4 ms·

> E-statement takes 30+ minutes to download because it’s huge and their servers are really slow! They're lucky that they're able to download after all. Some y

> E-statement takes 30+ minutes to download because it’s huge and their servers are really slow! They're lucky that they're able to download after all. Some years ago I used an AmEx to order 1000+ items every day on Amazon, which after a while locked me out of the account pages of both companies. Most probably some database query in the background was timing out due to the volume of transactions. To add insult to injury, I remember it was almost impossible to explain the issue to the support staff on either side. They kept on getting back with canned responses about what browser I was using etc.

jey 10y ago
> I remember it was almost impossible to explain the issue to the support staff on either side Yeah, is there some kind of standard escape sequence to use in these circumstances? Like "I must speak to the manager" or some analog without sounding mean? I know these folks are incentivized to not escalate, but...
- superuser2 10y ago
  Business-to-business relationships often include account managers and/or dedicated "partner" support lines. These channels are less scripted, more inclined to believe that the caller is a professional in the field who knows what they're talking about, and will actually admit something is defective / mediate interaction between the customer and actual engineers to work on a fix. You don't get that as a consumer, though. You get it as an "account" with significant LTV, an authorized reseller, etc.
- notatoad 10y ago
  the escape sequence is to anticipate all the questions they're going to ask you and answer them in the first correspondence. try two different browsers, try it in incognito, etc. If you can prove you've isolated the problem, you get to skip the back-and-forth required to isolate the problem. And actually do all that stuff, don't just pretend you did so you can cheat at customer service. because maybe it is just your browser, and if you insist it isn't they're just going to hang up on you and you're going to deserve it.
  - viraptor 10y ago
    I wish this worked... It does occasionally, but I stopped even trying these days. My online chats with support usually go something like this "Hi, I'm trying to do X, but get error Y. It doesn't depend on A, B, C. Tried your FAQ Z already. Can you fix or do X for me, please?"; "Hi, this is Bob, how can I help you today?"; "<repeat>"; "Have you tried doing Z as described in the FAQ?" It's so annoying/insulting when they give you a box to summarise your whole issue, but nobody cares to read what you put there.
    - girvo 10y ago
      I've found calling people to make the given solution succeed at a much higher rate than chat boxes, unfortunately.
    - joshvm 10y ago
      The only company this has worked with for me is Apple tech support. I had a duff hard drive. They told me "Well we see you've already tried the things I would have suggested to get you booting again, so let's just arrange for it to be serviced". I try every time with Amazon and while their tech support is excellent (usually they'll bend over backwards to make you happy), sometimes it feels like you're speaking to a five year old. I've had situations where they just don't get it, or they couldn't modify an order (I ordered something Prime, accidentally clicked express and wanted to change it back to free delivery: this was apparently impossible for them). In the end I just said yes to them, cancelled the order myself and redid it the way I wanted.
- redblacktree 10y ago
  Yes. Go straight to the top. It's typically easy to find out who the CEO is. Next, determine the email format that they use. Email the CEO with your issue (extremely concise, problem/resolution first, backstory later -- these are busy people!). Include a phone number. Get resolution within days.
- dboreham 10y ago
  Sometimes "I write software and I have a pretty good idea what's going on, could I talk to your tech support people please" works. Sometimes.
- phonon 10y ago
  Shibboleet
  - majewsky 10y ago
    Context: https://xkcd.com/806/ https://xkcd.com/806/
rtkwe 10y ago
Knowing banks/financial institutions that monthly statement is definitely generate by a batch job and isn't recreated on the fly each time you request it.

jey 10y ago

> I remember it was almost impossible to explain the issue to the support staff on either side Yeah, is there some kind of standard escape sequence to use in these circumstances? Like "I must speak to the manager" or some analog without sounding mean? I know these folks are incentivized to not escalate, but...

superuser2 10y ago
Business-to-business relationships often include account managers and/or dedicated "partner" support lines. These channels are less scripted, more inclined to believe that the caller is a professional in the field who knows what they're talking about, and will actually admit something is defective / mediate interaction between the customer and actual engineers to work on a fix. You don't get that as a consumer, though. You get it as an "account" with significant LTV, an authorized reseller, etc.
notatoad 10y ago
the escape sequence is to anticipate all the questions they're going to ask you and answer them in the first correspondence. try two different browsers, try it in incognito, etc. If you can prove you've isolated the problem, you get to skip the back-and-forth required to isolate the problem. And actually do all that stuff, don't just pretend you did so you can cheat at customer service. because maybe it is just your browser, and if you insist it isn't they're just going to hang up on you and you're going to deserve it.
- viraptor 10y ago
  I wish this worked... It does occasionally, but I stopped even trying these days. My online chats with support usually go something like this "Hi, I'm trying to do X, but get error Y. It doesn't depend on A, B, C. Tried your FAQ Z already. Can you fix or do X for me, please?"; "Hi, this is Bob, how can I help you today?"; "<repeat>"; "Have you tried doing Z as described in the FAQ?" It's so annoying/insulting when they give you a box to summarise your whole issue, but nobody cares to read what you put there.
  - girvo 10y ago
    I've found calling people to make the given solution succeed at a much higher rate than chat boxes, unfortunately.
  - joshvm 10y ago
    The only company this has worked with for me is Apple tech support. I had a duff hard drive. They told me "Well we see you've already tried the things I would have suggested to get you booting again, so let's just arrange for it to be serviced". I try every time with Amazon and while their tech support is excellent (usually they'll bend over backwards to make you happy), sometimes it feels like you're speaking to a five year old. I've had situations where they just don't get it, or they couldn't modify an order (I ordered something Prime, accidentally clicked express and wanted to change it back to free delivery: this was apparently impossible for them). In the end I just said yes to them, cancelled the order myself and redid it the way I wanted.
redblacktree 10y ago
Yes. Go straight to the top. It's typically easy to find out who the CEO is. Next, determine the email format that they use. Email the CEO with your issue (extremely concise, problem/resolution first, backstory later -- these are busy people!). Include a phone number. Get resolution within days.
dboreham 10y ago
Sometimes "I write software and I have a pretty good idea what's going on, could I talk to your tech support people please" works. Sometimes.
phonon 10y ago
Shibboleet
- majewsky 10y ago
  Context: https://xkcd.com/806/ https://xkcd.com/806/

rtkwe 10y ago

Knowing banks/financial institutions that monthly statement is definitely generate by a batch job and isn't recreated on the fly each time you request it.