Anyone else having trouble reaching American reps lately?

[james13v]

I used to get them 95% of the time. The last few days, I have to call 30 times, to get an American, ONCE. I'm top rated and have been selling for years. only time I've experienced this, was when I got limited.

[nickopedia]

I have heard this complaint many times.

Seems that most of the calls these days is being routed to the Philippines, and it's becoming much more difficult to get a USA rep.

The old trick I used to use by calling their Omaha call center via their "402" number no longer works, unfortunately.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by nickopedia

I have heard this complaint many times.

Seems that most of the calls these days is being routed to the Philippines, and it's becoming much more difficult to get a USA rep.

The old trick I used to use by calling their Omaha call center via their "402" number no longer works, unfortunately.

This is very new for me. I can't recall the last time it's happened. Top rated sellers always get priority routing. Getting the Philippines used to be a fluke. After 30 calls, I bite their head off when they try to claim, it's "random". The reps are so freaken incompetent! Takes me an hour to do what should only take 5 minutes. I want to tear my hair out at the end of the phone calls with them. The only saving grace, is that they are so stupid, you can convince them to do something they aren't supposed to do.

[james13v]

finally... 40 calls later, I got one.

[SaiJin]

It’s 50m50 for me.
You want an American rep because of the language barrier?

[nickopedia]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

It’s 50m50 for me.
You want an American rep because of the language barrier?

It's not just that.

The Philippine based reps may be friendly, but they are sometimes inflexible and tend to go by the book/policy and have less leeway when deciding cases than the USA reps do.

The reps in PH do NOT work for PayPal. They are contractors working for large BPO's like Teleperformance, Convergys, Transcom, etc. Their average salary is $10-$15 USD /day, with a minimum of 10-12 hour rotating shifts.

Things are much more structured there, and a PH rep is less likely to be as flexible so they don't risk their job.

[Camaro2SS]

Actually I always prefer Filipino reps over American. They are usually a lot more understanding and caring unlike the arrogant American reps. Just removed 3 negative feedbacks today and it was done by a Filipino rep.

[DocumentRequest]

You can ask to speak to an american rep and more times than not they are available.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

It’s 50m50 for me.
You want an American rep because of the language barrier?

Language barrier? More like intelligence barrier. They tend to be morons. It takes 30 minutes to get something accomplished, that would take 5 minutes speaking to an American. When is the last time you called? At the moment, it's 20/1 for me.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by Camaro2SS

Actually I always prefer Filipino reps over American. They are usually a lot more understanding and caring unlike the arrogant American reps. Just removed 3 negative feedbacks today and it was done by a Filipino rep.

LOL bahaha, "caring". They don't care and they certainly don't understand. You make more than them in an hour, than they do in a DAY. You're asking them for credits, that might amount to an entire weeks salary for them. And you think they CARE about you? Hilarious. More like don't care. They tend to do stupid things, like remove feedback when it shouldn't be removed. Or give credits when they shouldn't be given. You mistake ineptitude, for caring. That's really all they are good for. Being able to trick them into doing stupid things. I managed to get $400 out of one a few weeks ago... But, it takes a lot more effort, and has you hitting your head against the side of your wall, speaking to them.

I've spent countless hours on the phone with CS reps. Guess I have more experience than the rest of you. Can you tell that I have quite an animosity towards them? It makes my skin crawl when "john" or "chris" picks up the phone, with their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ names and their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ accents and their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ personalities. It's creep as all hell. Tell tale sign is always a few seconds gap once they pick up, and a bunch of noises like someone is trying to pick up a phone, but was only taught about the existence of a phone, that very same morning. And when you ask them if they are American reps, they pause for like 5 seconds, as if trying to decide. I've gotten very good at picking them out, but they've gotten better at hiding. Spoke for 10 minutes with one before realizing. Took a few stupid sentences for me to finally catch on.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by DocumentRequest

You can ask to speak to an american rep and more times than not they are available.

LOL no, you can not ask to speak to an American rep. Ever. They have no way to connect you to one. It's all the computer system, that decides where you get "randomly" sent.

[Leader2dark]

I don't call eBay more than once or twice a year at this point. So can't really say.

I can say the American reps are the only good ones I worked with before.

[Camaro2SS]

I would have to disagree to some extent. You are right, they care about you as much as you care about them. However they do give you respect and attention if they sense that you are genuine and respectful person. I am calling eBay literally every single day so don’t think you are the only one in this forum who has experience. I have been pretty early pioneer when it comes to stealth community on Aspkin. However when it comes to Americans, they are arrogant most of them time even if you are trying to be as respectful as possible. In fact they will try to take advantage if they sense that you don’t know your eBay policies and will gladly lie to your face. At the end of the day we all know eBay is mismanaged from top to bottom and is a failed company. If it wasn’t for eBay being one of the first auction based websites online, they would have been in the same category as MySpace / AOL by now.

Originally Posted by james13v

LOL bahaha, "caring". They don't care and they certainly don't understand. You make more than them in an hour, than they do in a DAY. You're asking them for credits, that might amount to an entire weeks salary for them. And you think they CARE about you? Hilarious. More like don't care. They tend to do stupid things, like remove feedback when it shouldn't be removed. Or give credits when they shouldn't be given. You mistake ineptitude, for caring. That's really all they are good for. Being able to trick them into doing stupid things. I managed to get $400 out of one a few weeks ago... But, it takes a lot more effort, and has you hitting your head against the side of your wall, speaking to them.

I've spent countless hours on the phone with CS reps. Guess I have more experience than the rest of you. Can you tell that I have quite an animosity towards them? It makes my skin crawl when "john" or "chris" picks up the phone, with their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ names and their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ accents and their ⊗⊗⊗⊗ personalities. It's creep as all hell. Tell tale sign is always a few seconds gap once they pick up, and a bunch of noises like someone is trying to pick up a phone, but was only taught about the existence of a phone, that very same morning. And when you ask them if they are American reps, they pause for like 5 seconds, as if trying to decide. I've gotten very good at picking them out, but they've gotten better at hiding. Spoke for 10 minutes with one before realizing. Took a few stupid sentences for me to finally catch on.

[james13v]

Originally Posted by Camaro2SS

I would have to disagree to some extent. You are right, they care about you as much as you care about them. However they do give you respect and attention if they sense that you are genuine and respectful person. I am calling eBay literally every single day so don’t think you are the only one in this forum who has experience. I have been pretty early pioneer when it comes to stealth community on Aspkin. However when it comes to Americans, they are arrogant most of them time even if you are trying to be as respectful as possible. In fact they will try to take advantage if they sense that you don’t know your eBay policies and will gladly lie to your face. At the end of the day we all know eBay is mismanaged from top to bottom and is a failed company. If it wasn’t for eBay being one of the first auction based websites online, they would have been in the same category as MySpace / AOL by now.

Everything you've said about Americans, is exactly what I've experience from the Philippines. I've had extremely good conversations with Americans, and I can't think of a SINGLE good conversation I've had with a Filipino. Americans treat you like an actual person, and I've literally had 2 hour conversations with them, about PERSONAL matters. Their life. My life. Because they don't have a quota or time limit. They are genuine, unlike " john" and "chris" and "stacy" from the Philippines, who will rush to get you off the phone, pretend to transfer you to supervisor, and put you on hold for a literal ****ing HOUR, and then hang up on you after they have gotten their laughs. They almost never leave notes about the phone call, and lie to your face about the actions they are taking or plan on taking, so when you call in again, the hour you spent on the phone, might as well never have happened.

[agent006140]

you know why they use call centers in Philipine,India,Costa Rica,Poland?
they cant afford to use All American team,it would cost you more.
The best way is to avoid getting into a situation you have to call ,I have been selling since 1990s on every venue you can think of,many are no longer around,ever heard of Gold Auction,it was found by Ebay sellers !
I have few returns,and rarely need to call Ebay or Paypal or AMZN,I was scammed years ago by Russian,Indonesian,Peruvian,so now I block Russia /Eastern Europe,I dont sell things which attract scammers like iphone,gold buillions,high ticket items.
So take a look at your business model,weed out those categories which attract scammers,hard to ship and buyers in certain region/countries .
Make life easy for yourself !

[james13v]

Most of my issues are caused by ebay, that I then need ebay to fix. Which is why I call in. I only sell in one category and my return rate is 10%, which I can not change whatsoever

[agent006140]

This may be off topic -
years ago when everyone wants a PC and have problem navigating,the manufacturer offers technical help if warranty has expired for $35 a session,you call India and the reps will help you step by step ,if they cant ,they will ask their gurus in the background,if the problem continues,you can call back with no extra charge and if it cannot be resolved,your money back.
But customers will get their problem resolved and file chargeback to get their $35 back .
The Indian call center even host classes to help India workers to improve their English,their accent and the American slang,it creates a new middle class where they made $500-600 a month and enjoy latte after work at nearby coffee center.
I used it once or twice when I have problem with my HP pc,they are competent and their gurus know their stuff ,that must be back in 2005,I heard later they move some call centers to China as it is cheaper there !
Ask yourself can you get an American worker to help you solve technical problems for $35 for as much as you need and money back if not resolved,?
The going rate then for US tech support was $50 -85/hour .

[james13v]

My latest issue, was ebay double charging me for something, to the tune of $200.

The thing about it being cheaper to out source. is it tho??? A 5 minute call with an American rep, would take an hour with the Philippines. Let alone the bad taste in your mouth left over from that, which would make people less and less willing to deal with ebay.
It's not a smart business decision, in my opinion. BUt since when is ebay known for making smart business decisions?

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by james13v

Most of my issues are caused by ebay, that I then need ebay to fix. Which is why I call in. I only sell in one category and my return rate is 10%, which I can not change whatsoever

10% is too high,you need to bring it down.
even 5% in some category is considered too high,an insurance claims adjuster will tell you that

[james13v]

Originally Posted by agent006140

10% is too high,you need to bring it down.
even 5% in some category is considered too high,an insurance claims adjuster will tell you that

I can't bring it down. literally nothing I can do from my end. I sell in a technical category, and my buyers tend to be morons. I don't use that word lightly. 95% of returns could have been avoided, with a quick message to me. But no, they don't bother. I have high res photos and provided a lot of details. Yet they STILL. buy the item, that is CLEARLY not for them.

" hey. I bought this, but it doesn't fit for men". Yeah, because the title clearly says FOR LADIES.

How do you prevent morons like that from buying your stuff? I can't stop them from buying something.

And 10% IS low for me. I've had it up to 14%.

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by james13v

My latest issue, was ebay double charging me for something, to the tune of $200.

The thing about it being cheaper to out source. is it tho??? A 5 minute call with an American rep, would take an hour with the Philippines. Let alone the bad taste in your mouth left over from that, which would make people less and less willing to deal with ebay.
It's not a smart business decision, in my opinion. BUt since when is ebay known for making smart business decisions?

if Ebay starts making smart decisions,you may not like it.
It would not allow anyone everyone t o sell anything everything they know little about,it would raise the barrier of doing business on Ebay,no more free listing,free listing is like all you can eat buffet ,very wasteful.
If I HAVE to pay a listing fee,I would be more careful what I bought to resell,is it worth the listing fee I have to pay?
If I have to pay for that cheesecake ,would I just take a bite,leave it on the plate and go for tapioca pudding,ice cream ?
And would I open 10-,20,30 accounts and list the same item in all accounts,hoping someone will buy?
AMZN has guarded categories only qualified sellers can list so they can make some decent money,not race to the bottom.
I welcome changes on Ebay.

[agent006140]

Ebay is getting worse and worse,with the smart phone,you can find a piece of garbage and take an awful picture and list them with little description.
if the seller does not bother to spend sometime taking better pictures and describe them better,why should the buyer pay your more?
and worse filing INAD and make you pickup return shipping.
Many dealers with good merchandise have taken their goods elsewhere so they can get a better price ,you dont see too many exquisite items on Ebay anymore,they can be found on boutique auction sites,not Ebay