In this hard economic time people are paying closer attention to bills and are calling customer service with questions about billed charges. Looking for ways to make adjustments to a budget without having to give up the goods and services that have become an important an integral part of our lives is a natural desire and calling customer service seems like a logical way to lower expenses.

If you keep these things in mind when you are calling customer service, the call will have a much better outcome.

• Remember that when calling customer service, the person who answers the phone is a representative of the company and does not set policy or make the rules that they are required to follow. Profanity, threats and rudeness will not help your cause.
• Review account statements for answers before calling customer service. If account charges belong to more than one person, verify that no one else made changes to the account before calling customer service.
• Don’t immediately request a supervisor when calling customer service. The representative that answers the phone can answer most questions and if there is no supervisor available, you will need to wait for a return phone call.
• Keep in mind there are things that cannot be done immediately when calling customer service. For example, refund checks do take time to process.
• Keep resolution expectations realistic when calling customer service. If you have received goods for services from a company, you do owe for them. Expecting large credits will leave you disappointed. If the monthly charge is 100US and service was out for 2 days of a bill cycle; mathematically your adjustment should only be 6.67US.
• When calling customer service the questions should be about recent monthly statements. Charges that are months old are not able to be adjusted.
• Be honest when calling customer service. Stories that are made up, sound made up.

It may also be beneficial to visit the company’s website before calling customer service. By checking the company’s website for an FAQ area or information about the goods or services you are receiving from the company; it is possible to avoid calling customer service while learning more about what the company has to offer. With a positive attitude, patience and compromise; calling customer service can be a painless experience.