Thursday, November 20, 2014

Customer service is not for sale

I probably shouldn't be writing this while I'm annoyed, frustrated, angry, disappointed... you name the less-than-positive emotion that goes with not getting what you pay for.

When I call tech support, it's because I have an issue with your product or service. I'm a fairly resourceful person and can, the vast majority of the time, figure out the solution myself. Regardless, calling tech support is not something most people do just for kicks. It's because they're a customer of yours and they have an issue that only you can help solve.

So when I do break down and gird myself for the endless hold times and bad music associated with calling tech support, do not make the first 6 options something about sales. At that point, I'm really not terribly interested in adding any of your services, since what you currently provide me isn't working.

Another thought: If you know 'help' content on your site is wrong, fix it. Don't just apologize for it and say that's someone else's department. And speaking of departments, do I really need to be transferred 5 times during the same call? Did I not explain myself clearly enough with the problem, which was repeated verbatim to each of you?

Automation can be a good thing. I know some people prefer it because it lessens the chance of error, which is always introduced when a human is involved. Human error is a natural way of life. But it's customer service which differentiates you from your competitors. Don't drive your customers away. It's much more cost-effective to keep them than to replace them.

<rant over>

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