The problem is that it takes foreverto get the TV fixed if there is a problem. We go with a satellite company and find their tech support to be less than efficient. Neither my husband or myself wants to waste two hours or more slowly and methodically checking every plug and cable. My husband spent several hours with them on Saturday and then I finally broke down and called today. We’d rather go without watching TV than call tech support, what does that say about their customer service?

This time, though, they are just sending me a new receiver because they can’t figure out what is wrong. It will be here in 3-5 days. What’s 3-5 days without a TV? It’s summer rerun season anyway.

Conversely, when we are without a computer, which also happened last weekend, both of our heads were about to explode.

Post from: Blisstree

Blank Screen

I used to feel like a total B*&%$ when uttering these words, I want to speak to the manager. But, now I’ve come to terms with the fact that it is only these words what will get me some actual customer service with several companies who have dishonest policies.

Whenever I have to deal with the phone company, satellite company or any and all medical professionals I’ve learned that it is standing policy to overcharge, make “mistakes” and deny any reasonable request for correction the first two times.

I believe it is not a coincidence or an “error.” I now believe, because of the predictable frequency of the tricks they pull, that it is company policy to deny a person’s request for a correct bill the first two times.

I worked in a call center in college and I can tell you this, the first time you ask for the manager you get the person sitting in the adjoining cube. They will tell you the exact same thing the first person told you – I’m sorry, but I can’t reverse that charge. They are telling you the truth – they can not. They don’t have the power. However, the second time you ask for the manager you might get their supervisor, who actually knows which button to push to reverse such a charge.

I’ve come to terms with the fact that I shouldn’t even waste my time talking to the first or second person. I should simply state my problem and ask for the manager. That’s how they have it set up. I should not feel guilty or feel like I’m being unreasonable, they have simply set it up this way. Understanding that it is their policy to send me an inaccurate bill in the hopes that I will not challenge the charge because I don’t want to be a B*&%^ or deal with confrontation makes them millions and millions of dollars every year. That’s their motive.

My motive, however, is to see that my bill is corrected and I can usually accomplish that if I take the time out of my day to challenge their mistakes and say these magic words:

 I want to talk to your manager.

Post from: Blisstree

I Want to Speak to Your Manager

Fabulous. Imagine how easy it will be to clean them. Imagine how warm the house will be.

Now try to imagine the customer service experience from hell.

After enduring a 2 hour presentation from one of the country’s premier window company — Andersen Windows — we decided to finally break down and put years worth of savings into new windows.

Installation day arrived, and I was immediately impressed with how fast they tore out the old windows and began installing the new ones.

I’m in good hands, I thought, so I settled down in my office (albiet windowless and cold) and began to work.

But, as the day progressed, I started to notice little signs that told me things weren’t going to go as well as the sales guy had promised, 2 weeks before — in my kitchen, drinking my tea and petting my dog.

First of all, they didn’t bring enough lumber to finish the job, in one day…this is after they’d spent an hour the week before, measuring every window in the house to calculate the right amount of lumber.

• The warehouse screwed up…I was told. (This happened on two different visits.)

Then I noticed that some of the new windows looked crooked.

• The framing of your house has settled to the right, significantly, but the windows will function.

They are crooked…why didn’t anyone tell me about the framing problem BEFORE every window was pulled out?..I begged.

• You must call the service department if you are unhappy — they retorted.

Why do I have to call the service department if YOU are already here?

• You must follow the Andersen process, someone reprimanded.

The molding does not fit right, I cried out in agony.

• This is the best we can do…it’s your framing. If this had been a brand new house, we wouldn’t have had these problems!!!!

Actual time elapsed 2 months.

How’s this for a process…Andersen is not getting paid until they address all of my windows.

Why is good customer service such a mysterious concept for some companies?

If I’d wanted sloppy, disrespectful, low-class treatment — I could have gone to the Nicole Richie – Lindsay Lohan Window Emporium and paid half the price.

Post from: Blisstree

Two Most Important Words In Home Improvement: Customer. Service.

One of my old marketing responsibilities was to write call-center scripts. The idea was to think about almost every scenario that a call-center person might encounter with a customer.

Attempting this in any rational manner, is simply maddening. So like everyone else…Customer Service was just some unkown group, usually located in the mid-west…who had nothing to do with my really important job.

I now believe customer service to be the true backbone of a company. Customer service tells the world the story of an organization (and therefore, its brand and its reason for being) with much more clarity and succinctness than even the most polished business plan, the most clever TV ad or the most innovative product.

Think about sitting in a restaurant — and how it would feel if you were ignored by the wait staff or host for 15 minutes. (An unforgivable restaurant faux pas.) Would you not, pick up your things and leave? We all want to be acknowledged.

Doug, who writes and oversees, the amazing, Service Untitled has dedicated himself, through this blog, to communicating the complexities, the trends and the importance of good customer service.

In my opinion, customer service does not begin and end with the almighty 1-800 number, an entity detached from the rest of the company. It is a philosophy that has to exist within the core of the business model — applies to everyone, and should be exemplified from the top down, intra-departmentally.

If customer service is an element which has been designed to live and breath within the fabric of a company, the everyday mind-set would be to treat all constituents with the respect they deserve — whether that person is an outside vendor or someone from another department who is looking for your help.

What I expect from external partners, is not always a stoic answer to a complaint I may have. Sometimes, I’m simply looking for that person to help me think through the problem — so that together, we can find an answer.

A person who seems unwilling or untrained to offer some empathy and guidance, says two things to me about the company: First, these employees are trained to follow a script and not think outside the box.

And second, the company has not given enough thought to how significantly a bad experience with — a call taker, an account manager, or even the receptionist–can affect my impression of that company.

When that happens, often I’m thinking…next…there’s another place down the street.

Post from: Blisstree

Customer Service At Work.