Own your customer’s problem
So. The last two days I had a bit of an issue with my phone. Well, it’s not exactly my phone which is actually a breeze to use (iPhone 6s), it’s my phone service provider, GO.
You see, I’ve had a corporate subscription with GO for years. I’ve now left my previous company to join a startup. In the startup we use another supplier instead of GO which means we need to do a transition so I can keep my eight-year-old number. So what should have happened is the following:
Previous company cancels corporate subscription and downgrades it to a prepaid. I use a prepaid until the transfer between new supplier and GO is made. I keep my number and everyone is happy (well, maybe not GO, but who cares?).
The problem is that right now I can’t call from my phone. Why? Well, my subscription is apparently cancelled, but when I try to top up the phone it doesn’t allow me to because according to GO’s system, I’m still on the subscription. But if I’m still on the subscription, why can’t I make phone calls?
This phone limbo is rather frustrating so I’ve called GO’s customer service twice. The reply, after a long pointless talk where I’ve done my best to contain my rage, has been that the errand will be put with a technician. Since this has happened twice, I’m thinking it wasn’t done at all the first time.
My problem here, and the reason I headlined this post “Own your customer’s problem” and not “F##%#”!& GO, you mu#%&#”&s” which is a bit closer to how I really feel, is that I get the sense that the customer representative just wants to get rid of me and put the problem over to tech (with the high risk that it gets forgotten, lost and I have to call them again very soon). Not once do I get the feeling that they understand how frustrating it is not to be able to make phone calls and that they will do their utmost to help me.
I’m not an important person, I can surely live without being able to call for a few days. That’s not the point. The point is that great customer service should make you feel important and should make you feel like they understand your problem and won’t leave a stone unturned until it’s fixed.
GO customer service left no such impression. Maybe they’re measured on how many calls they can respond to and not how many problems they can solve or how many customers they will make genuinely happy.
I think the real basics of keeping customers content is making them able to actually use the service you provide. It’s definitely not rocket science. But so many companies fail in this, most basic, of respects.
Originally published at jonaswrites.com on November 28, 2015.
