eBay Customer Service Staff Qualification

OzyBe on 12/07/2018 - 11:07

Just wondering if anyone else has found the knowledge of Ebay customer service staff to be a little hit and miss (to put it politely).

When I do have a need to contact them - usually by Live Chat, it seems I end up having to explain things to them which they should already know.

For example, this morning I contacted them regarding the targeted offer that I have accepted called "Get a $50 eBay Voucher When You Sell $700 Worth of Items!"

I wanted to find out my current running total (as this has to be between 6/7/18 and 26/7/18 (and I could not see a way to check on this).

My interpretation of this offer, was that you could sell multiple items, and if they total or exceed $700 then you get a $50 voucher.

The lady I was discussing this with via live chat, said no, you have to sell a single item with value of $700. She said refer to the terms and conditions which I did. I still could not see the requirement that she was referring to.

I questioned this further, wanting to get an understanding of the conditions. She replied "Dont worry, as a courtesy, I will let you list items during the promotional offer". Ok - that is a nice gesture, but I wanted to know which line in the terms & conditions stated the single $700 item requirement.

So I asked "I have read the terms and conditions - still cannot see where it states only 1 item."

She replied "It's under the "What exclusions and other conditions apply?" section."

I said "That is what I am reading now - but cannot see where it states only 1 item?"

I then said "Which line of the conditions are you referring to?"

She replied "That same line." - which doesn't mean anything to me.

Then her next line was "it can be multiple single quantity listings." - which is what I had been saying all along.

When describing Ebay staff, I would never use descriptions such as 'stupid' or 'idiotic' as it would just be unkind, but I am wondering what kind of training or qualifications do Ebay help staff actually have or receive?

I have literally had to ask one before if a Live chat staff member was a robot or not, as the answers seem to be generalised and often don't answer the enquiry or simply do not make any sense.

You contact them with one question, and find that instead of this being answered, you end up with a whole lot of new questions instead.

Anyhow, with relation to the original question to find out my current running total for this offer, she was unable to answer this, saying "I am unable to give you the total sale. It will be our Marketing team who will calculate that for you and issue you the voucher".

Anyone else with similar experiences, or am I the dope here :)

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Comments

  • Ocker on 12/07/2018 - 11:17
    +4

    The EBay customer service staff are located in the Philippines and I believe the service is contracted out by EBay.
    Regardless, if you speak to 2 different people you will get 2 different answers. You can try asking to speak with a supervisor but most times they will try to fob you off and saying one will call you back, which of course never happens.
    Thinking about it EBay don't really offer a "customer service" as you may as well be talking to a brick wall!

  • trustnoone on 12/07/2018 - 11:20
    +1

    I could be wrong, and this is obviously a generalisation but I imagine most companies do a tiered based approach when it comes to customer service in the hope to save as much money as they can.

    First point of contact is typically known as the website basically a person gets information from forums, searches, bot chats or faq etc (cheapest).

    Next one is more active point of contact (live chat, phones email etc), typically this is someone who has basic knowledge of information, they may follow stock answers and have pre-made solutions for typical questions. For companies this could be someone overseas with little understanding of English and following a script.

    Then you usually get the escalated manager who usually knows a bit more but typically they just have more power (rights) so if something can't be done maybe they can override certain things.

    I think it then go's to a professional after that (usually call back option where they call you) or the item is escalated internally to a professional. I would imagine triaged from the previous person?

    Basically I think you're at tier 2, someone who uses templates, reads info from basic areas, has little understanding on the problem unless more well known. Definitely had similar experiences, its really interesting when you call a company and the difference you get from a general person giving you flake answers to a professional who just smashes the question and gets right to the point.

  • Godric on 12/07/2018 - 11:20
    +3

    They are terrible to say the least no matter how comprehensive i detail my problem.

  • Baysew on 12/07/2018 - 11:42
    +2

    I thought eBay had outsourced Customer Service to OzBargain.

    • onetwothreefour on 12/07/2018 - 11:45
      +6

      No that's sales and marketing…

  • foxmulder on 12/07/2018 - 13:20
    -1

    Could it be that same customer service also chatting or in call with different customers or perhaps also doing some physical task at the same time, who knows.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/07/2018 - 13:43

    I too have had very poor experiences with eBay customer service whilst trying to resolve disputes as a seller. I needed to contact them multiple times and as a result received multiple answers which conflicted. In most cases I sensed they were telling me one thing, and then telling the buyer another thing as once we synced back up we had different expectations. I've stopped selling on eBay as a result, especially with their 10% fees now.

  • FeRGan on 12/07/2018 - 14:39
    +1

    They pass the can at the drop of a hat. I have been waiting over 6 months for a postage refund on something I sent to USA. They say "WE will pass this on". It does nothing.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/07/2018 - 14:57
    +1

    I have to agree with eBay customer service being at the bottom of the barrel.

    I'm using the eBay Plus trial and their customer service is miles ahead, chalk and cheese basically. You would think that you're dealing with a different company after experiencing the difference.

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