After my third (and progressively worse) bad customer service experience yesterday, I felt compelled to write a post about it. These weren’t complex situations, so I am left wondering why companies still struggle with basic customer service best practices.
First of all, I received a letter from my telephone service informing me that my business credit card was about to expire and I needed to log onto my account and update the info. I never quite understood why Optimum Business needs to charge my credit card in order to make international calls as opposed to including them on our bill with the other services. Perhaps they outsource the capability? Regardless, after I found my username and password and logged onto the site, several attempts to update the information resulted in “credit card not valid” messages. So I called the number on my bill; there was no number on the letter. They had to transfer me two different times to get to the right person who could help me. Ten minutes later, someone was finally able to make the change. That doesn’t include the time I wasted online. Sigh.
Then I called a Marriott hotel in North Carolina to inquire about suite set-up and availability. I am traveling there next month with two colleagues and we always try to be mindful of clients’ budgets by sharing rooms. They transferred me to central reservations where I had to start all over. The person wanted to know which hotel in Raleigh I wanted. I told him the one I called. Okay, maybe my tone was less than patient, but I really didn’t know what it was called. My client recommended the property and simply gave me the phone number to call. Rather than help me figure out which one, he waited for me to offer more information. When I said it was on Sumner Boulevard, I realized he hung up on me. I used to have his job in the 80s when I was a reservationist for Choice Hotels (Quality Inn, Comfort Inn, et al.). Apparently the technology hasn’t changed much, as it seems he should have known which location sent him the call. And my supervisors used to listen in on my calls and critique me. I never would have hung up on a customer. Period.
Then I received an email yesterday from a company I am renting a bouncy house from for my daughter’s birthday party next month that put me over the customer service edge. Now this situation is different because I believe hers is a small business. But I am not sure if that means I should expect more or less. The email was an updated invoice, which included a more expensive product than the one I ordered, with no explanation. When I inquired about the change, she informed me that the original unit came back damaged and the new one was the closest match. It was more expensive because it has a basketball hoop attached. Overlooking the fact that she should have explained the change and not just sent an updated invoice, I asked her why I wasn’t getting the comparable product for the same price as the item I originally ordered. She explained to me that there was another product at the same price still available and I could have that, but it features a theme that doesn’t work for the party. Or I could get a “Good Neighbor” discount if I could prove to her that I do things for my community with no compensation or benefit. What? Isn’t that discount both compensation and a benefit in and of itself? And besides, what does that have to do with the fact that I am paying a surcharge for a customer damaging the product I originally ordered? When I made those points to her, she insisted she was in the right. She even went so far as to say they fixed the original unit and I could now have it for the lower price … although they won’t sell it as a “premium product.” Seriously? Is this really worth $25? No, so I am letting it go.
Are companies skipping customer service class? Or do they need a refresher? Considering I found myself frustrated three different times yesterday over customer service issues, perhaps it’s me.