Shouting at 3

Close your eyes and recall the last time you tried to explain the nuances of your problem to an Indian call centre agent. Bring to mind the feelings.

Think about it for a moment. Horrible, isn’t it?

I got charged internet usage for looking at RSS feed ‘headlines’ on my mobile. The problem is that nowhere does 3 tell you that you will be charged internet usage to do this.

The Indian customer service lady had no idea what I was talking about. At one point, I asked her to tell me where, online, I could read 3′s terms and conditions stating any charges relating to viewing RSS feeds.

After 10 minutes consulting her customer service colleagues, she proudly told me that www.bbc.co.uk would be a good place to look.

Eventually, she cancelled the £1.62 charge by way of good customer relations but warned me in the sternest tones to stop looking at RSS feeds.

Whether a company deliberately offers no channels of communication or whether it outsources to places where people struggle to deal with calls in a second language, the effect is the same. You are not being heard.

[BTW - did you know that the original painting by Edvard Munch was actually called 'Shouting'?]