Customer Service.. or lack thereof.
Customer Service by definition is “assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or uses its services or products.” I currently work as the support and customer service role at my company. Anyone who has an issue, question, comment, concern or thought, I am at their beck and call. I highly enjoy being the customer service “rep” if you will, because I like knowing that at the end of the day, I have helped people solve a problem as quickly as I could and they walk away happy.
I find that many other companies do not approach customer service in a personal or even helpful way. For example (yes, I am inserting a real life story here) I am currently having issues with a company, we will call it XYZ.
I have tried to call XYZ on the only phone number that they provide. This is an automated number that will not let you speak to an operator regardless of how many times you push “0.” How is this helpful if I have a question that is outside of the parameters of their automated choices? I go online and look for any other phone number or way to contact, there is not. There is one phone number in which you cannot speak to a real person. My verdict - not helpful.
While on my online search, I see that their office is conveniently 2 blocks from my office. On my lunch I pay them a visit so that I can speak to a real person about my issue. They are not located on the directory of the 5 floor building. I then have to ask a security guard if they are in fact even located in the building. She says yes and I think “finally! I am getting somewhere!”
Wrong. There is a second security checkpoint in which they will not let anyone through without an appointment or a name. How would I know a name when I can’t even speak to a real person? They send me away with a brochure that includes irrelevant information (that mind you I already saw on their website) as well as a phone number. It is the phone number I’ve been using all day.
I eventually do enough digging online to find a “new customer” number in which I immediately dial. I speak to a nice woman who tells me she has absolutely no authority and she can patch me through to her Supervisor. I wait on hold long enough to eat my entire lunch and have multiple conversations with my boss. The Supervisor eventually gets on the phone and basically only tells me “he will look into my issue and call back.” When will he call back? Today? Next week? Over the weekend? I had to even verify who personally was going to call me back and made them restate my phone number to make sure it was accurate.
Now I play the waiting game. When is the Supervisor at XYZ going to call back? Will he has my issue resolved or do I have to go through all this hassle again? When did customer service turn into: you use the internet for everything. You can email us 24/7 but we will not respond for up to 5 business days. We will provide a phone number, but you cannot talk to a person. We will not make it easy for you at all to resolve your issue. You must talk to 10 different people and tell them all the same story, even though they have your information and story in front of them on their computer.
How many people out there have had the same experience I have today? I’m sure tons. And when I say tons, I can almost guarantee that every single person has dealt with something like this in their lifetime dealing with customer “care.” Perhaps they should change the name of “care” or “service” to complaints, dead ends, or automated operators.
My frustration with other companies gives me the motivation and drive to make sure that the care I give to customers at my company is above and beyond their expectations. For example: I check my work email while I am at home. On my days off. On the weekend. Before I go to bed. When I wake up. My company in no way requires or even asks of me to do these things. I do it because I want to. I still have a life, I go out and enjoy things - but I want our customers to feel cared for. I want them to know I will do everything I can, as quickly as I can, so that they can use our product(s) with ease.
If you work for a big company - this blog is especially for you. What do you do to help your customers? Do you give them the attention and care they deserve? Can you actually call your Customer Service a service… or it is a disservice?
Think about it, I’m going to bet it’s the second one.
Leave Note / Reblog
customer service quality chicago help supervisor attention
