Customer service is an interesting proposition.
We used to be able to ring Telstra to get a lesson on how not to do it, but to the corporate giant’s credit, they’ve taught themselves to do it better.
So have most banks, to the extent they’ll personalise your experience, listen to your problems and find a way within the system offer a solution which they feel works for you.
Bravo, people!
In the past week, I called a different well-known brand. The person at the other end of the phone told me how the system worked, and that’s how it was. No bend. No attempt to discover how the system could be used to benefit the scenario before them.
“Well, the system has failed me,” I said. “And it would seem that the person who explained the system to me has ultimately failed me too.”
You see, that’s the problem with systems when they’re not built to bend. It only takes one person in the chain to mess things up for “the system” to become an ailment to effective customer service.
The upshot of my phone conversation was that the thing which went wrong was another department’s fault. Usually is.
I was put through to the other department, where it was explained to me that it was another person’s fault. Usually is.
They then promised to call me back when they found that person. Didn’t happen. Turns out the person has left the company.
Now, I’m left with a bitter taste in my mouth about that brand and its inflexible “system” and how its governance doesn’t care that people and their circumstances are not widgets in a production line.
In a smaller company, I’d have asked to speak to someone who gave a damn. I’d explain what had gone wrong, she’d explain that she couldn’t change the past, she’d apologise, and we’d move forward with a solution.
It’s the very reason I prefer to support local small businesses. Not that they necessarily do things better or different. Let’s be honest, quite often they don’t.
Rather, it’s that they provide me with the type of service that makes me feel they’re willing to bend.
They’re not tied to a structure or system that nullifies a solution. They’ll hear me out. They’ll take the time to see whether there’s a better way to do things. They’ll explain exactly why they do things the way they do, so maybe I’ll better understand that my way is bollocks.
Whether there is or isn’t a better way doesn’t matter. I’ve left the conversation knowing I’ve been treated as an individual. With feelings.
