Try to cancel, just try

Here's a good post from one of our new featured links, Red Tape Chronicles:

The next time you find yourself on the phone with a pushy customer service representative trying to sell you something, remember this: There could be serious cash incentives motivating that hard sell you're getting. And I do mean serious.

One consultant I spoke to recently said that some call-center employees for a national internet service provider were making six-figure salaries, thanks to aggressive bonuses. While customers were infuriated after being deceived while trying to cancel their service, the phone reps were raking in the dough, sometimes doubling or tripling their salaries with incentives.

Benefits that encourage employees to lie for profit are called "perverse incentives." Call centers are awful places to work, so employers have developed elaborate incentive schemes to keep workers returning to the phone banks. In some cases, they are simple or silly -- pizza parties for the top selling groups or free game consoles. But in their most extreme, perverse incentives can encourage outright fraud.

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Red Tape Wrestling Tips

How do you protect yourself from overly aggressive phone operators, who are fueled by big bonus programs?
1) We've already mentioned this one. Repeat your understanding of the conversation at the end of the call, knowing that the firm will likely keep the recording and it can be used during a dispute.

2) Be particularly wary at the end of the month, said Broetzmann, because many incentives are paid on a monthly basis. Sellers can become very aggressive during the last few days of an internal sales contest.

3) Make sure you are talking to the right person before launching into your story, said Katz. Many consumers explain their detailed version of events over and over again because they begin talking before they are connected to the right department. So always ask something like: Can you disconnect my account? Can you grant a refund?