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2021: General Discussion

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AT86 said:
What is happening with Alton Towers customer service at the moment? Is this part of the recruitment issue they are experiencing? Complaints on social media have been constant for weeks now with people not being able to get hold of anyone to help with basic questions. Here are just a few from today alone.











https://twitter.com/hgcolbert/status/1404414760561659904?s=21
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A lot of these complaints look like they good be solved by merlin corporate Manning chat
 
Of all the advertised vacancies on the careers page, there's no mention of the role that deals with monitoring and responding to queries and complaints on socials.

Can you have a recruitment issue if you aren't even recruiting for a position in the first place?
 
I phoned under a number they sent via DM and got through straight away. It was only to query something to do with a booking, but it was dealt with great. However, the number they gave me seems to be slightly different to the ones advertised on the website. Clear as mud really.
 
There’ll be a phone ringing constantly all day every day covered in dust deep inside the Sub Terra building somewhere with 500 angry customers on the other end trying to get through.

Meanwhile in the call centre they are all sat about wondering why there are no calls.

All because the work experience lad has put the wrong phone number on the website.
 
They have seriously few staff at the moment to deal with it all - and, because the park has been busy lately and queues long - that will automatically lead to more complaints than usual. They also had a couple of really bad days during half term with serious ride availability issues.

Hopefully, the ongoing good hours with reduced queue times due to higher capacity will start to reduce the complaints from now on.
 
Unless, of course, it's pre-bookers furiously calling with credit card in hand to ask whether they're actually being serious about the 10-4 opening hours they're advertising on their website or whether they put them up there for a laugh.

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I'm 100% on their side. Working in essential retail, I can confirm people, for the most part, have been unmitigated nightmares during this pandemic.

I can only imagine how horrendous some of the customers at Towers have been. Not denying there's often cause for complaint, but peoples' attitudes when complaining are often appalling.

I hope whoever coined the phrase, "the customer is always right," died a slow, painful death.
 
As much as I slag Merlin off, I tip my hat to all of the staff, especially those in customer services, for some of the abominations that that they have to put up with.

If the parks are struggling to recruit, the least they should be doing is ensuring the staff they have feel valued, which evidently, they aren't.
 
Me and my staff have faced appalling abuse over the past year. Some of it due to customers own aniallastic behaviour themselves, some if it due to the rediculous decisions of our emplyer.

Just the other day I had strong words for someone on social media who was suggesting that someone solves a litter problem by gathering it all into a bin bag and throwing it over the counter of their local McDonald's at the guy paid minimum wage taking the orders.

Selfish country we live in where people care so little for low paid service and retail workers that they feel they can take their anger out on them. This past year and a half has brought some of the worse aspects out of our society

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To be honest the state the hotels are in I’m not surprised customers are getting angry. That does not excuse being rude to the staff but when we eat at one of the hotel restaurants a few weeks ago it was a shambles

- Took 1.5hrs for starters to arrive
- Constant missing drinks
- half our mains came 20min before the 2nd half and the starters plates where still on the table.
- When we asked (politely) to speak to management they never came.
- The table behind us took 40 minutes to even get service.

By the end of the night the entire occupancy of the restaurants were talking to each other about how bad it all was. I suspect most people had their entire meal refunded.

That said we stayed calm and polite with all the staff, we made our point to the manager about how shocking it had all been but never raises our voice. I don’t know why people feel the need to get angry when shouty when complaining, doesn’t achieve anything you won’t get with a firm but polite complaint.
 
Dave said:
That said we stayed calm and polite with all the staff, we made our point to the manager about how shocking it had all been but never raises our voice. I don’t know why people feel the need to get angry when shouty when complaining, doesn’t achieve anything you won’t get with a firm but polite complaint.
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In my experience, bravado, showing off and playing to the crowd is the main reason. Sometimes it's genuine over expectations but mostly it's just bullying behaviour for their own self esteem. I can tell you that a firm but polite complaint as you put it more likely to be listened to.

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I worked in both retail (cinema) as a team leader and in a support role for a software company.

When in the cinema if someone came over and had a complaint but was reasonable and didn't scream their head off I was more inclined to help and offer free tickets / refund if it was a genuine issue. We also had levels of free tickets (standard film, 3D films included, vip tickets) and I was also more inclined to give the higher ones to people who were more friendly. People who screamed at me got nothing, the workers are the face of the company but cannot enact on any real change

when I worked in support it was the same thing. If you were understanding and decent, I would be more inclined to help and get your issue sorted straight away, if you were yelling and being unreasonable then you would be given a ticket number and dealt with at a later date.

If people continued to be unreasonable as the phone admin I would put them on a black list which would make them hold for 5 mins before connecting, even if the lines were clear
 
I suspect the shouty complainers believe intimidation is the way to getting the results they want. Given many young people who are employed by Merlin are in their first customer service role, it's an atrocious experience for them; especially when guests threaten to hang around after the staff member's shift finishes to deck them in. That was a fun occasion.
 
Danny said:
I suspect the shouty complainers believe intimidation is the way to getting the results they want. Given many young people who are employed by Merlin are in their first customer service role, it's an atrocious experience for them; especially when guests threaten to hang around after the staff member's shift finishes to deck them in. That was a fun occasion.
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Now there's a term I've not heard in a very long time. Aren't people just lovely though. Shouting and getting abusive is no way to make a complaint.
 
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