Help Me Help You
Yesterday I wrote about my frustrations with various technical and customer support services. And since then I've had two very different experiences trying to resolve the issues with those companies.
If you read the comments section from yesterday's post, you'll see that a representative from Comcast contacted me to explain the cause of the problem I was having. I've long wondered why some of America's larger corporations don't have people responsible for doing this and was delighted to get the response. It's a simple thing, but I really appreciated it. Even though it will be some time before my issue is resolved, I now have a reason and a rough expectation for when it will be fixed. That's all I'm asking.
I wish I had the same praise for McAfee. After another 45 minutes chatting with their online technical support, I'm still unable to install the software on my computer. And that's mainly because the server that hosts their downloads is down. It would have been great if he had told me that at the beginning of the conversation when I explained the problem, again. But instead he had me repeatedly try to download something that I never had a prayer of getting. I don't know how he suddenly figured out at the end of the session that this problem had been going on for several hours, but he didn't convey it as if it were a sudden epiphany. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't know, but it sounded more like a "oh, by the way, I forgot to mention..."
Communication is sometimes a lot harder than it should be, even inside of the same company. But being able to communicate timely information to your customers, the people that buy the products that keep you in business, goes a long way to keeping your customers happy. It took just a few minutes, but Comcast has made me much happier, just by addressing my concerns. On the other hand, McAfee completely disregarded my concerns, and my time, and I'm ready to walk away from my prepaid subscription with them and get another virus program for my computer.
One other example. Earlier this spring I bought a lot of furniture. After I had found the bedroom suite I wanted, I contacted the manufacturer via their website form to find out where I could by it locally. Instead of providing me with a list of retailers in my area, the response informed me only that the particular bed I wanted was discontinued. It did not thank me for my interest in their product. It did not tell my where I could buy the other products they still made. It did absolutely nothing to encourage me to purchase their furniture. In fact, if I hadn't been so determined to have that bed, I probably would have bought from another company just to prove my point.
Make it easy, and pleasant, for people to do business with you. There is always somebody else willing to sell your customers the same service, maybe even at a lower price. Don't give them any other reason to go looking for that alternative.
If you read the comments section from yesterday's post, you'll see that a representative from Comcast contacted me to explain the cause of the problem I was having. I've long wondered why some of America's larger corporations don't have people responsible for doing this and was delighted to get the response. It's a simple thing, but I really appreciated it. Even though it will be some time before my issue is resolved, I now have a reason and a rough expectation for when it will be fixed. That's all I'm asking.
I wish I had the same praise for McAfee. After another 45 minutes chatting with their online technical support, I'm still unable to install the software on my computer. And that's mainly because the server that hosts their downloads is down. It would have been great if he had told me that at the beginning of the conversation when I explained the problem, again. But instead he had me repeatedly try to download something that I never had a prayer of getting. I don't know how he suddenly figured out at the end of the session that this problem had been going on for several hours, but he didn't convey it as if it were a sudden epiphany. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn't know, but it sounded more like a "oh, by the way, I forgot to mention..."
Communication is sometimes a lot harder than it should be, even inside of the same company. But being able to communicate timely information to your customers, the people that buy the products that keep you in business, goes a long way to keeping your customers happy. It took just a few minutes, but Comcast has made me much happier, just by addressing my concerns. On the other hand, McAfee completely disregarded my concerns, and my time, and I'm ready to walk away from my prepaid subscription with them and get another virus program for my computer.
One other example. Earlier this spring I bought a lot of furniture. After I had found the bedroom suite I wanted, I contacted the manufacturer via their website form to find out where I could by it locally. Instead of providing me with a list of retailers in my area, the response informed me only that the particular bed I wanted was discontinued. It did not thank me for my interest in their product. It did not tell my where I could buy the other products they still made. It did absolutely nothing to encourage me to purchase their furniture. In fact, if I hadn't been so determined to have that bed, I probably would have bought from another company just to prove my point.
Make it easy, and pleasant, for people to do business with you. There is always somebody else willing to sell your customers the same service, maybe even at a lower price. Don't give them any other reason to go looking for that alternative.
Comments
As a person who works in customer service/sales, it blows my mind what other companies get away with. I am not perfect, I realize, but I would be totally fired for responding to customers in the same way as I've experienced from other companies in not-so-different fields.