“Customer Service” is officially an oxymoron.
OR
How Cingular Wireless managed to throw away two perfectly good customers.
"Customer Service" has been in its death throes for a while. I know that, but for some reason it still ticks me off. Last weekend really took the cake for me. I’m completely sick of big companies offering horrid customer service. I’ve been a customer of AT&T Wireless (which has subsequently been bought by Cingular) for four years. At the end of my first two year contract, AT&T called me and said "your contract is almost up, what can we offer you to keep your business?" Needless to say, I was impressed. And I walked away with a killer phone plan and a new two-year contract. Fast forward two years. My contract is almost up and Cingular is now running the show. No phone call from Cingular. So I call them. All I want to do is upgrade my phone for free. No plan change, no rate change, and I’m happy to sign on for another two years. I call and ask the customer service peon what he can do for me for a phone upgrade, and the conversation went something like this:
HIM: "you can have plan A or plan B from our normal list of plans"
ME: "but I don’t want to change my plan, I just want a new phone"
HIM: "sorry, we don’t offer any phones that work on your system, we’re phasing out the AT&T system. You should already be noticing degraded service and less calling area."
ME: "ok, so upgrade me to a phone on the new system and leave the rest of my plan the same"
HIM: "I can’t do that, I can only offer you plan A or plan B"
ME: "let me speak to your manager please"
HIM: "it won’t do you any good, we’ve had people go to the president of the company and he doesn’t care"
ME: "let me get this straight, the president of Cingular doesn’t care if he loses a four-year customer, and he expects me to pay MORE for less service (lower plan) than I’m already getting?"
HIM: "yes sir"
ME: "you realize, if I hang up I’m walking straight into a Verizon store to sign a new plan along with another Cingular customer (my mother)"
HIM: "Yes, enjoy your new phone"
So my mother and I walked straight into a Verizon store where the manager sold us a new plan along with two phones and we all walked out happy. The stupid part, however, was that I was happy with Cingular. I’d never had problems with the service. I just wanted to replace my two year old phone. For the cost of two phones (our Verizon phones cost us a whopping $25 each), Cingular could have kept two customers for another two years. So much for "rasing the bar".
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The reason that Verizon has my business (and will continue) is because I went into the store where there were no free phones, told them I wasn’t buying a plan without a free phone, and left the place with a free phone.
It’s all about what the customer wants, not what you would like them to have. Get it through your thick skulls, Cingular, or your name might be the amount of customers you end up having.
I had been thinking about making the jump to Cingular (Verizon does not have great coverage at my house). But add this story to Verizon’s willingness to work with me (even giving me a new phone early to see if it improves my service at home) and I’ll be staying right where I am.
It’s crap like this that makes our jobs in advertising pretty much useless.
The thing about cell phones is that the companies no longer give a crap about customer retention. The major companies understand that cell phones have become a nessacary evil in most consumers eyes. Cingular knows that when they lose a customer to Verizon, they gain one from Altell or Suncom, whoever. In two years when your Verizon contract is up I can garuentee they won’t be as willing to work with you as they were when you originally walked into their store.
I just renewed my contract with Sprint after three years.
They gave me a huge discount on a new phone. plus they rearranged my plan so i get more free minutes and save a few bucks a month.
My experience with sprint was not perfect in the first year but since then has been fine. and the fact they were so helpful when i renewed is great.
But i do agree that cellular companies are not focusing enough on retention. They probably figure that it’s alot easier to get new customers rather than retain customers who may be switching their plan no matter how great their current company is.
Anonymous - you’ve made my point for me. Verizon didn’t “work with us” at all. We just signed up for one of their plans and took them up on the current offer on the model phone we wanted. No haggling or anything was involved.
I agree with what you’ve said, but that is the fundamental problem with the whole thing. These companies no longer believe that customer service is necessary. I have a problem with that.
I didn’t want much from them. If they’d simply answered “sorry, we can’t give you a free phone, but if you’d like to buy a new one we’d be happy to move your old plan to the new system” that would have been fine (I could have gotten the phone elsewhere for free). They wanted me to pay them more for a lesser plan just because they changed the name of the company that shows up on my bill.
The one thing I like about Cingular (I’ve been with them for a year and a half) is their customer service reps have always been great to me. The actual phone services, not so much.
Currently my Cingular (actually Motorola phone) has been broken for a couple weeks. I went to the Cingular Store to purchase a replacement phone, and they want $120+ for a new phone or I can get a free one for re-upping in 2 years. Since the actual services have been so terrible, and since we’ve been counting down the months since we got Cingular, there isn’t any way that is happening. Right now it might end up being cheaper just to switch to Verizon now and let Cingluar have their $10/month (x 2 for my wife’s line) for a few months, and go with Verizon (I’ve already had Sprint, and I’m not headed back that way anytime soon).
“ME: “you realize, if I hang up I’m walking straight into a Verizon store to sign a new plan along with another Cingular customer (my mother)”
HIM: “Yes, enjoy your new phone”"
That’s where you messed up Danny, you gotta be Web 2.0 about this!
ME: “you realize, if I hang up I’m going straight to my blog, which is one of the most popular Advertising blogs on the internet, and detail this experience. Within hours this will be picked up by other major blogs and likely I’ll become famous for exposing Cingular’s shoddy customer service, and as part of damage control, you’ll be canned. BTW could you please spell your name so I can get it right for my article?”.
If he gives you an ‘i don’t care’ reply, add ‘Yeah, AOL didn’t either, we saw how that worked out.’.
You’re right Mac. It wasn’t until about 20 minutes later that it really hit home. I was just sort of dumbfounded at the absolute lack of caring from Cingular.
Cingular’s response:
Oh yeah? Well YOU’RE an oxymoron!!!!
[...] Some of you may remember my rant about customer service, a term that I believe is officially an oxymoron. Well, as I was reading through Seth’s Blog the other day, I came across a post that fit the mold for another such tirade. Only I’m too tired to go on a tirade right now, so instead I’ll let you read Seth’s observations. [...]
[...] Seth’s Blog had a link to this article. While ostensibly about how difficult it is to cancel an account or subscription these days, it also says a hell of a lot about how we interact with a brand and the impressions those interactions leave on us as a consumer.Another good example was Vincent Ferrari who recorded his attempt to cancel an AOL account. His plight made national headlines and landed him a spot on a newscast. I’m sure AOL wasn’t thrilled about the publicity.2006 was the year of the empowered consumer. But just how empowered are we when we have to fight about every little thing? I’ve talked about my customer service plights here and there. There are definitely companies I prefer not to do business with anymore (though often I’m not given a choice). It’s time someone recognizes the trees, not just the forest.Technorati Tags: Beyond Madison Avenue, Seth’s Blog, Advertising, Marketing, Customer Service [...]
That’s interesting to me. I’ve been with Cingular for over a decade - on and off contract - and I’ve been through 4 free phones with them. By going into the store I find that service is great. Technically speaking, I understand why they are phasing out the AT&T system - they have a new system called 3G that they are all about. It is indeed, really cool. I walked out of there with an almost free Blackjack, 2 more years of coverage that has failed me only very occassionally, and the same phone number. However, I will have to agree with you that their customer service leaves something to be desired. I have threatened to leave many times over an issue that still does not make an iota of sense to me or to many of the people I have talked to, cried to, screamed at over the phone at Cingular. Even though I have been paying for my service and phones for over a decade, my original account was opened in my father’s name. He is not unable to talk or walk, but Cingular refused to switch the phone service into my name. Even with a power of attorney they were refusing to do it over the telephone. I kept trying with the power of attorney at different Cingular stores and finally got a sales rep to "take pity on my situation." They were telling me that unless my father died and I could prove his death with a death certificate that the phone service would have to remain in his name regardless of whether or not I paid the bill and for how long unless I wanted to start over with a brand new plan. So when the Cingular sales rep in the store finally did change the information - all it took was a few keystrokes to change the name out. That’s all I wanted. For 10 years. Ridiculous. However, I have heard nightmares about Sprint’s customer service from so many friends and colleagues, and I have seen how Verizon’s coverage is in this area, and Cingular continues to carry the newest and best phone selection. So - Cingular it is. *Phew* That was a verbiose story. :)
Jeanette,I think the unfortunate reality of cell phone providers today is…you’re damned if you do, and damned if ya don’t. None of them offer the service that they should. I think they view customers as a commodities market.
I put my name as Anonymous because I work in customer service for one of the aboved mentioned companies. First I want it known that I do all I can for my customer when they call in. I can only do as much as the company will let me. I call them back the following month to make sure they are happy with what I have done for them.
As for Sprint (I don’t work for them) My son got a plan from them. His first month was almost $300.00. Calling I found out the idiots didn’t put him on mobile to mobile or nights and week ends. They wouldn’t credit him and still didn’t put him on the correct plan. The following month. Almost $600.00. I cancled his service, had to pay an Early Termination Fee, and he was charged $300.00 for his phone because he didn’t keep his service. I then talked him into trying…….you guessed it Cingular, its been great ever since. That’s the company I’m a customer service at, and as I said before, I do everything in my power to make the customer happy. I just moved a customer over today, I’ll be calling him next month to see how his new plan is and how I can help better it if he isn’t happy. I love my job and care very much for the customers that call me.
Anonymous…
I’m not really certain how to respond. Great, you’re one customer service agent out of many who actually cares about his customers. What help was that to me, or to you for that matter, when I called with a simple request? Like I said, I was very happy with my phone service with Cingular. It was the customer service that, in one phone call, managed to lose your company two customers.
That’s where my problem lies. Why in the world they would expect me, after four years, to suddenly want to pay them more for less service than I was already getting is beyond me. The man I spoke to made no effort at all to give me what I was asking for, which in my opinion was quite reasonable. I wanted a new phone. You give them away all the time to new customers for signing a 2 year contract. Here I am an existing customer asking for the same thing (and willing to sign the contract as well), and I get crapped on.
Ok, maybe my plan was a little above and beyond what you’re offering now, but that’s part of what you get when you buy another company. Instead of working with me, the person I spoke was just as happy to give me the finger.
So yeah, I’m pissed at Cingular. Still. Because it was an easily solvable situation that would have created a strong brand advocate, and instead they chose the easy route of "customers are replaceable". Instead, they’ve turned me into an enemy of their brand.
And more importantly, they’ve underestimated the strength of my voice. Because not only will I bitch about it over dinner, I’ll write about it here. And I’ll bring it up again when it seems pertinent just to remind everyone how stupidly Cingular handled a simple situation. They can handle the intricacies of creating a global communications network, but they can’t manage to keep one customer who was happy with the service to begin with.
[...] The voice of the giant… Filed under: Marketing, Random Stuff, State of the Industry — by Danny at 9:19 am on Friday, March 16, 2007 Remember that little rant I posted a while back called "Customer Service" is Officially an Oxymoron? That conversation, to me, is the epitome of what is wrong with customer service these days. It’s made our list of most popular posts, and it still gets comments from time to time. Like yesterday. Now normally I wouldn’t point out a single comment on one of our threads, but this one is interesting. It’s special. It’s the voice of the giant.Anonymous, a customer service employee for Cingular, decided to voice his opinion:I put my name as Anonymous because I work in customer service for one of the aboved mentioned companies. First I want it known that I do all I can for my customer when they call in. I can only do as much as the company will let me. I call them back the following month to make sure they are happy with what I have done for them. As for Sprint (I don’t work for them) My son got a plan from them. His first month was almost $300.00. Calling I found out the idiots didn’t put him on mobile to mobile or nights and week ends. They wouldn’t credit him and still didn’t put him on the correct plan. The following month. Almost $600.00. I cancled his service, had to pay an Early Termination Fee, and he was charged $300.00 for his phone because he didn’t keep his service. I then talked him into trying…….you guessed it Cingular, its been great ever since. That’s the company I’m a customer service at, and as I said before, I do everything in my power to make the customer happy. I just moved a customer over today, I’ll be calling him next month to see how his new plan is and how I can help better it if he isn’t happy. I love my job and care very much for the customers that call me.I think it’s great to hear from someone on the inside. I really do. But I have a problem with this. See, Anonymous didn’t really say anything other than "this never would have happened to one of my customers". But that’s the point. I am (or was) one of your customers. I was a Cingular customer. And it did happen. I won’t spend the time going off on another rant here because I covered that pretty well with my response. But here’s part of what I said that I think makes my point entirely:I’m pissed at Cingular. Still. Because it was an easily solvable situation that would have created a strong brand advocate, and instead they chose the easy route of "customers are replaceable". Instead, they’ve turned me into an enemy of their brand.So seven months later, nothing has changed. Maybe Cingular should send out a link to BMA to all of their "customer service" reps. Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, advertising, customer service, Cingular [...]
Just got off the phone with Cingular (now AT&T … whatever). I needed to add another line to my service (for my grandparents). Just to get 200 less minutes than I now have (north withstanding the additional line for which I want to pay them more money!!), I would have to pay $10 MORE a month. First a customer rep told me that since I’ve been a customer for about 4 years, they’ll add 200 more minutes as a promotion. Then another one (when I called back later - that was my grave mistake!!!) told me that the promotion is not longer valid. 3 hours on hold later (two calls hanged up on me), the supervisor basically told me that if I don’t like their published plans, I should go elsewhere. RIP customer service.
You made a great point here. I really like this one…definetely going to bookmark it. Keep em coming….
I can understand this person’s concern, however. If he would go into detail to say what kind of service he had, maybe he needs to know that the service is no longer available. I can tell you if he had to change the service plan to a newer service plan, it was most likely because he was on the old analog system. With that being said…FFA states that all analog towers for cell phone coverage will be shut down by Feb of 2008. The network will be GSM Digital Service….not analog. I am sure that Cingular does not want to lose business with people and are trying to be compliant with a federally regulated issue. So for a customer who is upset that the entire analog system is going away and can’t remain up for just him, sorry…i am sure another carrier would love to have you. But keep in mind that Cingular has been sending out letters ever since the notification of the analog shutdown to customers who were on the old network and have been letting customers change over to a comparable plan costwise. So, this is not to upset the customer who has gone to another company, its just a way of enlightening you all to know that this shut down has been in the works for sometime now and customers were notified. I am a customer and plan to keep it that way…since 99…so losing two customers I am sure isn’t what cingular wants but keeping with in fcc regulations and abiding by FAA regulations that have been mandated would be quite understandable by any rational person. It is what it is and unfortunately people just don’t understand what is outside of their realm of thinking.
faa not ffa, my mistake on that first part
[...] I’ve talked about customer service a fair bit around here. I’ve shared stories from Cingu&T, Bank of America, Farbucks, and a few other greats. This story, pointed out by the Nitro Marketing Blog, ranks right up there. Short version: A woman spends an hour shopping, finds the perfect dress for an event, the store refuses to sell it to her because it lacks a tag. Then they refuse to sell another dress to her because the top and bottom don’t match perfectly. She leaves, tells the world.What I haven’t explicitly stated yet, though, is the point. Maybe I don’t need to, but here it is anyway. The point is that customer service is one of your strongest moments of impression with your consumer. You’ve made something they want. You’ve made them aware of it. You’ve gotten them into your store (or catalog or website, whatever). You’ve probably spent a TON of money to achieve all that. And you can screw it up in a matter of seconds. Do you think the woman above is going back to that store any time soon? Do you think her friends will?Now picture this ending: what if, just this once, you GAVE someone something. Forget the obvious of it being inexcusable to refuse to sell someone merchandise simply because it has no tag. What if the manager had said "hmm, no tag, it must be free" and put the dress in a bag for the customer? What an opportunity for a moment of remarkability. How many of the lady’s friends do you think would now start shopping there? Or tell their friends about this store? All for the price of a dress that will probably end up either sitting in the back for a decade or get stuck on a sale rack with some arbitrary price on it. Yeah, yeah, I know, stores are in business to make money. Barring that, at least go so far as to figure out how to sell your merchandise. At least then you’re not throwing your customers away. Technorati Tags: beyond madison avenue, customer service Sphere It [...]
Customers are under the guise that "the customer is always right" but that is not a fair assumption. Customers know this, yet everytime they feel they are wronged, the customer is always right motto is thrown right into the face of the sales rep, customer service provider, the waiter, the manager or whoever will listen. The problem with that is you are right. You go into business to make a profit. Alot of it is lost initially and businesses recoup that only from returning customers, new customer base or whatever sales promo is catching the publics’ eye.. that being said, if there were a store that sold merchandise and it didn’t have a UPC code or price tag and instead of trying to find the price, a worker says, hey…lucky day….free…now how many friends or business will be generated by that one act of giving? I don’t know. But let’s say that the person who got the free item came back in and said hey it didn’t fit and i want my money back for this but i don’t have a receipt, or hey i got this free here and she (points to the salesperson) gave it to me…(job lost most likely) or says you know…the last time i came in here and something did not have a price on it i got it for free so now i am checking out all the stuff you have in here so i can see what i can get for free that doesn’t have a sales tag…What? you won’t give it to me? but thats not what happened last time i was here and you know…the customer is always right! Yeah, everything just written is all circumstantial, plausible and may have even happened. My point is customer service gives the best they can give under most situations. Albeit, not all people in customer service should be there. But maybe there are people that exist out there is customer service land who don’t want to be replaced by an automative voice telling you to press a button to get to the next menu but really care about what they do and maybe when customers throw the "customer is always right" rule up everytime they want to push the buttons of anyone who will listen to them rant and rave. Alot of the problem is personal problems arise in many situations where a customer is at a loss and needs the aid of a customer service rep. The customer service rep points that customer to the most beneficial solution (most times) but cannot get personally affected or involved with the problem of the customer. Many times a tear gets shed, personal information is shared but that cannot bend the rules of business when it comes to good business. I’m sorry Mr. Customer that your dog ran away with your wife and she had your phone, but I cannot just give you another phone! I am aware Mrs. Customer that you drove your car into the middle of the mall entrance and scratched your car in the middle of tearing out our building, but we are not liable for the damage to your vehicle. I am sorry Mrs Customer, but if you got that dress from here for no price and the sales person just put it in your bag and you walked out of the store…gee…where are your morals but thanks for coming back to us and now you will know that the rep that gave you the dress…well…she can be your best friend and go shopping with you any time of the day because now she is unemployed…why? because she gave you something that wasn’t even hers to give away. Ideal customers are what customer service reps want and ideal customer service reps is what customers want. We all know that both sides need a voice to be heard and sometimes just sometimes, you want to be the pain in the butt customer and/ or the disregarding sales rep…but i choose to be neither. I care about the job I do and the people I help… but I won’t fall for a sob story and I won’t let my personal feelings on a customer’s plight persuade a wrong doing on my part. For one good thing I do as a rep I know that maybe it was told to about 6 other people…but i know that if I do something that is viewed as wrong by a customer then that word of mouth goes up drastically. I just hope I never meet a sales person who hands me something and tells me its free when it really isn’t…
Weneki, my suggestion was an extreme example based on a single situation (one that I read about, wasn’t there for). The point, however, is not that a single customer service person needs to change their ways, but that the entire system needs a change.
I believe you’re wrong. Customer service agents rarely, if ever "give the best they can" because they don’t care. The difficult part is making the hourly-wage employee understand the ideals of a brand well enough to be an ambassador of those ideals for $10/hour. The brands that do accomplish that are the ones that will/do stand out.
I also think that your examples are a little far-flung. No one is claiming that the "customer is always right". No one is claiming that a store should reimburse a person for damage done when that person drive their car into a building. Get real. I’m talking about how to handle a brand, not vehicular demolition.
By the by, that comment is a pingback to a new post. You can take a look at it here.
I have Verizon myself and must admit - overall, I’m pretty pleased. They don’t keep me on hold for 20 minutes and really do their best to help me out. My only complaint is when I actually have to go into the store. The lines are ridiculous and they’re actually less accommodating then they are on the phone.
It’s not about whether or not "the customer is always right." It’s about ensuring the customer that you were looking out for his/her best interest. Unfortunately, this type of customer service is hard to find.