Part of my job is to assist my clients deal with everyday situations... Telephone Banks and High Street Banks (if you can get through), gas, electric and telephone companies. You can understand, therefore, maybe why I like Vivaldi's Four Seasons and of Mozart's popular pieces less than I used to.

There are weeks I can spend up to 3 hours a time dealing with call centre staff, on behalf of my clients, and I can tell you the quality of many of them is very low indeed. Some are consistantly far worse than others but I guess it would not be right to mention personally the three banks and five energy companies who sit on top of a terrible customers services list.

My clients are often very vulnerable and just about ready to throw in the towel by the time I get to be dealing with them. The treatment that some elderly get is horrendous and, to be quite honest, the power companies should hold their heads in shame at just how often they make mistakes and the client is expected to identify it and then try and get it corrected. It's quite scandalous in fact.

I'm not surprised poeple want to tear their hair out after dealing with rude call centre staff who have seemingly little intelligence and even less wit.

I am sure that some are good at their jobs, as I occasionally encounter one who is truly wonderful, listens and then solves the problem and often the mess ups of their previous colleagues. They seem very rarae and trying to get a manager who will side with you when one of their staff have been errant is nigh on impossible. I ask them to get the voice tapes of the call and they refuse. I keep my temper and my demeanour... but they just go right ahead being ignorant.

As an example I had a client who was ripped off for £135.00 by her Electricity supplier. I made no less than 15 calls, over 7 hours worth, over 5 months to get that situation resolved and they still kept messing up her bill and sending her increasingly threatening letters. She was extremely upset and getting quite depressed over this money as she did not owe it. In the end I had to threaten them with legal action, the ombudsman and non payment of anything so it would go to court, before I was finally given a Manager to talk to. They gave her £15.00 compensation for all her trouble after arguing for two weeks about it. I have no idea how they post the profits they do, sleep nights and know what they do to some elderly people.

In short I have very little time for call centre staff. It seems the bad ones outnumber the good and that is a shame for the good ones as they then get tarred with the same brush. The big companies outsource so much of their work to other companies that many do not relate to any pride of working for someone whose name is important.

To anyone here who works at a call centre please do not think that I am calling you personally. It seems I just must consistantly get bad staff at the same companies and there should be a place where you can name and shame the culprits. It's bad enough they get it wrong for ordinary customers but when they treat the elderly, disabled or incapable with such defference: it's not acceptable

On a plus note I personally have had good dealings with some call centre staff at my insurance company (which is why I stay with that company), my automobile breakdown people, and the water board. As I say, not all centre staff are bad at all. I tend to give my business to those companies I have had dealings with through clienrs that do give a good service, Anyone else I recommend people away from.