A Customer Experience and Then Some....


My recent textbook case of what not to do to please a loyal customer of 15 years...

This past Saturday I experienced some issues with my smart phone. After trying to troubleshoot on my own for about 2 hours, I called my carrier to speak with someone in tech support.

The agent on the phone was friendly, professional, and very knowledgeable. She walked me through numerous procedures to identify whether it was just a broken SIM card or the phone itself. After roughly 3 hours of trying different things, we realized that nothing was going  to correct the problem.

I was surprised when she stated she was going to arrange for replacement to shipped and delivered the following Monday. In addition, since we were unable to fully resolve the issue, I would also receive a credit on my next bill. 

Once the call was completed, I received a text message asking for feedback on the call and service provided by this agent. I answered the questions and provide glowing feedback on the professional manner in which I was treated and the knowledge the agent possessed. I was extremely happy with the service she provided.

Monday came and my new phone didn't arrive. I phoned the carrier to inquire about the delivery and spoke to a very nice young man named Edward. He looked up my information and repeated almost verbatim what was discussed when I inititially called in. He explained that my phone should be delivered by the end of the day. I was content with his explanation and left it at that. I should have known better...

I shouldn't have to explain that on Tuesday I still didn't have my phone. After lunch I made another call. Again, I was connected to a very nice gentleman named Darrel who asked me for details around my initial call the previous Saturday. I gave him the short version of what happened and that I was calling to find out when I should expect my phone. Then it happened...dead silence on the other end.  In that moment, I knew, I just knew that nothing had been done. I let him know that while I didn't hold him accountable, I had spent a lot of time providing wonderful feedback on an agent who essentially did nothing to provide me with a good experience. And I felt like an idiot...

He continued to apologize and then connected me to a wonderful young lady named Brittany who kept apologizing for my inconvenience and trouble, over my protests that it wasn't her fault. She did an amazing job of explaining to me what should have happened and now what was going to happen. Darrell actually stayed on the line and continued to apologize.  At the end of the call he informed me that he had credited my account for an even lager amount than originally stated. While I wasn't expecting anything except a replacement phone, it was a nice surprise.

I am happy to report that the phone arrived the next day. The irony in all of this....I received a transactional survey regarding the initial interactions within 24 hours of the call. With the last call and actual resolution of the issues, I didn't receive anything. I tried to provide written feedback via the website, but unfortunately there isn't a way to do that. What a shame. There are 2 very special customer service representatives out there who deserve the spotlight and recognition for going above and beyond and I hope in some way this will help to shine the light for them.

Darrell and Brittany - you are both +10's in my book and I hope to tell you that someday. Thank you for your help. It was much appreciated.

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