I recently had a customer service experience that ended up being one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a service company. I won’t name names but let’s just say that in my opinion, this company offers the best product out there in their field. For me, it’s not just that I think their products are amazing but I’ve been a customer for over 17 years. In fact, when they first started serving Dallas I owned the 5th system that was installed here. We have history and up until now, I’ve always had decent service. They are a big company and they rely on customer service reps at enormous call centers so I understand that each person I talk to is not an expert and that they have a script to follow and guidelines to adhere too but overall the service level has been more than acceptable. That is, until now.
A piece of video equipment at my house broke a couple of months ago. I have a protection plan with the company in question and they cheerfully sent out a brand new piece of gear to replace the old broken one. I was thrilled. The process was painless and I didn’t have to pay a dime to get the latest shiny piece of technology. The new box showed up a few days later and I got it all set up. Uh oh, they had neglected to send some important adapters that I needed to make the new box work that weren’t needed on the old box. I called customer service and they were very sorry and arranged to send new ones. I even convinced them to expedite the shipping. I thanked them but before I hung up I suggested that when they are replacing my old model with a new one that they should automatically send out those adapters. The rep said they would pass that one. I didn’t really believe them but I felt better for at least trying to help them with their process so that maybe the next customer wouldn’t have the same problem. I only wished they would act on my feedback like we try to do here at Alford when our customers care enough to tell us how we could improve our service.
A few more days passed and the new adapters showed up at our doorstep. I got everything connected but I was still having a problem. I called customer service once again and because I had their protection plan, I immediately was escalated to a customer retention rep who would help me solve my problem. That certainly sounded cool and made me feel a little special but those feelings were short lived. I followed all of their steps and went through their troubleshooting script with them and it did not solve the problem. The retention rep set up an appointment with a technician to have them come out at no charge to fix it. After I got off the phone I kept working at the problem to see if I could just figure it out and avoid having to deal with coming home for a service call. After some tinkering I did figure out the problem but fixing it only created a new problem. I called the special 800 number they had given me and punched in my special pin number and was directed right back to the same person I had already talked to. I carefully explained that I had fixed the initial problem that I had reported but that a new problem cropped up as a result and I asked them for a new solution. This was the point where everything really started to break down. No matter how carefully I explained the situation I didn’t feel like the people I was talking to were really listening and understanding what I was saying. I crossed my fingers and trusted that they would take care of it.
I took time off from work and drove home to meet the repair person. He walked in the house and told me that his work order had him fixing the original problem that I had already fixed on my own. Even after all of the explaining and updating with the rep, the technician was responding to the original problem and was not equipped or prepared to fix the new problem. He left and I made another call to my special rep. They apologized and we talked about the problem again. I explained that not only do I have years and years of experience with their equipment but that I’m actually a video expert in my field and that the nature of the problem fell right into my wheel house and that if they would just bring out the right equipment that I was specifically asking for it would fix the problem. They assured me that they would get it fixed no matter what. Another technician was scheduled but it would be a month before they could get me an appointment.
I waited patiently for four weeks but during this time something else odd started to happen. I began to get calls on my cell phone from a variety of customer service reps from the company for other people’s accounts. I would get a call from a rep who would refer to me by some strangers name and then ask me how my service call went. I would tell them that they called the wrong number and they would apologize and hang up. After this happened almost half a dozen times in a week I called in and talked to my customer service rep. I told them that the calls were not a huge deal but that I was concerned about the fact that my cell phone was in all of these other customer accounts. They told me they had no way of checking that and actually tried to make me feel like it was my fault somehow. I was not very happy and asked them if they had any way of finding my number in their system and removing it. They said that they were sure that if I would just give it time it would go away! There was nothing else I could do but ignore the calls. They did eventually stop but I still suspect that something fishy was going on there and they didn’t want to admit it to me over the phone for liability reasons. Fine, I get that but the next time I called in I was sent to a new special customer retention rep and she actually let it slip that the old person I was working with was no longer with the company. Like I said…fishy.
When we set the second service call appointment, to avoid missing any more work I had arranged to have an after-hours call with a window of 4pm to 8pm. The day of the new call arrived and I received a nice call to remind me that the technician would be coming between 4pm and 8pm. No problem. At 2pm my wife called and said that the technician was at the door and wanted to talk to me. Really? I had already used up a vacation day for an aborted service call and now I was going to have to jump in the car and speed home because the guy had arrived two hours early. I got on the phone and talked to the technician who explained to me that basically, he was there with the wrong information and could not fix it.
I was furious and not because the problem was not fixed. I was angry because the company was not listening to me. They were not trying to fix my unique problem. They were following scripts and adhering to guidelines and ignoring my requests for help. I had done some extra research using their corporate web site and had discovered the solution to my problem. They would have to install some new equipment and it would cost them some money but it was their recommended way of addressing that particular technical issue. However, every installer and rep that I talked to would only tell me that they couldn’t approve that kind of install and that someone else above them would have to make that decision. Not very empowered and it’s not what I’m used to since empowered employees are one of the strengths at Alford Media. So, I sent away yet another technician and called in to my special rep.
I was angry and frustrated and all I got was excuses. After being told over and over again that they would solve my problem not matter what, I was finally told that they could not approve the installation I was asking for. I told them to cancel the service request and I demanded a call back from a supervisor. I had figured out a work around on my own and while it was not the ideal solution, it would work just fine and I could do it myself without any outside assistance. I felt really bad for the customers out there that were not video engineers or in some other high tech field with the tools and experience to do the work themselves. I assumed they would just get blown off and be left without a properly working system.
Surprisingly, a supervisor called me back pretty quickly. I went through this entire story you see above with him and tried to let him know that I was more than disappointed by this experience and that I could not believe that rep after rep had ignored everything I had told them. He proceeded to apologize and then informed me that I probably had not communicated the situation to them properly. So if I was irritated before this comment I lost it when he said that. I informed him that not only did I communicate for a living, I was also a video professional. He got an earful about insulting customers and I told him that when he had time he might want to audit my calls to see just how specific I had been. I felt that the way I was being treated was an outrage. I distilled it down for him by letting him know that from the beginning all they had to do was admit that there was not a solution to be had. We’re sorry sir, with that box in your house we just don’t have a way of making it work the way you hoped it would. I could live with that.
These people were all being defensive and were not empowered to make the decisions that needed to be made. I was not attacking them in any way and I communicated that to them but it did not stop them from being defensive. I could hear in their voices that they were more worried about losing their jobs than helping me find a solution. It was very frustrating and really made me think about the service that we provide every day. From the front desk to the President of the company, Alford employees are empowered to do what it takes to help our customers…even if that means we have to say, “Sorry, we can’t do it that way” or “No, it won’t work this way but what if we try it this way.” I never got that from these people. Hey, the customer is not always right but we do have the right to be told that what we want may not be what we can get. Honesty and empowerment would have gone a long way in this situation. In the end I had to demand compensation for my trouble and I got something out of them. It wasn’t enough and it wasn’t really anything I cared to have but by then I was trying to make a point about the principals involved.
I told the supervisor point blank that if they didn’t offer the best product in the market that I would cancel the service. But, they do have what I want and I’ve been a loyal customer long enough to know that there are ups and downs and I have hope that the next time there is a problem I will have a better experience but I know that all companies, including Alford Media, don’t always have that luxury. What happened only reinforced to me that as a company, Alford Media Services has to continue to strive to provide great customer service by listening to our customers, determining what they really need, finding solutions to their problems, fixing our mistakes and eating some humble pie when necessary and we definitely don’t need to be on the defensive when something does go wrong. While we hope our customers feel we have the best product in the market, it is only by consistently providing excellent service, regardless of the situation, that we are able to keep them as clients and earn their continued loyalty.
Don’t Be So Defensive!
Commentary by Rich Tate
I recently had a customer service experience that ended up being one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had with a service company. I won’t name names but let’s just say that in my opinion, this company offers the best product out there in their field. For me, it’s not just that I think their products are amazing but I’ve been a customer for over 17 years. In fact, when they first started serving Dallas I owned the 5th system that was installed here. We have history and up until now, I’ve always had decent service. They are a big company and they rely on customer service reps at enormous call centers so I understand that each person I talk to is not an expert and that they have a script to follow and guidelines to adhere too but overall the service level has been more than acceptable. That is, until now.
A few more days passed and the new adapters showed up at our doorstep. I got everything connected but I was still having a problem. I called customer service once again and because I had their protection plan, I immediately was escalated to a customer retention rep who would help me solve my problem. That certainly sounded cool and made me feel a little special but those feelings were short lived. I followed all of their steps and went through their troubleshooting script with them and it did not solve the problem. The retention rep set up an appointment with a technician to have them come out at no charge to fix it. After I got off the phone I kept working at the problem to see if I could just figure it out and avoid having to deal with coming home for a service call. After some tinkering I did figure out the problem but fixing it only created a new problem. I called the special 800 number they had given me and punched in my special pin number and was directed right back to the same person I had already talked to. I carefully explained that I had fixed the initial problem that I had reported but that a new problem cropped up as a result and I asked them for a new solution. This was the point where everything really started to break down. No matter how carefully I explained the situation I didn’t feel like the people I was talking to were really listening and understanding what I was saying. I crossed my fingers and trusted that they would take care of it.
I took time off from work and drove home to meet the repair person. He walked in the house and told me that his work order had him fixing the original problem that I had already fixed on my own. Even after all of the explaining and updating with the rep, the technician was responding to the original problem and was not equipped or prepared to fix the new problem. He left and I made another call to my special rep. They apologized and we talked about the problem again. I explained that not only do I have years and years of experience with their equipment but that I’m actually a video expert in my field and that the nature of the problem fell right into my wheel house and that if they would just bring out the right equipment that I was specifically asking for it would fix the problem. They assured me that they would get it fixed no matter what. Another technician was scheduled but it would be a month before they could get me an appointment.
I waited patiently for four weeks but during this time something else odd started to happen. I began to get calls on my cell phone from a variety of customer service reps from the company for other people’s accounts. I would get a call from a rep who would refer to me by some strangers name and then ask me how my service call went. I would tell them that they called the wrong number and they would apologize and hang up. After this happened almost half a dozen times in a week I called in and talked to my customer service rep. I told them that the calls were not a huge deal but that I was concerned about the fact that my cell phone was in all of these other customer accounts. They told me they had no way of checking that and actually tried to make me feel like it was my fault somehow. I was not very happy and asked them if they had any way of finding my number in their system and removing it. They said that they were sure that if I would just give it time it would go away! There was nothing else I could do but ignore the calls. They did eventually stop but I still suspect that something fishy was going on there and they didn’t want to admit it to me over the phone for liability reasons. Fine, I get that but the next time I called in I was sent to a new special customer retention rep and she actually let it slip that the old person I was working with was no longer with the company. Like I said…fishy.
When we set the second service call appointment, to avoid missing any more work I had arranged to have an after-hours call with a window of 4pm to 8pm. The day of the new call arrived and I received a nice call to remind me that the technician would be coming between 4pm and 8pm. No problem. At 2pm my wife called and said that the technician was at the door and wanted to talk to me. Really? I had already used up a vacation day for an aborted service call and now I was going to have to jump in the car and speed home because the guy had arrived two hours early. I got on the phone and talked to the technician who explained to me that basically, he was there with the wrong information and could not fix it.
I was furious and not because the problem was not fixed. I was angry because the company was not listening to me. They were not trying to fix my unique problem. They were following scripts and adhering to guidelines and ignoring my requests for help. I had done some extra research using their corporate web site and had discovered the solution to my problem. They would have to install some new equipment and it would cost them some money but it was their recommended way of addressing that particular technical issue. However, every installer and rep that I talked to would only tell me that they couldn’t approve that kind of install and that someone else above them would have to make that decision. Not very empowered and it’s not what I’m used to since empowered employees are one of the strengths at Alford Media. So, I sent away yet another technician and called in to my special rep.
I was angry and frustrated and all I got was excuses. After being told over and over again that they would solve my problem not matter what, I was finally told that they could not approve the installation I was asking for. I told them to cancel the service request and I demanded a call back from a supervisor. I had figured out a work around on my own and while it was not the ideal solution, it would work just fine and I could do it myself without any outside assistance. I felt really bad for the customers out there that were not video engineers or in some other high tech field with the tools and experience to do the work themselves. I assumed they would just get blown off and be left without a properly working system.
Surprisingly, a supervisor called me back pretty quickly. I went through this entire story you see above with him and tried to let him know that I was more than disappointed by this experience and that I could not believe that rep after rep had ignored everything I had told them. He proceeded to apologize and then informed me that I probably had not communicated the situation to them properly. So if I was irritated before this comment I lost it when he said that. I informed him that not only did I communicate for a living, I was also a video professional. He got an earful about insulting customers and I told him that when he had time he might want to audit my calls to see just how specific I had been. I felt that the way I was being treated was an outrage. I distilled it down for him by letting him know that from the beginning all they had to do was admit that there was not a solution to be had. We’re sorry sir, with that box in your house we just don’t have a way of making it work the way you hoped it would. I could live with that.
These people were all being defensive and were not empowered to make the decisions that needed to be made. I was not attacking them in any way and I communicated that to them but it did not stop them from being defensive. I could hear in their voices that they were more worried about losing their jobs than helping me find a solution. It was very frustrating and really made me think about the service that we provide every day. From the front desk to the President of the company, Alford employees are empowered to do what it takes to help our customers…even if that means we have to say, “Sorry, we can’t do it that way” or “No, it won’t work this way but what if we try it this way.” I never got that from these people. Hey, the customer is not always right but we do have the right to be told that what we want may not be what we can get. Honesty and empowerment would have gone a long way in this situation. In the end I had to demand compensation for my trouble and I got something out of them. It wasn’t enough and it wasn’t really anything I cared to have but by then I was trying to make a point about the principals involved.
I told the supervisor point blank that if they didn’t offer the best product in the market that I would cancel the service. But, they do have what I want and I’ve been a loyal customer long enough to know that there are ups and downs and I have hope that the next time there is a problem I will have a better experience but I know that all companies, including Alford Media, don’t always have that luxury. What happened only reinforced to me that as a company, Alford Media Services has to continue to strive to provide great customer service by listening to our customers, determining what they really need, finding solutions to their problems, fixing our mistakes and eating some humble pie when necessary and we definitely don’t need to be on the defensive when something does go wrong. While we hope our customers feel we have the best product in the market, it is only by consistently providing excellent service, regardless of the situation, that we are able to keep them as clients and earn their continued loyalty.