Another weird problem......reaching Ally via phone

[kaneohe]

Today I tried to call Ally bank to talk to a rep. Used, as usual, our landline and got all the way thru the phone tree there to the final step when you select who (what group) you want to talk to. Then message: can't make connection.
Repeated multiple times during the day so I got to wondering about that claim that they always have folks there 24/7 every single day.

Found out one person had been successful a short time ago so I called back
w/ the same result. Then I tried the cellphone which was successful multiple times.

What is the problem and how to fix?
Is it the landline? I have no problem navigating other companies phone trees
w/ the landline and was able to talk to a rep at Schwab. The hardwired phone and the portable phone have the same problem at Ally..

I don't know if the other person used a landline. Perhaps if I can find a
payphone I'll try that or a neighbor's phone.

Ally claims no knowledge of others having similar problems.

 

[Midpack]

Landline? Pay phone?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Man, if you can find a pay phone, that's bigger news than getting through to the bank!

I'd use live chat if they have that, way easier than the phone for me.

 

[pb4uski]

Do you have a cell phone that you can use if your landline is not stable? Or how about an online chat? or an online chat and then have them call you?

 

[kaneohe]

Thanks, all,for the incredulous looks and the raised eyebrows
DW has a cellphone that was used in the diagnostics and which worked fine.
Yes, I have used online chat w/ other companies in the past (a few times) and like it for the ability to save documentation but I didn't think about that yesterday and am not sure if Ally has that and how to access.....some homework there.

Good news........what they say about idiots repeating the same thing and expecting things to change.........tried it again this AM and it works fine.
Who knows why? Who cares.........I'm going to call their tech people and extract a confession/explanation from them.

Landlines/payphones? former, supposedly good in earthquakes, payphones.....every good neo-luddite knows where they are......outside the public library, in hotel lobbies, at airports.....every other gate or less now so some searching required.

 

[Sarah in SC]

That's awesome, and I chuckled thinking that my gaze probably just slides right by those pay phones now that I've got this damn phone glued to my hand!

 

[Lakewood90712]

Thanks, all,for the incredulous looks and the raised s.........I'm going to call their tech people and extract a confession/explanation from them.
.

:2funny You could waterboard them and not get an honest answer .

Ally/ GMAC has given me good service over the years, but those working for mega corp's usually are not allowed to tell customers the truth about things like system failures or understaffing IMO.

 

[tmm99]

I'm going to call their tech people and extract a confession/explanation from them.

I am pretty sure they won't know, unless you can get to talk to the IT manager or someone handing the call center application. I used to manage (not personally, but you know, as a "manager"...) the call center app and we have never encountered consistent drop on the specific option tree for a specific phone number (landline or otherwise.) It is possible that the company was having issues with the quality of the voice line at the time (issues with the phone carrier, network traffic, device/server issues etc) and some calls were being dropped off and on during that time and your landline number happened to be dropped while other numbers happened to get through? Too much of a coincidence though if the landline dropped at the same option each time.

 

[jazz4cash]

Whenever I run into similar problems, I just select the option that implies I am trying to send them new business ("open new account" or whatever) and they usually pick that line up and transfer me to the correct department.

 

[Midpack]

And we wonder why phone trees and customer service are 'bad' nowadays...

Live chat and email always worked best for me, phone is my last resort. YMMV

 

[kaneohe]

Whenever I run into similar problems, I just select the option that implies I am trying to send them new business ("open new account" or whatever) and they usually pick that line up and transfer me to the correct department.

I tried that trick too.........didn't work yesterday.

 

[kaneohe]

And we wonder why phone trees and customer service are 'bad' nowadays...

Live chat and email always worked best for me, phone is my last resort. YMMV

I just discovered that Ally does have live chat and just got thru w/ a chat.
Rep suggested that they did have some problems yesterday after I told her
that I didn't buy the overwhelmed w/ customers bit and besides the cellphone worked and the landline didn't. Chat is the perfect thing to do while checking er.org between typing and waiting. Good suggestion. email is like interplanetary space exploration and then waiting yrs for the response.

 

[kaneohe]

I am pretty sure they won't know, unless you can get to talk to the IT manager or someone handing the call center application. I used to manage (not personally, but you know, as a "manager"...) the call center app and we have never encountered consistent drop on the specific option tree for a specific phone number (landline or otherwise.) It is possible that the company was having issues with the quality of the voice line at the time (issues with the phone carrier, network traffic, device/server issues etc) and some calls were being dropped off and on during that time and your landline number happened to be dropped while other numbers happened to get through? Too much of a coincidence though if the landline dropped at the same option each time.

tmm.........thanks for your input.......yes it was very strange that it was 100% consistent in having a problem at the last step (connecting to live person) and it was via several branches of the tree.......new biz, existing accounts.....savings/m.mkt......and trusts.

 

[Walt34]

Timely thread. Today I picked up a book at the library titled "Your Call is (not that) Important to Us" about the customer service industry.

While clearly Comcast is still in competition with Time Warner to establish a baseline for worst possible service, some companies are discovering that good customer service is a better opportunity to improve their impression to the customer. Seventy percent of people who have a positive customer service experience tell their friends about it and become more loyal to the company than those who never contacted the company.

So perhaps there is hope.