Points Of Presence

By Laura Guevin
Editorial Director, BiometriTech

Before I begin this week's column, which I can tell you upfront is going to be more of a diatribe on the poor state of customer service than a well-researched essay, let me say that the job of a customer service representative is extremely difficult, and I wouldn't want to do it. Yes, there are some ineffective and even rude CSRs out there, but the majority of them are friendly and strive to do their jobs well. It's the companies they represent that stink.

It's increasingly amazing to me that the huge advancements in contact center technology that have been made over the years -- knowledge management, data mining, unified communications, and integration with Internet technologies and communications mechanisms -- have seemingly had no impact on most of my customer service transactions. Let me go back to my favorite example of inadequate customer relations bordering on harassment: An unnamed telephone company from which I once purchased cellular and long-distance services. (For a related rant on this company's ineptitude in the cellular service department, read my previous column.) In that column, dated December 14, 2001, I discuss changing my long-distance provider from the company in question to the fabulous and highly underrated Working Assets.

Well, it's now six months later, and I just received my latest, and hopefully last phone bill statement from the previous long-distance provider. That's right folks, it's taken them six months and numerous angry phone calls to properly settle and close my account (if it indeed is properly closed -- I'm not 100 percent certain that's the case). And each time I called them to complain about the latest bill I'd received, the CSR inquired about why I had changed my provider and whether there was anything they could do to persuade me to switch back to them. By the last phone call, I told them there was no way on earth I'd ever use their services again -- I don't care if they offered me half a cent per minute rates!

MISTAKES TOO COMMONLY MADE
After signing up with my new long-distance provider, I called the toll-free number for customer service conveniently printed on the front of my old provider's phone bill. What I was greeted with was a recording stating that the number was not in service, and that I should call another number. Calling that number launched me into auto-attendant hell, and it was clear I wasn't going to reach a live person at 8 p.m. EST. So I had to search the company's Web site, dig through contact numbers, and find one that worked and would connect me with a live person. After waiting through about 20 minutes of hold time, I was finally connected to a CSR. The exchange went something like this:

CSR: "How can we help you today?"
Me: "I just signed up with a new long-distance company and I'd like to cancel my service with you."
CSR: "We're sorry to hear that. Was there a particular reason why you chose a different service?"
Me: "Better rates, free ice cream every month, and a portion of my payments being donated to non-profit organizations."
CSR: "Can we offer you a better rate to persuade you to stay with us?"
Me <thinking>:"Maybe if they'd offered the better rate two months ago I wouldn't have switched."
Me <out loud>:"No thanks, I'd just like to cancel my service."
CSR: "Unfortunately, I don't think I'm set up to do that for you. I'll have to transfer you to the billing department."
Me: "The billing department is closed after 5 p.m. I just spent 20 minutes on hold waiting to get through to you. I just want to cancel my service."
CSR: "Let me see what I can do." <several seconds of pause> "Okay, I can take care of this."

So, after several minutes of questioning and what sounded like typing on his end, he told me everything was taken care of and I would receive one more bill with my final charges on it. Great. Only, the next bill I received, in January, was incorrect. It didn't show that my service had been cancelled in late December, and showed charges for another full month of service, even though no calls had been placed since mid-month. And, the toll-free customer service number printed on it was still incorrect.

However, I knew which number to call this time and did so, waiting through a shorter hold time before getting through to a CSR. I gave her my account number, and then she asked me how she could help me. Let me pause here. Because my company covers the contact center industry, I know that CSRs for major companies like the one I was dealing with have a computer in front of them running some type of customer relationship management (CRM)/data management software. And that software contains information about my previous transactions with the company. At the very least, it's a computer-generated log of the calls. But typically it contains more detailed information about the transactions, entered by the CSR. Yet, nearly every time I call a company with a problem, they seemingly have no record of my previous communications with them, and it's like starting from scratch. Are they trained to play dumb as a mechanism for somehow placating angry customers? I have to wonder.

In any event, after explaining the situation to this CSR, she said she had indeed received my final payment for the account, and that the account hadn't been closed properly the first time. She could fix this, and would zero out my account. I'd be receiving a final bill next month showing a zero balance. Thank you, have a nice day. Well, February's bill still showed me as an active customer, and my monthly charge was still there. I call again, same deal, but now I'm getting testy. The CSR promises to credit my account, and a final bill will be issued in March. The March bill arrives. It does indeed show a credit -- but it's one cent shy of a full credit. ONE CENT. So, the bill reflects a balance of one cent owed to this incompetent company. I'm now beginning to feel like they're intentionally stringing me along in the hopes that I'll just give up and switch my service back to them. Never!

I call again. Same routine, only this time the CSR is extremely apologetic. Although he doesn't own up to seeing the call log (I have to give him the same spiel explaining my situation), he obviously has some pity for me. He promises to take care of it. He makes good on his word, as my April bill shows a zero balance. And my May bill too. I'm ignoring these bills, in the hopes that they'll stop coming. Since I don't owe any money, the company can't threaten me with a collection agency. They really don't have any way of making me call them anymore, unless they decide to start charging me once again.

PLACING THE BURDEN ON THE CUSTOMER
In the case described above, the onus was completely on me, the customer, to contact the provider and ensure that my billing statement was corrected. Otherwise, I'd still be getting billed for a service the provider has no legal authority to provide me, and risking collection action if I had avoided paying those bills. Sometimes though, even paying a legitimate bill can turn into a customer service nightmare -- and the onus is still on the customer to correct the mistake.

That was the case recently with my good friend, who bought a new car last year and dutifully signed on for her first car loan. My friend is extremely organized and pays all her bills on time, so she was somewhat surprised when she got a late notice this winter from her loan company. Surprised because she had mailed them a check over a week before. The loan company claimed they never received the check, and she ended up having to send them another check and pay for a stop order on the first one. Things happen, and it's completely feasible that the first check got lost in the mail.

But it wasn't so feasible when my friend got another late notice this week, which was really the impetus for this customer service tirade. This time though, in addition to the check being mailed on time, something else had happened -- it had been cashed. According to my friend, the CSR she spoke with about the situation was not apologetic in the slightest, and told her she would have to provide "proof" that the check had been cashed, in the form of a copy of the cancelled check. This would involve waiting for her bank statement to come, which was due in a week or so, or paying for the bank to reproduce the cancelled check from microfilm -- something my friend was not about to do. When she mentioned to the CSR that she had done everything correctly on her end, and that it wasn't her fault the billing department wasn't properly tracking payments, the CSR showed little sympathy, and would in no way relate the two incidents -- clearly the first was not the loan company's mistake, and the second probably wasn't either. He even went so far as to suggest that perhaps she should double-check and make sure had actually sent a check, even though she told him she had called the bank and they had proof it had been cashed. He made her feel as though she had done something wrong, which only succeeded in angering her. My friend is now shopping for a new loan company.

Customer service representatives are supposed to be on the customer's side, they are not supposed to be instigators, or rude, or defensive (or worse yet, offensive, as in the case of the outbound agent from a home security company who telemarketed me during dinner, then laughed at me after I politely told him I wasn't interested in purchasing his system. "What, you don't need home security?" he chided). Yet oftentimes they end up being just that, and most of those times I believe it's the fault of the companies employing them. Whether these companies are instructing their CSRs to run interference in a sad attempt to retain fleeing customers, or whether they're instructing them not to disclose what they know about previous interactions with those customers, they are doing a grave disservice.

If I had been able to cancel my account with that long-distance provider on the first try, I would definitely have considered switching back to them down the road. Now I will never use their services again. Who wants to feel victimized by a company you're paying to service you? And if my friend's loan company had projected a feeling of empathy and consideration for her through their CSR, instead of being accusatory and gruff, they could look forward to several more years of interest collection on her auto loan. I don't understand the logic behind these actions, which are clearly company policies for CSRs dealing with customers. I only understand that it's bad business.

Laura Guevin is the editorial director of BiometriTech, an online magazine and newsletter covering biometric technologies and products. She welcomes your comments at lguevin@tmcnet.com.