It should go without saying that customer service agents are often put in some harrowing situations. The primary purpose of their role is conflict resolution; a customer has an issue, and thus the agent is expected to help resolve said issue. Sometimes, these issues can be small, but there are times when the situation is rather tense and the customer may very well be in a bad mood. This leaves the agent in a vulnerable spot, with them being expected to make things right; alas, they’re only human, too. Nintendo has stepped in to issue a word of warning to its patrons for this very reason: Do not escalate to harassing its customer service agents.
This statement comes directly from Nintendo HQ in Japan, which posted a notice on its official Nintendo of Japan website. It then shared the webpage to the official Japanese Nintendo Twitter account.
Put simply, the notice asks customers to be respectful to its customer service agents, as there have been reports of belligerent customers escalating matters with threats of violence, demeaning remarks, holding up service agents with purposefully long-winded questions, among other inappropriate and harmful infractions.
Considering that this notice comes from Nintendo Japan, it does seem to indicate that its local customer service workers have been reporting such issues in recent times. Thus, it doesn’t seem to be a problem that’s happening all over a severe extent. Even so, there are undoubtedly cases like these being faced by Nintendo reps around the globe.
Nintendo is going beyond just asking its patrons to keep themselves in check, however. Those who fail to control themselves will be dealt with more severely, warns the company. As mentioned in Nintendo’s official Repair Service Regulations/Warranty Regulations necessary, Nintendo will go as far as to alert the authorities and even take legal action.
Clearly, the Big N is not messing around when it comes to protecting its workers and ensuring their lives/livelihoods are not being threatened. After all, this is only fair considering that the Customer Service reps are merely doing their job, even if they’re sometimes not able to provide the exact outcome that a customer is hoping for, or wants. In short, be kind to those trying to help you. They’re only doing what they can; often times, you’ll only be denied something if it involves carrying out an action that the worker simply cannot perform.
It certainly doesn’t help if the customer is trying to make outrageous requests that clearly go out of bounds as to what the agent can accomplish. Thus, always remember, being kind is free. And, the kinder you are, the more helpful people tend to be. Even saying a simple “please” and “thank you” is bound to brighten up the agent’s day.
[Sources: Nintendo / Soranews24 / GoNintendo]
