Helpdesk Headache

What is one thing that screws up my day beyond repair? Calling the Helpdesk, that's what. It takes me 15 seconds to know how the call is going to end and whether I will be satisfied in the end. Working on the Helpdesk myself for the last 7 years, I am familiar with all the wrong doings and what the analysts should avoid. So when I pick up that phone and someone who barely speaks English answers and keeps asking for my information and putting me on hold and bouncing me around, I become extremely frustrated, to say the least. I don't mind the fact that English is the second language for a lot of the analysts. I like to think of myself as a very open person. But, and this is a big BUT, when the guy or the girl on the other end can't even form sentences or keeps repeating what I say, then it's clear they don't belong in that role! If it really proves cost effective to have someone from India or Brazil or China or Czech Republic answer customers' calls, the companies should put more effort into training people with heavy accents. It's all about the customer service after all. And another thing - these people really need to care about helping others. If they don't have a desire to help the person calling, why bother pick up the phone? I would much rather not be provided with a solution if the agent is willing to assist and is trying everything he/she can and is taking ownership, than having the agent resolve the problem but be curt and unprofessional or only provide a fraction of the solution. Just today I called the Linksys support. Never mind that I had to punch in 10 different numbers on the menu and wait 30 minutes for someone to pick up, but the woman told me "try this link, it should be easy enough to follow instructions, if you experience problems call us back and provide this reference number." I felt like punching her in the head, but instead I told her I waited half an hour and would she mind staying on the line to help me. She just repeated that it should be easy to fix if I follow instructions. After thanking her curtly, I wanted to throw the phone over the balcony. Why don't people care anymore? Where did human civility go? Don't companies realize that the success of their business depends on providing customer value? I wish I could say good things about the Helpdesk but most of my experiences have been negative.