Great customer service isn't slight of hand. It takes effort. It can take time. And when calling to resolve a billing issue, you might even be put on hold.
(back story) In our house, completing 5th grade and getting ready for 6th, middle school, you get a cell phone. Not a new one, not an iphone, but one that has been hanging about the house. Functional, tough, used, resilient.
The little one is not so little; yes I must admit it. My baby is growing, and this is the summer of her first phone. From the phone draw, she picked an old phone we acquired from a friend; a mini pc if you will. I called our provider. We bought the chip, added the line, and we are good. Or so I thought.
Fast forward to yesterday. As I'm about to head out to work I will squeeze in one more job and go through the mail. I open the bill. And for her supposed $9.99 additional line, we've been charged $150.
Looking through the bill I see they have established a whole new line of service, with a bigger data package than even I get -- and I'm the momma. (Truth be told I use less data than the girls, but we will leave that one alone.)
I was angry, flabbergasted, and knock me over with a feather shocked.Twenty minutes before I had to leave for work, this call would have to wait until afterwards. But I couldn't.
The call made. Pressed zero to speak with a representative. And when asked how I was, I replied -- Angry, but hoping that passes soon.
I explained the situation. And as the representative listened, I could have been harsh, bitter, nasty, threatened to change carriers. But really what would that have accomplished? The woman on the other end of the call is Customer Service. If I wanted service and good service, I would have to do two things:
1. Continue to explain the situation, politely, clearly and concisely. No extra nasty, finger pointing, accusatory words. She's not in accounts management, and if she was, so what. Mistakes happen.
2. I would have to let her do her job. Allow her the time to look at our account and sort through what in all likelihood was a missed button on a computer screen.
Bottom line: Working together, and not as adversaries, the situation was quickly resolved. Our bill was adjusted. A customer service callback is scheduled, and I wasn't late for work.
Customer Service: Let them Work. Let them Live.
3 comments:
The old proverb... you get more bees with honey than with vinegar. Well done Patty. Not even late for work. How cool is that?
And sometimes honey doesn't work, but it doesn't matter. What we do matters. How we choose to handle uncomfortable situations matters.
Glad to see that you were the bigger person when dealing with a difficult situation. Yes, our babies are no longer babies- we are off to get (hopefully) Tim's learner's permit.
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