Customer Service - Make or Break A Business

To Service Customers Or Not?

Many businesses have stated that customer service is their top priority. While some have proven this to be true, many of them have no idea what customers are and what customer service is all about. Lets not get on the “The customer is always right!” bandwagon, because this has been proven to be incorrect more often than I would care to remember. There are, however, basic principles that any business or person should be well aware of when it comes to treating your clients well.

The Bad, The Worse, The Hellish Nightmare

Most people can remember at least one example of an incident when they gave a business their hard earned money and ended up being treated like the back end of a pig with diarrhea. I have often heard of several complaints like these being related to the Utilities, Telecommunications, Banking and Governmental sectors. Many other service industries have these issues as well but time is limited. Some popular complaints include, but are not limited to:

• Applications for permits, etc.
• Renewal of permits, etc.
• Over charging for non-services
• Loss of service
• Overseas call centers
• Random fees, etc.

A Spectacular Lack Of Finance

I saw, first hand, several banks try to explain to customers why they can legally steal their money, with no prior notification required. No joke. My personal favorite is the fact that several of these financial institutions require customers to provide multiple forms of Government issued picture identification, proof of address, proof of employment, proof of marriage in some cases, and armed with all of that information, they perform transactions on the wrong customer’s account. Anytime someone has your account information on their computer screen but needs to see your ID again…sorry about that.

You would never find another occasion where you have to prove so convincingly to someone that you physically exist. Buried deep within this kind of practice is a certain level of discrimination against a certain class of customer.

Typically, the requested forms of picture ID include a Government ID card, a driver’s license, or a passport. These requirements will also vary from company to company. I never knew of any Government to issue half of an ID card, but I’m still young perhaps. Since most of us are given at least one form of Government ID at birth (picture versions at least around adulthood), I guess if you don’t ever plan to or can’t afford to drive a vehicle or travel overseas… you’re screwed.

Proof of employment usually means you cannot be “self-employed” since, as one bank official explained to me, you may be using their facilities to launder money. So you can only go and work for someone else, or… you’re screwed.

The proof of address is most interesting because it seems you need to either be able to prove ownership of some property or have certain “utilities” or other bills in your name (alone) registered at that address. So if you live in a household of five (5) and there are only four(4) utilities, each in someone else’s name… you’re screwed.

What makes this more of a scam than anything else is that most of these companies claim to be “going green”, and no longer mail anything to you: bills, statements, cards, nothing. So how can you produce something that was never given to you in the first place? Try using a bill or statement “printed from the internet” as proof of address and see what happens.

Just in case you didn’t know, you can’t use a bill or statement from the company you are currently transacting business with as proof of address. It needs to come from another entity that probably doesn’t believe you exist either. Go figure.

All Circuits Are Busy

Some telecommunications service providers regularly try to convince their customers that a megabyte of data used on the cellphone is different to the megabyte of data used for billing purposes. Business and residential internet package “speeds” seem to change definition before and / or after the signup process has been completed. Good old bait and switch, courtesy of that contract you signed.

If someone sold you a car that could carry “up to four tires”, but it had enough bolts to keep only one installed, would you want to keep that “package” or maybe upgrade to get a second gas pedal added to your bundle?

One of the better experiences is when they change plans for no reason whatsoever. You may have decided that a certain plan suits you. Then one day you wake up and hear that it no longer exists, but a new plan with less data, fewer minutes, and a much higher price tag has replaced it. Fear not though. Several years later they will bring back that old plan under a new name, just to repeat the cycle again. Try not to get fooled again.

Government

Hey…what can you do? Moving on.

Diamonds In The Rough

As with most other things in life, there is still some goodness to be found when you least expect it. I personally know, and have been made aware of, several people who can melt the hardest hearts with the quality of customer service they provide.

There is a lady who sold me some eye-wear several years ago. She was so patient, helpful and genuinely concerned about the quality of my final decision that I wanted to buy the whole shelf, but some people said that I can’t. Nevertheless, whenever I needed to make such purchases again, she has always been my go to person.

Another experience I had was in a popular shoe store in North America. I was greeted at the door by a guy that looked like he and the rest of the SEAL Team were on a break. He took me to the section I required, supplied and fitted the shoes. Then I took a stroll to check the fit. When I returned, I told him that I like them but the right foot felt a bit tight. Maybe it was how they were laced up I figured.

Before I could take the shoes off, the brother man was on a walkie talkie to someone in the back room firing details about the required style and size shoes. Another guy appeared as if he was in the opening scene of Ninja Assassin and before I could blink twice, the first guy already fitted and laced the new pair. At this point I realized the whole SEAL thing wasn’t just a look. These guys took it to a whole new level.

I didn’t even bother with a stroll. I bought the shoes, thanked the brotherhood and have been pleased about the purchase ever since.

At The End Of The Day

Everyone will have a different experience dealing with businesses and their products or services. The one thing I believe most people can agree on is that, with the exception of monopolies or duopolies, the level of service you get plays a major role in your decision to do business again in the future with that entity.

You can hardly go wrong with a customer if you are honest, patient, and above all, provide the product or service they require in a manner that benefits them. There are very few cases where a person will intentionally spend their precious funds on something just to get a lot of rough treatment. Particularly when the cost alone seems more like an investment.

Since death and taxes are the only guarantees in life, try to have the absolute best experience while paying your taxes. Life is too short for any other kind.