Comments on: Customer support on the march

By: Mark Gwilliam

Mark Gwilliam — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:06:45 +0000

Yep, I know the feeling!

Over the last 10 years, I’ve learned numerous lessons managing my own businesses and consulting to my customers and by far the single most significant lesson is ensuring that customers stay happy.

Marketing people will advise you it costs between five to seven times more to win a new client than keep an existing one. “Robots” never take this into account!

By: The Bat

The Bat — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:16:04 +0000

This whole bugaboo of “customer service” has become anathema to me; to the point where if I find I have to call somebody’s “customer service,” I may just run screaming into the back yard and throw myself face down into the sweet corn patch.

I just wish I could cut off the cellphones and the extra land line running into the house. But, having a separate home office line means I’m not constantly fielding calls for my 12 year old. And I have to travel (a lot), so the cellphone with the broadband internet (no more seeking out wifi hotspots) is pretty much an essential thing. Sometimes, I’d like to turn off that cellphone, but if one of my clients has a question or a problem, I want them to be able to reach me. My own “customer service” in this respect is pretty darn good.

By: rb3m

rb3m — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 23:01:05 +0000

Wouldn’t it be great if you had your own robot to answer those calls and then they would just wait, or hang out, or just chit chat with each other until a human answers on the other side, then the robot could say “please wait, I’ll go get the other human?”

How long do you think it would take those robots to become sentient and decide humanity is a big waste of time?

By: Jonathan Burne

Jonathan Burne — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 21:43:38 +0000

Like Greg Bulmash and Rob Kirton I have been working without a phone.
If I need to talk to someone about the project I go and talk to them face to face. Sometimes its a 500 metre walk across the campus so when I go out I have to be really well prepared. I am amazed how many phone calls can be replaced by one face to face meeting. I am also pleasantly suprised at what a twenty minute walk can do for problem solving.
Its all too easy to become the servants of our technology – phones in general and call trees in particular.

By: John

John — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:47:30 +0000

“If you need to find me, I’ll be at the end of the longest line.” -NoFX

I hate automated systems. In the company I work for, we have them for talking to other depts. How bad is it when you have to use a call tree to get one simple task done, and you end up sitting on hold for 29 minutes to find out you accidentally hit 2 instead of 5? Productivity at its best.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:26:26 +0000

Sometimes the problem is the actual business relationships. I have seen situations where an end user needs X, and to get X, he/she has to go through a company who contacts another company who contacts yet another company.

Even if they’re all on the ball, that’s going to take time. And the four-way conference call is a real joy, let me tell you.

By: Joel D Canfield

Joel D Canfield — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:32:33 +0000

I actually don’t think any overt action is necessary. Customer-centric companies will get attention and keep business. Companies which put themselves ahead of the customer like this will lose by attrition.

Of course, where possible, check out a company’s customer service before you buy. If they treat you like an annoyance, you can take your pesetas elsewhere instead of being trapped.

By: Mark Howells-Mead

Mark Howells-Mead — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:12:35 +0000

Sounds lousy in terms of waiting time, but I think it’s great that they choose to pick up the telecoms bill. And at least their technology works; I’d be concerned that the robot might just get sidetracked between my call and the next.

By: Mike Whitehurst

Mike Whitehurst — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:36:35 +0000

The problem is with people who allow companies to get away with shoddy customer service. Put your money where your mouth is and we’ll soon see this problem resolved.

By: Mike Cherim

Mike Cherim — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:32:25 +0000

Ah, so the dying art customer service does still exists. I’m so jaded.

By: Joe

Joe — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:06:52 +0000

Oh god, yes. That’s happened to me with comcast before. I was like, um, why did you call me back and make me wait the same amount of time anyway?

Also, when you call the wrong department because the options didn’t make any sense, -OR- if you have to be transferred from one dept to the other to complete another task (tiered support, for example) and you have to be on hold AGAIN between those calls.

It’s like, if you’re transferring me, you should get me to a person right away not put me back in line. I was already in line. I’m on the phone with you now, keep me there.

By: Rob Kirton

Rob Kirton — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:51:45 +0000

I’ve had a similar experience to Greg Bulmash recently. It is great. I’ve actually gone the whole hog. I no longer routinely carry a mobile / cell phone. The freedom from the tyranny of almost always being available, is truly great. No longer are telephones my master. I very occasionally miss the convenience of having a mobile phone (though there is a pay as you go one tucked into the glove box of my car if I really needed to rescind or have a really urgent call to make) The people who I really need to have instant access to me – all know how to get it. Anybody else can wait until at least the end of a working day. For those who have not had access to me – nobody died, nobody got hurt

I have also stopped dealing with companies who route me to overseas call centres, were cultural and language problems have often prevented me from having a reasonable dialogue with the call centre employee. I suggest we all do the same with any organisation that deems to correspond with us through the use of a robot. If we all did the same I suspect we would truly receive a better level of customer service.

By: Greg Bulmash

Greg Bulmash — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 07:42:42 +0000

I just spent 5 months on an on-site contract position without a phone at my desk.

“Can I call you?” Nope. Don’t have a phone. Write it down.

It was *awesome*.

By: Michiel van der Blonk

Michiel van der Blonk — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:31:07 +0000

I think it’s great because this way at least I know for sure that I am not paying for that call.

By: Territan

Territan — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 22:29:36 +0000

I can\’t say I\’m surprised; more often than not, companies use automated voice systems like that to insulate staff from the outside world, on the mistaken assumption that dealing with the outside world is an annoyance, rather than the core reason for their existence. In the worst case, the employees come to believe it themselves.

There are exceptions, though…