Paypal - The Universe May Blow UP!

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geekcognito

geekcognito

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Nov 19, 2006
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Atlanta, GA
Just got off the phone with Paypal and I'm shocked...floored, actually.

Here's what happened:

I recently started to use a new bank account with my Paypal account. When I entered the bank account info, however, I put my company name as the bank account holder instead of my personal name.

Apparently, when you make withdrawals to your bank the bank likes to see that deposit coming in with your name on it. Otherwise, they kick it back.

So when I withdrew $X,XXX and it got kicked back earlier this week, I called Paypal and the first rep. I spoke to said that I'd need to talk to a "senior agent" and x-ferred me up. He was cool and walked me through the whole process of changing the name associated with my bank account from the company name to my personal name. I thanked him and re-instigated the withdrawal.

Well, that afternoon I got an automated message from Paypal that they closed access to that bank account and the system wouldn't let me re-enter that bank's info as a security precaution because of the initial deposit fiasco.

So I called Paypal again this morning, talked to one CSA that said "that sucks, I'll transfer you". The next guy I spoke to said "Oh yeah, that sucks but I can't do anything about it so I'll transfer you to a guy that will help you." The guy he transferred me to was like, "Oh yeah, sorry about that. We just have to be careful so we put that precaution in place. It's all straight now."

And it was.

Frankly, I'm floored. I know that Paypal should still be trusted just as far as you can throw a building but I have to say that I didn't expect them to be so reachable, as I've never tried to call them before.

Just thought I'd let you guys know that if you do ever have a dispute about anything that it seems as if you're genuinely even-keeled on the phone with their CSAs and "senior agents" they seem to be more than willing to help you out.
 


That's funny, I had an issue with Paypal recently as well, were they flagged some transactions as suspicious and limited my account. Knowing how poor their customer service was the last times I ran into issues with them, I was already pissed off. As I was going through the steps to restore access and I was confirming my phone number, I entered the pin and ended the return with hitting #. Which caused their stupid ass system to try and connect my to that extension, which didn't exist. That caused the verification process to be unsuccessful, and it said they would send the pin by mail instead. So I called them, mentioned these things, and to my utter disbelief they restored access right there on the phone, after verifying the transactions with me and even said I should just disregard the pin being sent by email.

Total time from getting my account limited, trying to remove the restrictions and including the call: 12mins.

Last time I had an issue with them it dragged over weeks, required countless calls, emails, and documents being sent in, only to be denied eventually. I must say, if Paypal finally cleaned up their act and improved their support, they may be getting more business from me in the future.
 
Yeah, I was actually impressed with PayPal's customer service when I called a while back. I called several times and every time I got someone who knew what the fuck he was talking about, AND who spoke English.
 
clashctyrokr said:
AND who spoke English.
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Yeah, that boggled my mind too. It was weird that the only time I had to repeat myself was when I was speaking to their voice-activated system.

I'm starting to regret making this post, however. I feel like I'm tempting fate somehow and I'm waiting for an email to come telling me that my account has been closed and to fuck off while we keep your money for 180 days.
 
You can thank me for this.

I answer every one of those PayPal surveys they have sent out the last 5 years, and always give them a failing grade. TBH, their service has always been middle of the road to good for me, but I figured that they must be looking for areas of improvement with these surveys so I gave them one.
 
Yeah PayPal phone support can be pretty good but unfortunately I get connected to PayPal Singapore (since India is serviced by PP Pty Ltd. Singapore) and it is a nightmare understanding their English...

Now I realize how you guys feel when you are connected to Indian call centers.

But nice story Geeky Boy! Just helps reassure that PP is not as crap as everyone thinks it is.
 
kblessinggr said:
Probably because very few ever actually call, and when they finally get to the point of calling they're already irate which never helps.
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Yeah, I think that keeping a level, pleasant tone and having your facts straight when you call is probably key - particularly if you want to get past the basic-level CSRs. I don't think that they can do much for you besides read off a script and perhaps refer you back to the Help section on the Paypal website.

However, it's probably also a large part of their job to "screen" away callers who don't know shit and are just calling to yell. I'm sure every company call centers gets tons of idiots.

I think that the odds are fair that anyone with an IQ higher than their shoe size would have only call if their problem didn't require support from a higher level than these basic CSRs are capable of providing. However, the trick is to make sure you DON'T ASK for escalation, as they probably only get offended by that and will give you the runaround. I've found with most companies that if I want to get my problem escalated that presenting the facts clearly and calmly to the CSR so that they will be able to adequately comprehend that they are not able to help me, that they will escalate me all on their own. :)
 
a few ppc networks could learn a thing or two from this.. cough google cough
 
geekcognito said:
Yeah, I think that keeping a level, pleasant tone and having your facts straight when you call is probably key - particularly if you want to get past the basic-level CSRs. I don't think that they can do much for you besides read off a script and perhaps refer you back to the Help section on the Paypal website.

However, it's probably also a large part of their job to "screen" away callers who don't know shit and are just calling to yell. I'm sure every company call centers gets tons of idiots.

I think that the odds are fair that anyone with an IQ higher than their shoe size would have only call if their problem didn't require support from a higher level than these basic CSRs are capable of providing. However, the trick is to make sure you DON'T ASK for escalation, as they probably only get offended by that and will give you the runaround. I've found with most companies that if I want to get my problem escalated that presenting the facts clearly and calmly to the CSR so that they will be able to adequately comprehend that they are not able to help me, that they will escalate me all on their own. :)
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True, no matter who it is .. it's a human on the other line.. most humans have feelings, and will treat you the same way you treat them in a more subtle way... I worked helpdesk for an ISP for a little while. I would go out of my way to waste the time of assholes and others things I shouldn't mention.

People that calmly stated their problem and were sincere, I can honestly say, I bent my ass to give them the best service they could get. It's quite simple, and no matter how real and important your problem is, it doesn't mean jack shit to the guy you're talking to. The only thing that matters on the service desk level is each individual interaction, make it pleasant for the guy, and you'll receive what you give.
 
I've had no major problems with paypal ever. All the times I've had to call them up they were very responsive and helpful.

BTW, haven't seen you around much geekcognito, how have you been? :)
 
BigWill said:
Spend more with paypal and you get a private account rep = no problems
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Do elaborate. As a biz account? Because of this whole thing, I'm actually thinking of doing the previously unthinkable and using them a whole lot more for payments from customers. I have to admit, the thought of trusting them with a majority of my payment processing makes my chest tight but I'm curious to know of others' experiences with large volume.

MyOwnDemon said:
I've had no major problems with paypal ever. All the times I've had to call them up they were very responsive and helpful.

BTW, haven't seen you around much geekcognito, how have you been? :)
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Great, man. Just been busy trying to take over the interwebz one ebook at a time. ;)
 
I've been dealing with an issue over subscription payments for 6 months. I wouldn't say Paypal is always a nightmare to work with -- but I think the OP got lucky.
 
I've never had any serious issues with PayPal. They have falgged a few transactions and I have had varioous questions but every time I've called them, they have always been very helpful.

Most of the time I hear someone bitching about Paypal is when those people are doing shady business and Paypal has caught on to them.
 
you can read a lot of stuff about paypal freezing accounts all over the internet. for this reason i try to avoid paypal as good as i can.

glad to hear they're becoming more professional!
 
geekcognito said:
Frankly, I'm floored. I know that Paypal should still be trusted just as far as you can throw a building but I have to say that I didn't expect them to be so reachable, as I've never tried to call them before.

Just thought I'd let you guys know that if you do ever have a dispute about anything that it seems as if you're genuinely even-keeled on the phone with their CSAs and "senior agents" they seem to be more than willing to help you out.
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Kind of weird, since I've heard the exact opposite all over the ¡nterwebz
 
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