Sunday, November 18, 2007
Combined Customer Service experiences post
Today's Unbelievably Bad and Triumphantly Excellent Customer Service posts are combined because they are both from the same company and occured within minutes of each other.
A little background: I've been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we're buying a new TV for the living room. Tonight, I bought a new DirecTV Plus HD-DVR at Best Buy and called DirecTV --right from the Best Buy parking lot--to schedule installation, because I want it done before Thursday (Thanksgiving) so we can watch the National Dog Show in glorious HD.
First, the Unbelievably Bad: I say "schedule installation" to the phone-bot and am connected to Chase or possibly Jason--I can't tell because he mumbled. We establish who I am and my account details and then I tell him why I'm calling: to schedule installation of the HD-DVR I just picked up. He pauses and then goes off into several minutes of telling my why my purchase was a bad idea--buying it at Best Buy instead of ordering directly from him--because now I'll have to pay for installation plus pay for the special HD dish; if I'd ordered from him, he says, installation and the dish would be free. I ask him if this is standard for everyone who buys DirecTV equipment from Best Buy and he says no, it's because I'm an existing DirecTV subscriber. Most people who buy receivers or DVRs are new subscribers and installation is free for new subscribers. I take a minute to process this and then remind him (politely) that I've been a loyal customer for ten years including two moves, and can he waive the installation fee for me? Absolutely not, he says, citing some contractual obligation between DirecTV and Best Buy that I don't care about. Around now he also tells me there's no chance of installation for at least two weeks. I tell him I'll consider what he's told me and call them back, and hang up.
I sat and thought for a few minutes. I was sure Chase/Jason was wrong about having to pay for installation. After all, DirecTV isn't even selling their boxes anymore; the boxes are now on semi-permanent "lease", subject to recall/replacement at any time, and remain DirecTV's property. This means that I'm now paying for a service, like cable TV or DSL, which always have free installation. I was also doubtful about the installation date estimate. So, I tried a little Call Center Roulette, and that's where the Triumphantly Excellent experience happened.
This time I am connected to Brigitte--cheerful and clear-spoken--and we go through the same information about what I bought and that I need to have it installed. "Absolutely," she says, "I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now." Yes! "I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?" Yes! Done and done. "Anything else I can help you with?" I tell her I'd like to talk to her supervisor to pass on what a great experience this call was. Back when I was doing software tech support over the phone, this happened once in a while, where happy customers wanted to compliment me to my boss. Most times, the only time the supervisor is called in is to hear complaints, so this time I am careful to let her (Shannon) know what a terrific CSR she has in Brigitte and that everything worked out perfectly. I don't mention Chase/Jason because at this point it would only depress me. Shannon says it's a pleasure to hear a compliment once in a while and I tell her it was a pleasure for me to be able to give it.
I think the lesson to be learned here is the importance of Call Center Roulette--if you don't like what the CSR is telling you, and especially if it seems unreasonable or illogical, thank them politely, hang up, and call again hoping for a different CSR. The way the call-forwarding systems work, the person you just talked to should get another call right away, so if you wait a minute or two you should be assured of getting someone else. This time, it worked.
A little background: I've been a very happy DirecTV subscriber for ten years. We currently have a Philips DSR704 DirecTV-TiVo receiver in the upstairs guest room, and we're buying a new TV for the living room. Tonight, I bought a new DirecTV Plus HD-DVR at Best Buy and called DirecTV --right from the Best Buy parking lot--to schedule installation, because I want it done before Thursday (Thanksgiving) so we can watch the National Dog Show in glorious HD.
First, the Unbelievably Bad: I say "schedule installation" to the phone-bot and am connected to Chase or possibly Jason--I can't tell because he mumbled. We establish who I am and my account details and then I tell him why I'm calling: to schedule installation of the HD-DVR I just picked up. He pauses and then goes off into several minutes of telling my why my purchase was a bad idea--buying it at Best Buy instead of ordering directly from him--because now I'll have to pay for installation plus pay for the special HD dish; if I'd ordered from him, he says, installation and the dish would be free. I ask him if this is standard for everyone who buys DirecTV equipment from Best Buy and he says no, it's because I'm an existing DirecTV subscriber. Most people who buy receivers or DVRs are new subscribers and installation is free for new subscribers. I take a minute to process this and then remind him (politely) that I've been a loyal customer for ten years including two moves, and can he waive the installation fee for me? Absolutely not, he says, citing some contractual obligation between DirecTV and Best Buy that I don't care about. Around now he also tells me there's no chance of installation for at least two weeks. I tell him I'll consider what he's told me and call them back, and hang up.
I sat and thought for a few minutes. I was sure Chase/Jason was wrong about having to pay for installation. After all, DirecTV isn't even selling their boxes anymore; the boxes are now on semi-permanent "lease", subject to recall/replacement at any time, and remain DirecTV's property. This means that I'm now paying for a service, like cable TV or DSL, which always have free installation. I was also doubtful about the installation date estimate. So, I tried a little Call Center Roulette, and that's where the Triumphantly Excellent experience happened.
This time I am connected to Brigitte--cheerful and clear-spoken--and we go through the same information about what I bought and that I need to have it installed. "Absolutely," she says, "I'll set up that free installation and the included HD dish for you right now." Yes! "I can schedule your installation for Tuesday afternoon between noon and 4, will that work?" Yes! Done and done. "Anything else I can help you with?" I tell her I'd like to talk to her supervisor to pass on what a great experience this call was. Back when I was doing software tech support over the phone, this happened once in a while, where happy customers wanted to compliment me to my boss. Most times, the only time the supervisor is called in is to hear complaints, so this time I am careful to let her (Shannon) know what a terrific CSR she has in Brigitte and that everything worked out perfectly. I don't mention Chase/Jason because at this point it would only depress me. Shannon says it's a pleasure to hear a compliment once in a while and I tell her it was a pleasure for me to be able to give it.
I think the lesson to be learned here is the importance of Call Center Roulette--if you don't like what the CSR is telling you, and especially if it seems unreasonable or illogical, thank them politely, hang up, and call again hoping for a different CSR. The way the call-forwarding systems work, the person you just talked to should get another call right away, so if you wait a minute or two you should be assured of getting someone else. This time, it worked.
Labels: customer service, DirecTV, rants, raves
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Poor customer service example of the day
And the winner is: Longs Drugs in the Town & Country shopping center at Embarcadero and El Camino Real in Palo Alto. I popped in to pick up a couple of cold drinks while Jen was using the facilities--diet Coke for me and a Lipton green tea for Jen--and when I got up to the checkout line there was one (1) lane open and several people in line. Across the aisle at the photo counter, another employee and a manager were chatting with a customer. It didn't appear to be about where to find maxi-pads or anything like that, just random non-Longs-related conversation. Meanwhile the one (1) checkout line is getting longer and longer, and of course the cashier seems to be the extra slow one.
Finally the people at the photo counter conclude their chat and the other employee came over to open another lane. By this time I had reached the register and would have been next, but the second guy picked up my two bottles and walked over to the other register. He rang up the diet Coke but had trouble with the green tea, saying "uh, this wasn't supposed to be sold as a single."
"It was in the cooler case with a lot of others," I said.
He just stood there for a minute with a blank look, starting talking to the first cashier about something totally unrelated, and then punched in an override or something to ring up the tea, finally allowing me to pay and leave.
In reality the whole episode, from entering the store to paying and leaving, probably took no more than ten minutes. However, it was at least seven minutes more than it should have been.
Finally the people at the photo counter conclude their chat and the other employee came over to open another lane. By this time I had reached the register and would have been next, but the second guy picked up my two bottles and walked over to the other register. He rang up the diet Coke but had trouble with the green tea, saying "uh, this wasn't supposed to be sold as a single."
"It was in the cooler case with a lot of others," I said.
He just stood there for a minute with a blank look, starting talking to the first cashier about something totally unrelated, and then punched in an override or something to ring up the tea, finally allowing me to pay and leave.
In reality the whole episode, from entering the store to paying and leaving, probably took no more than ten minutes. However, it was at least seven minutes more than it should have been.
Labels: customer service, Longs, rants
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
A Clue: NO
If you are a pharmacy technician--the person who fills prescriptions, enters insurance information into the record and deals with customers picking up their meds--and you don't know how to fill prescriptions, bill insurance or work the cash register, should you be a pharmacy technician? A Clue: NO.
If you are a shipping specialist at FedEx-Kinko's--the person who accepts packages from customers, weighs them and enters the shipment information into the FedEx system and then applies the FedEx stickers to the packages--and you don't know how to accept packages, weigh packages, enter shipment information or even properly apply stickers, should you be a shipping specialist? A Clue: NO.
If you work at Subway, for dog's sake, and you don't know how to make a turkey breast sandwich with cheese (NOT TOASTED! Why do you always want to toast the sandwich?) and no tomato, should you really be working at Subway? A Clue: NO!
If you are a shipping specialist at FedEx-Kinko's--the person who accepts packages from customers, weighs them and enters the shipment information into the FedEx system and then applies the FedEx stickers to the packages--and you don't know how to accept packages, weigh packages, enter shipment information or even properly apply stickers, should you be a shipping specialist? A Clue: NO.
If you work at Subway, for dog's sake, and you don't know how to make a turkey breast sandwich with cheese (NOT TOASTED! Why do you always want to toast the sandwich?) and no tomato, should you really be working at Subway? A Clue: NO!
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