I phoned the call centre at Mirvish Productions  to renew our tickets subscription for the next theatre season. The CSR quickly went about renewing my subscription. I am sure I was one of a long list of calls that day doing exactly the same transaction. She was very efficient in getting the order processed.

However, after twice telling her the payment option I had chosen was 50% today and the balance in 3 months — she processed the entire order as a single payment immediately.

When I for a third time told her I wanted the 2 part payment — she said “That’s not what you said”

My Perspective: There are 2 issues here.

The first is simply listening. Even when you are doing the same thing again and again — remember, each customer is unique. And even if they are not — we need to make them feel like they are.

The second is more bothersome. A CSR should never tell a customer they are wrong. I was very clear about my request, but even if I was wrong, or just forgot to ask, there are much better ways to deal with this situation than placing the blame on the customer.

I don’t subscribe to the philosopy that the customer is always right. But I am pretty sure there is rarely a good reason to tell them they are wrong.