I have just had the misfortune to need to speak with a "Support Center" for a UK company. First of all it was email and the person who replied sent a copy/paste reply that literally had nothing to do with the question I asked. OK so I then tried to telephone and I think I got shunted off to India or something and I had a real hard time understanding what the guy was saying to me (and I am used to living overseas and dealing with bad English) and eventually I had little choice than to give up as I was getting nowhere (apart from Annoyedzville).

Got to wonder if all this kind of thing is not damaging companies. I know they must save money, but it's just an awful service and I sure won't be using this company again when it comes time to renew.

Good for you. I don't know if other countries are like this but in the UK now you expect it. Very annoying.

Lots of companies are really not understanding the meaning of the word "Support".

one "support" company actually serves 632 different companies. So they must've mistakenly sent you to the "perfume in the eye" hotline.

I heard it was 635.

My dad had some serious problems on the phone over summer with one of these. I think it was BT. He simply couldn't understand what the woman was saying and I had a bit of a problem too.

Things like that though I felt that sometimes people just get to that point of "giving up" - almost as if they don't expect any level of service. That's a bad place to be.

That is the point of it, to make people give up unless they are incredibly perseverant. To be fair, it cuts out all the whingers and timewasters too.

and that sums up the quality of support in the UK. Customer service is disgraceful back home, they make it sound as if you've asked them to chop their granny's feet off when you contact a "customer Support" centre

Has it always been? Or have things just moved on but the country/society hasn't.

No, really. Try to support yourself instead of relying on them.

I will do that. Gambarimasu!

I have had problems with aol[the uk version] It is impossible to understand them. I had real problems with Barclaycard visa.
My wife thought she had lost her bag so we had to cancelled both cards.the bag turned up ok and she manage to get a new card in days. But me it took 4 weeks of phoning. Each time I spoke to someone they would say It will be with you in a few days

I'm used to the levels of service you get here in Japan so when I go back home I am often shocked at what they put up with and accept.

call centre staff are vitally importance to India, they earn enough to buy a house, a car, support the extended family. Keep the calls coming people.

If India can afford to be a nuk power and be in the space race They can do something about the grinding poverty that most of their people seem to be in. Without taking work from the UK

ah, but they are taking work from everywhere, not just the UK.

India is a show case of how democracy divides.

India is a show case of how democracy divides.

That is a load of *alls It is divided because the rich are at top trampling on the poor sods at the bottom and they can afford shoes to do it.They{ the poor} have to make do with bare feet.

That's dividing ain't it?