Adventures in Customer Service... two stories

Good customer service is grounded in its ease of use for the consumer. If it’s difficult to reach you, they will go somewhere else. It’s something I’ve always known. At least, I’ve known it for so long I don’t remember how or when I learned it. It’s such a simple idea. Why is it so difficult for companies to do?

I’m not talking about you. Okay, maybe I am, depending how difficult it is for your customers to reach you. I had a couple of experiences this week that reminded me of how vital this rule is.

The first story is about a little company called XM Radio. I called to set up an account and the whole process was automated and took about fifteen minutes. I’m not anti-automation as long as it’s easy to use and this one was working fairly well.

Anyway, I get all the way to the end, gave them the card number and it wouldn’t go through. I tried again. It still wouldn’t go through. I tried again. Nope. Nothing. So the system sent me to an operator and that was good. I need to talk to a person now because the automated system wasn’t working.

After a few minutes (not too long of a wait), a nice young man came on the line and said, “I’m sorry, but our system is down and we can’t process your order. You’ll have to call back in two or three hours and try again.”
I said, “Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you tell me that before I just spent 20 minutes on the phone trying to set it up?”

This poor, simple boy said, “Mam, (yes he mamed me.) I’m very sorry, but there’s nothing we can do about technical problems. You’ll have to call back.”
“I understand that. I just don’t know why you couldn’t tell me this at the beginning of the call. Do I have to go through the automated system again before I can find out if the system is back up,” I said politely.

“Yes mam, (there’s that mam again) you do,” said the poor, simple boy. We went round and round about this for quite a few minutes. Finally, frustrated, I said, “Could I speak to your supervisor, please?” I knew they had a direct line and I wasn’t hanging up the phone without it.

The poor, young man thankfully said, “No problem. Hold just one minute.” The supervisor came on and gave me the number immediately. I called back a few hours later and a nice young woman got me all set up and we have XM. Yea!

Fortunately in this situation, I knew enough to ask for the supervisor. The problem was the poor, young man didn’t know to ask if he could give out the number or even if they had it. It wasn’t his fault, he hadn’t been trained.

I’ve found that problem with many customer service representatives. They are taught to follow scripts and not think. As owners and professionals, we need to empower our staff. Make sure they know there are exceptions to rules and if they’re not sure… ask. It never hurts to ask.

A good representative asking saved this next situation with my favorite computer company. I had another problem with my computer this week. Those of you who know me well have heard this before. I’ve had lots of problems with this computer.

This time it was a software problem. I called the company and they did what they do and the problem was still there. If I wanted them to do anything else, they would have to transfer me to another department. I said okay, of course. What else can I do?

This department said that they charge $250 to fix it, but they guaranteed it would be fixed. Yikes! I thought maybe I should try the software manufacturer before I shell out $250. Big Mistake! It was NOT a good idea.

I went to their website and followed the prompts for technical support and it kept re-routing me and coming up “page not found”. I decided to look for a phone number and call the company. No phone number. Looking back on it, I should have gone into the sales page. I bet they had a phone number. Anyway, after about 45 minutes, I gave up and decided to go back to the computer manufacturer.

I called the computer company back and a different guy answered. He went through the different programs and included one for $150 (the first guy hadn’t told me about that one) and asked which one I wanted.

By this time, my frustration got the best of me and I told him everything. Okay, not everything, but I said how frustrated I was and told him about the problems I’ve had with this computer (two hard drives & it wasn’t even a year old, etc.) I mean, it’s been rough. He said, “Let me talk to my supervisor and see what I can do.”

When he came back, he said, “I explained the situation and he has given me permission to fix this for $69. Does that work for you?”

I said, “I don’t think I should have to pay anything, but yes. That works. Thank you.” I wasn’t completely happy, especially with all of the previous problems I’ve had, but he tried and four hours later my computer was fixed.

This particular employee was smart enough to ask the question. They may have take less money this time, but next time I won’t hesitate to call them. I won’t tell everyone I know how terrible their company is either.

Both of these experiences got me thinking. How many times has someone come up to you or your employee already angry because they couldn’t get through or the last person they talked to wasn’t thinking? I say wasn’t thinking because so many customer service representative are just following a script.

Make things as easy as possible for your customers when they have a problem. We always make it easy for customers buy products, but we forget about the back end. Remember, it’s easier to keep a customer than get a new one. How you deal with a complaint will determine whether or not that customer is returning to your store.

I recommend that you look at your customer service complaint program if you have one. If you don’t, develop one. What’s the procedure if someone calls with a complaint or a return? Do your employees know that? How about when they enter the store? Make sure everyone knows and it’s written down. Also make sure they know there are exceptions to every rule.

If you already have a plan, test it. Get a spy to come in or call with a complaint and see how your employees handle it. You can create any type of situation you want and do it as often as you want. Another option is to survey your customers. The key to this is having another company do it. Customers will be more honest that way. You will be surprised by what you find out.

You may see that one employee is giving a full refund and another is only allowing exchanges. That means you were not clear about what you want them to do in those situations. Tell them and put it in writing so everyone is on the same page. Find out where you cracks are in your program and fix them.