Are the Customer Service reps really "in the dark" about the status of our orders?
oih82w8
Posts: 12,608 ✭✭✭✭✭
I find it really hard to believe that the customer service reps have no idea on the actual status of our orders. I am tired of being fed the same line(s) for four weeks straight "it should be completed today or tomorrow". Calling them out on it on the phone usually prompts the next line "something must have happened to delay the order" or something to that extent. Someone chimed in on another thread about delays "that it is the end of the quarter and...blah, blah, blah...". Meadow muffins! I am fairly certain that I can speak for a large group when I say that we (the submitters) want "deeds not words". "In Process" for an order status is too vague. "Where" in the process is the order being held up? That should not be too much to ask. Yes, the estimated time period for my level of order has lapsed.
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so in order to speed up the delivery of your order, you want them to add another process to the already slow process so that you know where in the slow process your order is? How much are you willing to pay for that?
NGC has 3 steps the customer can see. They have the grading/quality control step you see when checking for grades. I like that added notation because when you see it grades usually pop within 3 days. It seems simple enough to do and is keeping the customer up to date.
Yes. "Where" in the process is the order? Something similar to what the tracking system that usps/ups/fedex has would for example. There are bar codes on each order to scan which would identify which "station" they are presently located. I am fairly certain that there is an "in-house" tracking on all orders, it just needs to be made available to the customer. If not, there should not be any additional expense involved other than setting up a program.
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not a bad idea if they can automate it with a simple barcode scan.
I assume they see the same status that displays on the order page.
About all they can do is go to the back room and ask.
It would only lead to more calls. "Why has my order been sitting in the same spot for 3 weeks when my other order is no longer there"? "My friends order is moving faster than mine is, and we sent them at the same time."
It would be a nightmare with the OCD submitters around here.
Good things [sometimes] come to those who wait ?
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This. It's like people who check their shipping status every five minutes. The USPS should charge a quarter for each inquiry.
The reps at some services can give you information while you wait on the phone. They see the status on their computer or speak with the grading room for some customers.
Now, I have some advice I heard as an answer to a question in a seminar. When you call the TPGS (along with 900 others that hour), all you are doing is slowing EVERYONES coins. Think of your single call as a wave radiating out into the system. Ever see what happens to the smooth surface of a puddle as one raindrop falls, then another, then more?
Don't be a raindrop - quit calling. Oh, you can bet on this too: Unless you are sending in a hundred coins a month, you are probably expendable. LOL.
I hear what your saying, and I always exercise patience with these things, but sometimes you have to call in. Some time ago, I send in an Express Order, and 3 months later it was still "in process." Ultimately I was able to communicate with someone who located the order, and it had been sitting on the desk of an admin that had no idea of what they were looking at. (Admittedly, it was a submission of tokens, so not the mainstream stuff that everyone would recognize.) Apparently, my order was sent to the wrong person, and once it got to the right person, the order was finished up within a week. At that time, I was told "Don't wait 3 months!!"
Unfortunately, things happen. While the instructors were telling "inside" stories, they each had a case where the submitter died and they never were able to get a response. The coins went into the "teaching collection."
Generally speaking Startups chase opportunity ... big businesses primarily avoid risk/threat (with only a few exceptions). Unless there are consequences (e.g. demonstrable negative impact to results/company performance) it's probably unrealistic to expect change. Big companies typically start listening to clients when there are financial consequences (again with a few exceptions). Net-net, it's probably healthy for us to vent a bit, but practically speaking not much is likely to happen in terms of addressing this challenge unless there is a decline in business.
You would be surprised what information is "siloed" within some organizations. It can be problematic, but sometimes there are legitimate reasons for it.
I've worked for companies that were using out of date software(circa 2001) and were just terrible/slow to use. I've also seen them "create"(aka knock off) a system we were currently using and it ended up being 10 times worse than the original and provided no information. Why? Someone didn't realize that the contract was up and the licensing fee was going to drastically increase so they rushed this knockoff which no one knew how the use. Even thought technology exists to makes the process smoother the amount of time/money/training required doesn't always make it feasible.
So, yes, I believe it.
If they can do it with Pizza, why not coins? I'm sure, as others have said, they must have tracking one way or another already built into their system. I think sharing that info would actually reduce the number of CS calls.
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It's not that is COULDN'T be done, it's a cost/benefit analysis as to IF it should be done and to what degree.
There is no way, if I were in charge, I would want anything like what dominos does for the coin arena.
Could PCGS do it better? Probably. If they were just starting out today, it would probably be different.
With what they have, the volumes, and the cost to make changes, and would could come from those types of changes, I can understand their reluctance to change. It wouldn't be something to take without a lot of planning
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Maybe the customer service agents really do know and are bored so they have resorted to jerking your chain for fun. "It'll post tomorrow.... (snickers in the background)."
On a serious note, I do hope your grades do post tomorrow and end up in the "right" plastic.
Just because a company is big, and largely successful, doesn't mean it can coast...doing business the way it has for the last ten years.
Successful companies adapt to changing technology and customer expectations.
Bring in a few Amazon consultants to show PCGS how to improve performance and better meet customer demands. The same way Porsche brought Japanese experts into their factories a couple of decades ago and helped turn their business around.
I love our hosts and want them at the top of the food chain. But there are some troubling problems, from all to common misattributions, to slabs improperly sealed, understaffed (or mismanaged and poorly trained) customer service staff and significantly missed projections on processing time.
Lance.
My present order is a group of four crossover coins, three ANY grade and one specific minimum grade. The minimum grade coin is a 1849/8 H10C in NGC MS64, I requested MS64 as a minimum, if it does not crossover (PCGS MS64 = $1950 price guide, MS63 = $1200, MS62 = $950), I will send it ATS for variety attribution at it's present grade. That is the one that I am mostly concerned about. Originally when my order was accepted it was listed as 1849/8 in the description, a couple weeks ago the "/8" was removed from the description, although it is still "in process". I have asked customer service if it met minimum crossover, and I still keep receiving the same answer "it should be completed today or tomorrow". Wouldn't one think that customer service should be able to let me know if the coin crossed at the grade requested (or higher), or why the "/8" was removed from the coin description?
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Businesses either produce a product or provide a service (sometimes both). In a service industry (i.e. TPG), costs are all in the service. So, improving the business (i.e. throughput) requires investment in systems or people. All are cost additive. Now, some investments are worthwhile, in that they add to customer satisfaction and more business. Others (i.e. phone jockeys) add to cost without significant improvement. With additional personnel, comes significant additional overhead - i.e. costs. This must then be balanced by increased price of the service. The business must show a profit or it will cease to exist. Just a short summary of business reality for those not involved in running an enterprise. Cheers, RickO
Every customer and person is different. And, grunt work makes us grunt, sometimes.
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I just called CS to inquire about the description change (a couple posts up) and was informed that "your order is still being processed and it will definitely be finished by the end of the week"...with no additional information given out other than the results are not finalized until the end when the information will be updated on the website.
On a positive note...the order is one day closer to being finalized!
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Bet on it that your order will not be done by the end of the week, given the past events.
Your user ID most fitting in this case, lol.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Grades posted...they really should be completed by the end of the week. Yea!
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I had a "regular" order post today, 9 days. One yesterday, 7 days.
There may have been some "discussion" about the 1838 Dime as far as variety attribution goes...according to Gerry Fortin, he said that it was indeed an Early Die State and PCGS probably needed some "outside help" verifying the attribution. I will make a thread about the crossovers, with images of course.
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