as follows.
For the inital twelve months of my participation in the scheme I was monitored closely as to my purchases and offered vouchers which corresponded to my purchase patterns, which was quite an active incentment to spend more moeny with Tesco.
However, I have discovered over the last six months or so that Tesco stores seem to be cutting back on their ranges quite dramatically. I cannot decided whether this means that I just tend to buy things that no one else particularly wants or that they're homogenising their products on a grand scale.
Whatever the case, if they continue to cut back on such standard things as loose produce, bread and low fat ranges at the rate my local store seems to be doing, whether this is in response to a trend or something more sinister, I will be forced to find myself another outlet.
Ergo, a customer card cannot be relied upon to buy customer loyalty.
A frequent complaint I have heard from employees within the public service industry is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide an accommodating service that is both customer friendly and yet remains within boundaries designed to maintain some degree of public order. As the barriers are pushed back to prevent "exclusion" which seems to be this season's taboo word, all that staff within Local Government seem to be experiencing is a sense that standards are slipping through the net. Suddenly it is perfectly all right for any kind of abusive behaviour to be unleashed upon our staff, because to reprimand the abuser would be some kind of infringement of his or her civil liberties. This may sound extreme but it is reality in many of our Local Authority services and will ultimately lead to an exodus of well trained and capable staff into other jobs. What is CRM doing to give employees and public service providers the rights their Customers are allegedly being given?
A frequent complaint I have heard from employees within the public service industry is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide an accommodating service that is both customer friendly and yet remains within boundaries designed to maintain some degree of public order. As the barriers are pushed back to prevent "exclusion" which seems to be this season's taboo word, all that staff within Local Government seem to be experiencing is a sense that standards are slipping through the net. Suddenly it is perfectly all right for any kind of abusive behaviour to be unleashed upon our staff, because to reprimand the abuser would be some kind of infringement of his or her civil liberties. This may sound extreme but it is reality in many of our Local Authority services and will ultimately lead to an exodus of well trained and capable staff into other jobs. What is CRM doing to give employees and public service providers the rights their Customers are allegedly being given?
My answers
...I don't want companies to know these things about me. I don't want to brag about the kind of car I drive or how often I replace it. I don't want to disclose the amount of money I spend repaying loans/mortgage/you name it, because it's no one's business but my own. I'm sick of the junk mail that lands in my box each day trying to sell me things I don't give a [***] about. I no longer answer my landline telephone because 90% of calls to it are trying to sell me something I neither want nor need, and only give my mobile number to people who might actually NEED to speak to me URGENTLY. Everyone else can mail me. If I don't want to read them I can at least delete them and waste less time.
Most of these services are badly run by people who know nothing about their customers and couldn't care less.
Yes, information technology is a good thing, but information Big Brother is something else entirely.
I'd rather live without it.
By the way, when you run the cursor over the link to this reply section it invites you to 'add your own commnet' (sic?)
Quote:>>And, I still wanted to know where they got my number, so I asked for his supervisor. He put the phone down on me. I tried 1471 to call back and speak to someone senior but the number was blocked.
I put the phone down on last night's call as soon as he began to talk. He phoned me back at once telling me I was rude for not listening. I put the phone down again. He rang back and asked me what was wrong with cold calling and didn't I realise he had a family to feed!<<
I get calls like this at least once a month. I get the less extreme version that don't bother to ring back after the first put-down about five times a DAY!!
I've recently tried a suggestion my friend made to me. I simply tell them, "I don't have time to talk to you right now. If you leave me your HOME phone number, I'll ring you back when it's convenient."
At best it flusters them. At worst they just hang up!
Local Government in our region has recently created chaos by pursuing its blinkered goal of having a Call Centre in place within X number of months.
Councillors have claimed until they are blue that public opinion was sought and heeded, but the upshot of it is that they rushed a plan into being in order to fulfil impossible Government targets. In doing so, they are managing to alienate their existing workforce and mightily brass-off their customer base (which, I might add, cannot exactly go elsewhere for its services) by employing managers with no idea of how to run such a vast industrial workforce and paying them huge sums for the priviledge of messing things up.
All of this chaos is down to bad management. All of which, the rate-payers of the borough are paying for. I think that they, the public, (and I include myself in that demographic) would be a little bit sharp-tongued in response to the previous comment about learning curves and improvement.
This system should have been tested and double tested before implementation. Right now, capable employees are leaving Local Government employment in their droves after finding their new working circumstances impossible to tolerate. After a couple of years the whole scheme will be abandoned in favour of some new Pet Government Scheme. It is an abominable waste of the tax-payers' money.
Surely any businessman knows that before you implement such vast changes in how your business is run, you make sure that it works like the proverbial Swiss Clock. Anything else is a waste of time and resources.
Local Government in our region has recently created chaos by pursuing its blinkered goal of having a Call Centre in place within X number of months.
Councillors have claimed until they are blue that public opinion was sought and heeded, but the upshot of it is that they rushed a plan into being in order to fulfil impossible Government targets. In doing so, they are managing to alienate their existing workforce and mightily brass-off their customer base (which, I might add, cannot exactly go elsewhere for its services) by employing managers with no idea of how to run such a vast industrial workforce and paying them huge sums for the priviledge of messing things up.
All of this chaos is down to bad management. All of which, the rate-payers of the borough are paying for. I think that they, the public, (and I include myself in that demographic) would be a little bit sharp-tongued in response to the previous comment about learning curves and improvement.
This system should have been tested and double tested before implementation. Right now, capable employees are leaving Local Government employment in their droves after finding their new working circumstances impossible to tolerate. After a couple of years the whole scheme will be abandoned in favour of some new Pet Government Scheme. It is an abominable waste of the tax-payers' money.
Surely any businessman knows that before you implement such vast changes in how your business is run, you make sure that it works like the proverbial Swiss Clock. Anything else is a waste of time and resources.
Having experimented briefly with a clubcard at my local branch (and I'm aware that this is not a viewpoint expressed from a totally professional standpoint, but bear with me) I can make an observation as follows.
For the inital twelve months of my participation in the scheme I was monitored closely as to my purchases and offered vouchers which corresponded to my purchase patterns, which was quite an active incentment to spend more moeny with Tesco.
However, I have discovered over the last six months or so that Tesco stores seem to be cutting back on their ranges quite dramatically. I cannot decided whether this means that I just tend to buy things that no one else particularly wants or that they're homogenising their products on a grand scale.
Whatever the case, if they continue to cut back on such standard things as loose produce, bread and low fat ranges at the rate my local store seems to be doing, whether this is in response to a trend or something more sinister, I will be forced to find myself another outlet.
Ergo, a customer card cannot be relied upon to buy customer loyalty.
DW
Having experimented briefly with a clubcard at my local branch (and I'm aware that this is not a viewpoint expressed from a totally professional standpoint, but bear with me) I can make an observation as follows.
For the inital twelve months of my participation in the scheme I was monitored closely as to my purchases and offered vouchers which corresponded to my purchase patterns, which was quite an active incentment to spend more moeny with Tesco.
However, I have discovered over the last six months or so that Tesco stores seem to be cutting back on their ranges quite dramatically. I cannot decided whether this means that I just tend to buy things that no one else particularly wants or that they're homogenising their products on a grand scale.
Whatever the case, if they continue to cut back on such standard things as loose produce, bread and low fat ranges at the rate my local store seems to be doing, whether this is in response to a trend or something more sinister, I will be forced to find myself another outlet.
Ergo, a customer card cannot be relied upon to buy customer loyalty.
DW
A frequent complaint I have heard from employees within the public service industry is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide an accommodating service that is both customer friendly and yet remains within boundaries designed to maintain some degree of public order. As the barriers are pushed back to prevent "exclusion" which seems to be this season's taboo word, all that staff within Local Government seem to be experiencing is a sense that standards are slipping through the net.
Suddenly it is perfectly all right for any kind of abusive behaviour to be unleashed upon our staff, because to reprimand the abuser would be some kind of infringement of his or her civil liberties.
This may sound extreme but it is reality in many of our Local Authority services and will ultimately lead to an exodus of well trained and capable staff into other jobs. What is CRM doing to give employees and public service providers the rights their Customers are allegedly being given?
A frequent complaint I have heard from employees within the public service industry is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide an accommodating service that is both customer friendly and yet remains within boundaries designed to maintain some degree of public order. As the barriers are pushed back to prevent "exclusion" which seems to be this season's taboo word, all that staff within Local Government seem to be experiencing is a sense that standards are slipping through the net.
Suddenly it is perfectly all right for any kind of abusive behaviour to be unleashed upon our staff, because to reprimand the abuser would be some kind of infringement of his or her civil liberties.
This may sound extreme but it is reality in many of our Local Authority services and will ultimately lead to an exodus of well trained and capable staff into other jobs. What is CRM doing to give employees and public service providers the rights their Customers are allegedly being given?