Posts Tagged ‘customer service’

Companies now days spend a lot of time figuring how to provide the quickest and best possible customer service, while also saving the company  money. They break everything down into simple jobs with very specific rules. This allows them to train their employees easier or to outsource the jobs to other companies or countries. Unfortunately, it seems all too often the end result is the loss of customer service all together.

Now I don’t think that all customer service is bad. I think it largely depends on the person as much as the company. But when you break a job into very simple tasks with very simple rules and responsibilities, you lose the creativity and value of the employee. They end up following the rules without considering if they are even helping the customer.

Customer Service On The Phone

During my time in the states for the holiday season I purchased a new Gateway computer. Before Purchasing the computer, I had stumbled on a webpage about someone getting a refund for Vista from the manufacturer. Since I don’t use windows and was planning to install Ubuntu, I decided to look more into this. I found a number of pages with people saying they had been able to do the same thing (though it didn’t always turn out to be so easy). The user agreement itself also states that if you do not agree, then to contact the manufacturer to get a refund. I decided to give it ago.

The first person I spoke too said she had never heard of such a thing and tried to convince me that I the computer was designed for Vista and other operating systems aren’t supported. After I told her I wasn’t interested in using Vista, she put me on hold and spoke to her superior. She then came back and said they don’t give out refunds nd asked me to register my computer. I told her I would think about it and call later.

I called back one more time and spoke to someone else who told me basically the same thing. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, I was told that was not possible unless I registered. I decided to do so and then was put on hold for about 5 minutes. I spoke to the supervisor who told me Gateway did not offer refunds for Vista, but that I could install over it with no problem. I responded by asking why I should have to pay for something I wasn’t going to use. The answer was basially, too bad.

Since the money wasn’t going to be worth the time and effort, I eventually told them thanks and hung up. I figured I would keep it as a backup copy. To be honest, I didn’t really care about the money. It was more about the point of the thing. I was calling to ask if it was possible. I would have been open to any options that they might have presented me with or for them to at least consider what I was asking. But for the most part they never really listened. I was telling them I wouldn’t be using windows and was there a way to return it. There solution was to convince me to try and use it.

Customer Service Through E-mail

My other deal with customer service was with Sony. My wife bought the new Singstar karaoke game while we were in the states. For anyone who doesn’t know, Singstar is a game where you sing in the right notes to get points and high scores. The unique thing about the game is that it allows you to download from hundreds of songs. When I got back to Japan, I needed to update my credit card information so she could purchase the songs she wanted.

We first tried through the console, but were unable to do so. I then tried to log on using the PC. Since I was now in Japan, the site didn’t even give me a sign in option because it saw my IP was in Japan. Eventually I was able to guess what it might be and type it into the address bar. However, it still wouldn’t take my card information. I searched for answers using their FAQ and then decided to send them an e-mail once I found no solution.

In the first e-mail I told them that my credit card was not being accepted and that I had been locked out because I tried to many times. I was pretty sure that the info I was inputting was correct. The e-mail with a link that sent me to a page telling me I had been locked out because I tried to many times and to wait 24 hours and try again. I wrote back saying I understood I had been blocked, but that my card information was not working and explained I was in Japan. I was then told it was impossible to access the US store from Japan. I replied that I had been doing so for over a year.

These e-mails went back and forth several times with me trying to explain in as much detail as possible so they could hopefully fix the problem, and the customer service rep responding back with one liners. Finally giving up on customer service and continuosly trying I was finally able to get it to go through.

The point being that the customer service rep tried to keep the e-mails very short, but never actually tried to solve my problem. In the long run it took him longer than it would have to actually read what I wrote and respond decently. The automated “we understand you have a problem with……and apologize for the inconvienience” was usually longer than the reply. And he certainly wasted more of my time.

The e-mails were written politely. Almost irritatingly so. I would prefer to know there is a real person on the other end trying to help me, than a computer spitting out automated responses with attached links. In the end all you end up doing is going back and forth with very polite robots.

In general I try to make things as simple as possible. If I am purchasing something, I want the transaction to go as smoothly and quickly as possible. That way both myself and the other party gets the best value. However, there are times when being politely difficult is the only way to get a fair price. I find this particularly true for utilities and any company that you need to call to get customer service (phone, internet, online banking, cable and satellite, gas and electric, water, etc.). Below are a few tips I use to not get cheated or have to pay any additional fees.

1. Choose a time when you have lots of time- If you have time you will be less likely to get fed up and take the bad deal.
2. Make them call you back- you don’t want to pay for the phone call
3. Ask them to explain everything they tell you- If you still don’t understand ask them to explain again
4. Be polite, but difficult- If you are a good customer, tell them so. Ask them why they are treating you unfairly (if they are doing so).
5. Ask for a higher authority- This saves you being on hold and you are more likely to get a better outcome. The higher the authority the more the more the time costs them.
6. Be willing to make suggestions and compromise- Being difficult is the means to get an outcome. Don’t forget what you are aiming for. If they offer you a good deal or something different (but equal and fair) consider taking it.