The Customer Service Survey
VocaLabs' weblog providing news and commentary on the challenges of providing good customer service.
Just let me buy something!
Wednesday - April 18, 2007 01:59 PM in
Over the weekend I had the "fun" experience of shopping around for wireless Internet service for my laptop. I use the scary quotes because I was amazed at how hard it was to actually contact the different companies and figure out what they had to offer.
There were three basic contenders: T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, and Cingular (soon to be AT&T). All offer some form of high-speed Internet access.
First up was T-Mobile, my current mobile phone carrier. I called the customer service number, and somehow got routed to technical support. I realized the problem immediately, and politely explained to the tech that I needed to talk to Sales, not Tech Support, and could he please transfer me. It took a couple tries before he understood my request, then attempted to transfer my call but hung up instead.
Two calls later and about five minutes on hold, I finally got to a salesperson who explained that I could get EDGE service (a couple hundred megabits) for $50/month. Could I add the service to my existing account without committing to a new one-year contract? Nope, no can do: new Internet service means a new contract, no way around it. Not even if I agreed to pay more per month.
Next up was Verizon, which (after five minutes on hold) got me a salesperson who very helpfully went through the options (one megabit EVDO service for $80/month). Could I subscribe without a commitment? No way, no how, but I could get a one year contract instead of a two year contract by paying an extra $100 for the modem card.
Finally, I checked in with Cingular. They also made me wait on hold for five minutes, and I got a very aggressive salesperson who tried very hard to get me to sign up for a two year contract. Too bad they only offered the EDGE service but charged $80/month for it. I explained to the salesperson that his offering was the worst combination of slow and expensive.
So Verizon it would be.
The next step was the Verizon Wireless website, where I slogged through the multi-step buying process, and got all the way to the very end and realized that it was giving me a two-year contract instead of a one-year contract. So, back to the beginning, start over, and look carefully for the one year contract option.
Nowhere to be found. Apparently if you want a one year contract you need to actually talk to a person--who can then presumably try to talk you out of the crazy idea.
A trip to the local Verizon store was called for--which I figured wasn't a bad idea anyway, just so I could set it up on my laptop and make sure it worked before leaving the store. There, too, I had to specifically request a one year contract (the salesperson didn't offer it as an option), but at least I got set up promptly and everything worked.
Here are my observations:
1. Why can't all the companies provide clear answers to obvious questions on their website--like "How fast is the service?" and "Which wireless card do I need for my Mac laptop?"
2. Why can't the companies provide a salesperson without waiting on hold? I called for sales, that means I'm thinking of spending some money. Is it such a big thing to respect my time?
3. I understand that mobile phone companies are all about long term contracts these days, but come on! If I'm willing to pay more to subscribe without a contract, why not offer that? Surely you can figure out how much more to charge me to make up for the chance I'll switch in less than a year.
4. Why can't companies actually offer all the options through their website, instead of making me go to the store or order over the phone if I want a one year contract? The website is a win-win: it saves me time, and it saves the company money. But it only works if I can actually get what I want.
Posted by Peter Leppik
First up was T-Mobile, my current mobile phone carrier. I called the customer service number, and somehow got routed to technical support. I realized the problem immediately, and politely explained to the tech that I needed to talk to Sales, not Tech Support, and could he please transfer me. It took a couple tries before he understood my request, then attempted to transfer my call but hung up instead.
Two calls later and about five minutes on hold, I finally got to a salesperson who explained that I could get EDGE service (a couple hundred megabits) for $50/month. Could I add the service to my existing account without committing to a new one-year contract? Nope, no can do: new Internet service means a new contract, no way around it. Not even if I agreed to pay more per month.
Next up was Verizon, which (after five minutes on hold) got me a salesperson who very helpfully went through the options (one megabit EVDO service for $80/month). Could I subscribe without a commitment? No way, no how, but I could get a one year contract instead of a two year contract by paying an extra $100 for the modem card.
Finally, I checked in with Cingular. They also made me wait on hold for five minutes, and I got a very aggressive salesperson who tried very hard to get me to sign up for a two year contract. Too bad they only offered the EDGE service but charged $80/month for it. I explained to the salesperson that his offering was the worst combination of slow and expensive.
So Verizon it would be.
The next step was the Verizon Wireless website, where I slogged through the multi-step buying process, and got all the way to the very end and realized that it was giving me a two-year contract instead of a one-year contract. So, back to the beginning, start over, and look carefully for the one year contract option.
Nowhere to be found. Apparently if you want a one year contract you need to actually talk to a person--who can then presumably try to talk you out of the crazy idea.
A trip to the local Verizon store was called for--which I figured wasn't a bad idea anyway, just so I could set it up on my laptop and make sure it worked before leaving the store. There, too, I had to specifically request a one year contract (the salesperson didn't offer it as an option), but at least I got set up promptly and everything worked.
Here are my observations:
1. Why can't all the companies provide clear answers to obvious questions on their website--like "How fast is the service?" and "Which wireless card do I need for my Mac laptop?"
2. Why can't the companies provide a salesperson without waiting on hold? I called for sales, that means I'm thinking of spending some money. Is it such a big thing to respect my time?
3. I understand that mobile phone companies are all about long term contracts these days, but come on! If I'm willing to pay more to subscribe without a contract, why not offer that? Surely you can figure out how much more to charge me to make up for the chance I'll switch in less than a year.
4. Why can't companies actually offer all the options through their website, instead of making me go to the store or order over the phone if I want a one year contract? The website is a win-win: it saves me time, and it saves the company money. But it only works if I can actually get what I want.
Posted by Peter Leppik
Posted at 01:59 PM by | | | |