The Selling of America

© kikkerdirk

This is definitely a rant and I'll be the first to admit it's not a unique complaint, but I'm tired of so many major companies putting Customer Service offshore!

Here's yesterday's scenario: We're headed to Montana later this week and I had what I thought was a simple question. I wanted to know if we could take our walking sticks and my fly rod on the plane, or did they have to be checked through. Seems easy enough doesn't it?

Well it took me almost two hours to get the answer, because every time I called a different department at United Airlines, I wound up in the Philippines with staff who could only read me whatever they found on line. One woman actually insisted on reading me everything I could take, including food purchased in the airport and personal medications! I even asked to be connected to somebody at Tampa Airport at United Airlines and was given another 800 number, which eventually rang back into the Philippines again.

It's ironic the airlines charge us for everything, but the service never gets better! The only way I could finally get my answer was to dial the special needs 800 number. I got a lovely woman in Detroit, "Flavia" who was wonderful. After I apologized for bothering her on an issue completely outside her department, she chased down the answer for me. It actually turns out to be a TSA issue, which I hadn't thought about calling.

A few weeks ago after a problem with Buick, I was also offshore for Customer Service. Their staff must have been in the same office as United's because they were absolutely of no help and barely understood my frustration. Both offices pretty much redefined "useless" and started out telling me there was nobody to call in the U.S. They also don't know what to do if they're forced to stray from the script.

So, here's my question of the day - what does it take for American corporations to realize the importance of Customer Service and bring those jobs back into the United States? And, for my readers outside the US and maybe in the Philippines, my issue isn't with you, but the shortcuts American corporations are taking at the expense of American consumers.

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