Tricklin

This past week, I've had 3 separate instances of absolutely terrible customer service. Let me repeat that: I have had three instances of terrible customer service in one week (7 days)!!!

Instance 1: Picking Up A Package

8:00 AM - Since I mistakenly filled in the address to be delivered incorrectly, I had to go to the depot to pick up the package. I walk into the building, and see signs that say "Have ID ready". I fill out a form that asks some information: Name, Address, is address same address as on your ID?

• Customer Service Rep: Do you have any proof that the address you've filled in is the address where you live?
• Me: No.
• CSR: We can't give you your package unless you have proof. Anything articles of mail will do.
• Me: When I called ahead, there was no mention of me needing to provide proof of address.
• CSR: I'm sorry sir, that's policy.

So, I leave. Considering I have entered the wrong address info in the first place, I figured that I should change it when I get into work. That way, when I take in proof that I live where I live, the package will also have this address on it. So I do so. Then I call the depot and ask them if I can have them hold the package for me as I will pick it up after work.

5:15 PM - I'm back. I have a print-out of my paycheck, which happens to have my new address on it. I proceed to fill out all the necessary form, again, and hand it to them to find our package. My wife is with me this time.

• My Wife (after we've waited 10 minutes): Yes, we've been here a while, and were wondering if anyone was looking for our package.
• Different CSR: I'm looking in the system now, but can't seem to find it. She looked under my last name, and address, and nothing came up
• DCSR: Do you have your tracking number?
• Me: No. (yet another thing that I didn't have on me, as it's never mentioned anywhere that I should have it).
  Since it was an online order, we called a friend of ours and had her get online, find the number, and read it to us.
• DCSR: (after entering in the tracking #) It's not here.
• Me: Could you tell me where it is?
• DCSR: It's not my job to find out where your package is.
• Me: Don't you work for [shipping company name here]? Isn't a tracking # used so that you can figure out exactly where a package is?
  At this point, my voice has gotten a bit louder and my behavior slightly more hostile. So, a manager steps in and asks what the issue happens to be. We tell him, and he says he'll go in back and check to see where the package is.
• Manager: Your package is on a truck right now to be delivered.
• Me: Even though I called this morning and specifically said I'd be here to pick it up? Is it on the premisis?
• Mgr: Yes, but it's on a truck. We can't empty the truck just to get a package out.

Instance 2: Cable Outage

7:00 PM - Call up the cable company to let them know our cable is out.

• Me: Yes, our cable seems to be out.
• Telephone Representative: Let me check to see if anyone else in your area has had problems... Yes, it seems as though a number of people are having the same problems. We're sending someone out immediately.
• Me: Thank you.

7:30 AM (the next day) - Cable is still out. I get on the phone again.

• Me: Yes, I called last night as our cable was out, and it seems as though it still is.
• TR: Let me check the status... It seems as though the outage has been resolved.
• Me: Ummm. We still don't have cable or internet.
• TR: Well, we can schedule an appointment to have someone come out. The earliest we have is tomorrow.
• Me: I can't take tomorrow off. I'm already taking today off (as I have to wait for a package).
• TR: How about Saturday?
• Me: How about today? We called last night. Our cable is still out this morning, shouldn't we take priority?
• TR: The earliest we can have someone out there is tomorrow.
• Me: I guess I don't understand. When I called last night, you sent someone out to fix our cable. Well, the job isn't done.
• TR: I'm sorry sir, but the system won't allow me to schedule an appointment for you for today.
• Me: Can I please speak to your manager?
• TR: Sure, but my manager will have to call you.
• Me: Why is that?
• TR: Because she is on an external phone line
• Me: Fine. I know full well that this call won't be happening. And I was right, it never came.

Instance 3: The Telephone Banker

• Me: note: I have made this very same phone call for the past 4 months. Hi, I'm calling because one of my accounts keeps getting charged an "online bill paying fee", and this is not the account I use to pay my bills [online]. This has only started happening since you guys bought out the bank I was with originally.
• Telephone Banker: Let me see. It says here that this is a basic checking account, and there is a service charge to use online bill paying.
• Me: I understand that, which is why I use a different account to pay my bills online.
• TB: The thing is sir, this account is a "basic checking" account, and will be charged a fee for online bill payment.
• Me: Right, which is why I don't use this account to pay my bills.
• TB: You'll have to go to the "Customer Center" to change your account settings to have your "free checking" account be your bill paying account.

  note: the previous 3 bankers had never mentioned that I could do this online, and after looking through the online interface myself, I couldn't find a place that would allow for this either. It turns out, this option is buried in the navigation, and wouldn't be obvious to find unless someone helped you to find it.

• Me: Now that I've changed this, could you please cancel the $4.95 service fee?
• TB: I'm sorry sir, the system won't allow me to cancel this fee.
• Me: So you're telling me that even though none of this is my fault, I will still be charged this fee because "the system won't allow it"?
• TB: You could try and go to your local branch and have them change this.
• Me: I need to go to a local branch to have them cancel an ONLINE service charge?

What Is Wrong With Customer Service Today

In the article "5 Secrets Of Good Customer Service" by Albert E. Schindler, he claims the 5 Secrets are as follows:

• Build business to customer loyalty: "Yep. With this kind of service, I'm definitely going to be sticking with you."
• Provide true customer service:
  

  provide true customer service. In today’s market environment, service has become a cliché and it seems like “everyone’s doing it.” So, if everyone is doing it, why not jump ahead of the wolf pack by providing even more creative, personalized service to your customers than your competitors can?

  This never happened.

• The Customer Is always Right: That doesn't seem to be the case in any of these situations. I couldn't convince anyone that I was right.
• Be honest with your customers: I guess this is honest "The system won't allow it".
• Educate your staff to be equally as concerned about your customers as you are: I somehow feel that none of these people cared very much about my issues, and can almost certainly gaurantee that they are told to handle situations such as these the way they handled them.

I can't help but feel that company policy hinders customer service.
"I'm sorry sir, we can't do this for you as we require such and such."
"It isn't my job to do so on and so forth."
"I'm sorry sir, but the system won't allow it."

It's so hard to believe how difficult it is to find decent customer service. In each of the above mentioned scenarios, I was able to find resolve. However, in each scenario it involved an additional call, or an additional trip.

• Scenario 1: The manager had to step in
• Scenario 2: I had to call back and get a different representative, and was able to schedule an appointment for that day.
• Scenario 3: I had to call back and get a different representative, and the service fee was cancelled.

Why couldn't this have happened on my first call, or during my first trip? Are customer service representatives told to deny everything at least once, or until the customer is persistent enough to finally get some answers? Is big business so big that they don't need to care about each and every customer? I know I'm not the only one who shares similar experiences. It's just so frustrating. This was all in a span of one week. None of which were related. That means that this is a completely common occurence. Now I ask, "Where has cusomer service gone?"