I don’t give businesses my direct phone number. I have been an avid Google Voice customer for years, and I use that number for all business transactions. Besides being a wonderful gatekeeper of spam calls, it is the only way you can leave a voice message for me (I do not have voicemail on my cell phone). If you have a legitimate reason for reaching out to me, why on earth would you not leave a message? Even if you aren’t able to leave the content of the message, you could at least leave the name of your company so I’ll know to answer the phone next time. I don’t get it.
Part one of this week’s rant was inspired by an interaction I had that went something like this (after I’d called a number back that I happened to see in my missed call log about 12 times over the course of a few days AND googling it to see it was for student loan company):
Me: I have a lot of missed calls from this number but I don’t have an account with you, and no one has left a message.
CSR: Is XYZ your child?
Me: Yes
CSR: We needed to clarify this one thing. Is insert minute point here, something like is it okay if we change Elm St. to Elm Street?
Me: *scratching head* Yes
CSR: Thanks, that’s what we needed. Thank you so much for calling us back!
No explanation as to why they couldn’t send an email, contact the kid, contact the school, or just. leave. a. message.
Ugh.
Part 2
An Open Letter to Anyone Accepting Payment for Goods and/or Services:
Customer service is a vital part of the customer experience. It is one thing to know that on a surface level, and quite another to feel it in the core of your being and truly make it part of your core values and have every employee working towards giving a great experience. Some companies *cough* Comcast *cough* are so big and have such a monopoly in a particular area they really don’t care about the customer. However, if you aren’t reaching the sales you aim to reach, and you know your product/service is great and useful, priced competitively, etc., you may want to take a look at your customer service.
Everyone can have a bad day, and I am typically forgiving of the occasional mishap, or failure to see eye-to-eye on a service issue. But if I repeatedly have issues with your service, not only am I going to take my dollars elsewhere to shop if at all possible, but I am going to tell EVERYONE I know not to bother about using you. For the CEOs of long-established companies that are still struggling to get with the times, yes, things have the potential to go viral so quickly now, it’s better to err on the side of caution. One would think this would be obvious, but here we are.
If you are a small business owner, it is even more imperative to get this part right. The customer isn’t always right, but unless the customer is being unreasonable, you should not alienate them from your business either. You can never be sure who the customer may be able to reach, with positive or negative recommendations for your business. How many times have you listened to someone talk about how bad a service experience they received with a shop? If you are anything like me, it probably made you not want to visit the shop at all.
This letter is not meant to bash any one company in particular, but rather to remind everyone customer service is important. While a lot of people are being more deliberate with where they choose to put their money, you should try to make sure they give it to you.
Lovingly,
Miss C, Consumer