Poor customer service centres guys

Calling the customer service centres of utility departments, Pindiites experience frustration, anger and despair and are left with the feeling that they are nothing more than an annoyance or embarrassment to the person on the other end of the line.

“Customer service centres never attend calls and people have to run to their offices to get things done.

“The thing that really bothers me is that when I ring up these customer centre guys the number of times they transfer my call to someone else who 'might' be able to help. This usually means I have to listen to some awful lecture on service centre features for another ten minutes and I may be cut off at the end of that and then have to go through the whole process again,” says Ghulam Abbas from Dhoke Hafiz colony.

“Going through the irritation of listening to the extra-long pre-recorded message including the repetition of their so-called excellent services is often a bitter experience which is almost not more useful than the complaint centre you are trying to get through to,” says Shabbir Hussain from the same locality.

“Will the utility departments be ever able to offer a more human and user friendly service? I myself work in the complaint department of a small organization and have some idea of what it is like to deal with customers on a day-to-day basis. I don't think the people I deal with would be very happy if I put them on hold, cut off their call or transfer them around the office every time they call,” says Izhar Naqvi from Dhoke Lilyaal.

Ejaz Hasan from Gilani Town says: “Last week I spent 15 minutes listening to service features of one of the companies, in the end with a message that all operators are busy at the moment. You will be immediately connected when any one is free. This irritating voice continued for half an hour testing my patience with no result in the end.”

“Just yesterday when I tried to file a complaint, my call was transferred from one call handler to another. I felt completely at their mercy. It just drove me insane. Can I take my complaints to some sort of ombudsman? I am a pensioner on a very strict limited income and need to know why these companies are overbilling me,” says Salamat Ali from Chaklala opposite old airport.

“These companies’ claim to excellent customer care is negated by dispatch of disproportionate bills. I keep calling them but will get nowhere; after promise of a quick solution the call handler puts the phone down saying have a nice day,” laments Haider Sultan from the same area.