When Customer Service Fails, It Wastes Everyone's Time

[MineralMan]

I'm sure we all have experienced some sort of customer service where solving a simple problem takes far longer than it should. Some businesses and organizations just don't do the calculations right. Here's an example from yesterday:

I needed a document connected with an estate issue notarized. So, I made an online appointment with a banker at my local Wells Fargo branch on the branch's website. I got a confirmation email that showed the name of the banker I'd meet with.

So, I showed up at the branch at 9:30 AM for the appointment. I've been having similar appointments fairly frequently. Typically, you step up to the teller's window and tell someone you're there for the appointment, and that person notifies the banker you're meeting with. You take a seat and the banker comes out and calls you in.

Well, I took a seat. Half an hour later, nobody had shown up. I knew which banker I was going to see, and could hear that he was on the phone. He hung up, so I walked over to his desk and announced my presence. He said, "I don't see your name on my appointment schedule." I offered him a copy of the confirmation email. "Well, I didn't get notified, and I have another appointment in 15 minutes."

I said, "It's just a simple notarization." He continued to argue that he didn't have any record of the appointment. I said, "Well, you saw my confirmation email, so that's not really my problem." He wanted to continue arguing about some lapse in the bank's email system. I finally said, "Why don't we just do the notarization right now? That will take less time than discussing whether or not you were notified."

A light went on in his eyes, somehow. I sat down. He notarized my signature on the document in about 3 minutes. I thanked him and left.

Why it didn't occur to him that the actual process would take less time than feeling put out by an internal email problem, I don't understand. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, getting something notarized didn't require an appointment. You just came into the bank, told a teller what you needed and the next available banker who is a notary public (almost all are) would take care of it.

I don't get mad in such situations, but I do make it clear that wasting additional time doesn't make much sense.

[Archae]

1. I had an experience with Hewlett-Packard "customer service."

They don't have customer service.

They have salesmen who talked to me about how out-of-date my computer and software was, and how I should buy (at $100 for starters!) their computer and software.

I had problems with my scanner/printer, the guy jumped all over me for using free software I had found online, and tried very hard to sell me their stuff.

I told him exactly what to do and hung up.

[MineralMan]

4. Absolutely. Many Companies Use their Customer Service Numbers

primarily as sales opportunities. Cell phone companies, TV cable companies, and other service providers are especially bad about that.

I cut sales pitches short as soon as they begin, by saying "I have a problem that needs to be solved. I DO NOT WANT ADDITIONAL SERVICES. Please help me with the problem I called about." If they continue with the sales pitch, I interrupt and insist on speaking with a supervisor at the next level."

[halfulglas]

2. He's a (here's an old-fashioned term) fussbudget.

It doesn't occur to him that the easiest and fastest thing is to just take care of the problem, not how the problem occurred (which you had nothing to do with).

[MineralMan]

3. That's an excellent word for it.

It frequently happens to me that emails I send to people at companies I typically don't deal with end up in spam folders. IT Departments often apply strict anti-spam rules that send emails not in an approved list to spam folders, where they go unseen. Unfortunately, that makes it very difficult to get a message to someone on the first try.

Those rules change frequently, and every time there is some hacking thing or ransomware scare, stricter rules are applied, without thinking that email addresses that are on the company's website are going to get mail from unknown people who need to make contact. It is a problem I have encountered a lot lately. I fix that by making a voice telephone call to whatever person I'm trying to reach to inform them that they probably have mail from me in their spam folder. More time-wasting stuff.

[Archae]

5. The worst aspect of "customer service" is when it's outsourced...

Particularly to India or the Philippines.

Several times I've had to stop somebody from talking in heavily-accented English, because they lapse into their native language.

And they have no idea how to help me.

[MineralMan]

6. Yes. That can be a real problem.

Sometimes, a Google search can turn up a better number to call for some companies. I found one for my TV cable provider that always gets me a tech service person in the United States. Works much better.

[marble falls]

7. The best example of your point I've witnessed.

The guy was in front of me at the Sears parts and service counter. He had a brand-new slide-in stove top catch fire due to a faulty switch.

"I'd like to get a warranty replacement for this switch."
"The switch isn't covered."
"Why not?"
"It never fails."
"This one did."
"But it's nor covered"
"Why not?"
"That switch never fails."
"This one did."
"And it's not covered."

In the end, he paid $125 (1977) for the replacement part and, no doubt, Sears just lost another angry customer.

Sears was the Amazon of it's day. Today, it's just a sad joke of itself.

[MineralMan]

8. Ugh! On the other hand, Sears probably would have replaced

the entire unit at no charge. Stupid policy.

[milestogo]

9. Customer service seems to be getting worse and worse.

In many cases, the best option is phone support. But you frequently get transferred or cut off. Different people tell you different things. They don't give you a case or ticket number, so if you call back you have to start at the beginning again.

Something that should take 15 minutes takes 2 hours.

[Totally Tunsie]

10. Just a quick hint for the future, MM, if you again need a Notary:

Check with your Town or City Clerk's Office - They almost always have a Notary on hand, and they usually offer their service for free, even on a walk-in basis. It's a little-known, but valuable, resource.

Sorry about your CS snafu. I love that you pointed out that, rather than debating, the signing is more helpful and often quicker.