What are the common Northwestern Mutual horror stories about customer service?

A common one is that the customer service is unresponsive. People try to reach out about issues with their orders, like wrong sizes or damaged items, but they don't get any reply for days. It's really frustrating when you're waiting for a solution.

There was a case where an agent of Northwestern Mutual promised high returns on an investment product. However, the market took a downturn and the client lost a significant amount of money. The agent had not properly explained the risks involved. The client felt deceived and it was really a horror story for them as they were counting on that money for their future, like their children's education or retirement.

Well, first of all, there's the inefficiency factor. Customers are made to jump through hoops to get a simple problem resolved. This can involve having to repeat the problem over and over to different people. Second, there's the blame - shifting. Instead of trying to solve the issue, the customer service tries to put the blame on the customer. And third, there's the lack of follow - up. Once the call is over, there's no further action or communication to ensure the problem has been truly fixed.

One of the most common elements is the failure to solve the problem. The customer approaches the customer service with an issue, but instead of getting it resolved, they are given the run - around. The staff may transfer them from one department to another without any real attempt to fix the issue. This makes the customer feel unvalued and frustrated. For example, I had an issue with my laptop and the customer service just kept passing me around between different technicians, and in the end, my problem was still not solved.

One common element is lack of communication. Airlines often don't keep passengers informed about delays, cancellations or lost luggage. For example, passengers are left waiting at the gate with no idea what's going on.

Long hold times are very common. Customers end up waiting for ages, which is a waste of their time. For example, I once waited two hours for a bank's customer service.

One common complaint is long wait times. Customers often have to wait for hours on hold just to talk to a representative. Another is unhelpful responses. Sometimes, the agents seem to not understand the problem fully and give generic solutions that don't work. Also, there are cases where Apple refuses to honor warranties without proper justification, leaving customers frustrated and having to pay for repairs that should be covered.

A client of Northwestern Mutual was a recent college graduate with a large amount of student debt. The financial advisors at Northwestern Mutual worked with the graduate to create a debt - repayment plan while also starting a savings and investment portfolio. In a few years, not only was the graduate debt - free but also had a significant amount saved for future goals, like traveling and starting a business.

I've heard of a case where a customer service agent was extremely rude. A customer had a simple question about a product's warranty, and instead of answering politely, the agent made the customer feel stupid for asking. The agent used condescending language and didn't actually provide any useful information. It was a really bad experience for the customer who was just trying to get some basic help.

One horror story is dealing with extremely rude customers. I once had a customer who just started yelling and using offensive language right away because his order was a few minutes late. There was no chance to explain or apologize, he just kept on ranting. It was really intimidating and made the work environment very unpleasant.