I checked all the odds and ends related to it, and all seemed to be in order yet, I was still a recipient of a "your payment failed" email. WTF?!?
Having just about enough of this sh*t, I called PayPal and very nicely (yeah, sometimes I surprise myself), explained, again and again... and again, the issue at hand to a girl with an engrish accent. After she did not seem to be able to comprehend my very simple (really) explanation of the issue, she transferred me to another agent, "Mike", who sounded oddly Indian, or Pakistani. Don't get me wrong, I don't care what your nationality is but, if you decided to work for an American-based company with English-speaking clients, shouldn't you speak English, too? I don't care about the accent, just the basic friggin' understanding.
So... "Mike" was not able to resolve the problem either, so he put me on hold. After about 10 minute wait on hold, the call got mysteriously dropped. I called again.
Before you start guessing which nasty words I used: none whatsoever. I was very nice and polite, just like I was with the girl and Mike but, this time, I got to talk to someone whose English was as good as mine (maybe better). She not only "got it" the first time I explained the issue; she resolved it in two minutes flat. She then helped me with two other things and the whole call was a really pleasant PayPal experience after all. So pleasant, in fact, that I asked her to tell me how can I get in touch with her super, so I can express my gratitude. She gave me an email addy for that, and I sent them this:
Dear Sir / Madam,
I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how pleased I am with the service I received from Alissa on December 13, 2010.
Having explained (repeatedly) to one agent who then transferred me to another agent, then being on hold and, subsequently disconnected, and having to call again and, again, being on hold to talk to an agent - that is pretty much how my "day with PayPal" was shaping up today, up until I talked to Alissa.
Unfortunately, I do not know her full name or employee ID but, I'm sure, there will be a call record somewhere in my file (Dec.13, 2010, around 5pm MST).
Alissa not only understood the issue at hand the FIRST time I explained it, she flawlessly guided me through the screens of information to resolve the issue.
I then asked her help with two more problems I was having with my account and, again, Alissa was able to explain the best way to fix them and initiated the proceedings on my behalf.
I thanked Alissa for her excellent help today but thought her expert customer service skills should receive further recognition; someone should buy this girl a nice lunch, at least :)
If you have any questions for me about this email, or my PayPal online help experience, please do not hesitate to contact me via this email address, or phone (xxx) xxx-xxxx.
So, there you have it, folks, dealing with PayPal does not have to be unpleasant. It is how you talk to them, that is how they talk to you. I know, this maybe sounds like it's on backwards but, hey, it works. Remember: customer service reps are people too (well, most of them anyway) - treat them right. Their job is a difficult one, and they are paid very little to deal with a lot, and most of it is unpleasant. How do I know? I have worked tech support (computers) for many years before - on the phone and in person. Believe me, I know...
