i am an inbound call center agent... i predominately handle calls initiated by the customers.. be it inquiries or complaints. our company deals with credit cards and i belong to fraud & security department. i am so used to irate callers. jumble the letters in each words..( FKCUUOY, SSOLHAE, BLLUTHIS) these are what i usually hear when taking calls. our customers get mad when they are having a hard time using their card. our utmost priority is to protect our customers' account. it's always better safe than sorry. there are so many cases in the US when a card gets lost, stolen, compromised. there are even counterfeit & take over issues. when these things happen... we deliberately place a block on the account and contact our cardmembers thru email, phone calls and alert letter. when cardmembers say the transaction is legit, we remove the block right away. .. as easy as that.... some americans thank us. HOWEVER, there are more who hate it. whenever they call, we tell them the reason for the decline...the best possible way we can.
PATIENCE plays a big role here. we are always encourage to provide good customer experience. hence, we always play it cool. one of the irate callers i cant forget was a filipina living in Alabama. i actually got excited when i received the call because i know she's a "kababayan".. her name is so "pinoy" and her accent is obviously so filipino... onset of call, she was already blowing her top. so shocked was i... never did i expect such attitude from a "kababayan". here's exactly what she told me ...." you americans are so mean. you dont know the embarassment i had when i was in line at the grocery store and learned i cant use my card when i always pay my bill.. i explained that since the transaction she did was out of her spending patttern.. she travelled out of her state and it triggered a red flag...all she needs is verify the activity and block will be removed real quick..card will be good to go.. she put me on hold and talked to her hubby.. i can hear her shouting on the phone.."hon, aba, ito'ng putang ina'ng amerikano na ito.. akala yata ay nanakaw ang credit card natin.. hindi naman.. " when she gets back, i asked her where she's from.. she said i dont have any idea where she came from..i said dare me. ..."BULACAN. do you know it?" i said .. yes. it's in the Philippines. . and then i admitted i am a filipino too. when she learned it.. the more "MURA" i got.. but this time around.. it's with "LAMBING" luko-luko ka.. akala ko amerikano ka.. napakawalanghiya mo.. naloko mo ako.. (she giggles).. she apologized. and asked about our weather. i felt the warmth on her voice. the longingness to talk to another Pinoy. she requested me to speak our native language, much as i wanted , i cant because i'll get fired if i speak "tagalog"... i just ended the call with my closing spiel ..... thank you for calling and using your credit card, we appreciate your call and your business.. "MABUHAY KA..!!
