Customer Experience going backwards

Posted via email from oliversrussell's posterous

At The Big Shot we spend our time evangelising about content as a means for brands to engage with their audiences.

We tell our clients that by treating their audiences well in this area they will see results in positive awareness and ultimately in tangible results whether that be registrations, views or direct sales.

 It's a very powerful form of customer communication and it's great that brands are really embracing this exciting area of marketing.

I am getting rather concerned that while brands are adopting this relatively new area of customer engagement with open arms that some might be falling short of communicating in the same way in other areas of their CRM.

let me explain.....

I have an iphone that I love dearly, I mean I take it everywhere. No really. there are very few places that it cant be utilised whether email checking, Sky news watching or Audio Booing. And so I dropped it down the toilet .

Now my adventure begins..... 

I called my mobile network provider to to tell them my sorry tale and the lady took all my details,  very friendly,  all good so far. Until she transferred me to the insurance department. Well I say transferred....my suspicions should have been raised when she told me.....

"It might be a while, they're very busy, but I'll stay with you. Whatever you do don't hang up!"

Hmmm.......

ONE HOUR AND FIVE MINUTES ON HOLD!!!!!!!

Then I'm finally through to the insurance department or should I call them the Anti Terrorist Unit? I may as well have had an explosive belt strapped round my waist the way he spoke to me...

Inspector Gadget - "So can you tell me what happened?"

Me - "Yes, I dropped the phone down the toilet"

Inspector Gadget  - "How did that happen?"

Me - "Well it fell off the shelf in the bathroom"

IG - "How did that happen?"

Me - "Well I don't know exactly, it just fell off"

And so it went on for a couple of minutes and I felt ever more despairing.

Had they not got my information on file?

Did they think I was a rampant hoody trying to defraud them with erroneous tales of bathroom mishaps?? 

They have so many details about me on file and surely they know I'm not in the 'high risk' category if there is such a parameter in the customer service handbook.

So eventually my interrogator announced that he was now going to assess my claim (meaning of course he was going to press return on his computer)

IG - "Mr, Russell?"

Me - "err. yes?"

IG  - "I'm happy to tell you that your claim has been accepted"

(I was genuinely happy and relieved at this point)

This particular cake was then given the cherry on top by the delivery arrangements ...  

IG - "Oh yes it will be delivered between 8 and 5 tomorrow"

Me - "Any chance of putting a note on the delivery as I wont be around 'till after 9 as I have to....."

IG - "No Sorry.." etc etc

So i guess nothing we haven't all experienced before from one brand or other but certainly nothing to recommend the brand  in the customer experience award stakes but then next day a text.....

Hello, thanks for contacting XX. We'd like to ask you for some feedback about your customer service experience

One minute later another text.....

Sorry you were not satisfied. Q2 of 3. How satisfied were you with the Advisers level of knowledge on a scale 1 - 5

One minute later another text.....

Q1 of 3. How satisfied were you with the last  adviser you  spoke to yesterday on a scale of 1-5

My reply...

This is typical of the user experience. Sending survey questions in the wrong order.

One minute later another text.....

Thanks. Q3 of 3: How satisfied were you with the warmth and friendliness of the adviser etc etc....

I couldn't have been less satisfied if Sean Bean himself had popped round to tell me all about his love for Sheffield United.

 

I think far less kindly of this brand than I could have imagined as a result of this. 

Do they really think this is the way to go about engaging with their customers? 

Especially those who have already had a poor experience?

Are they so hung up on efficiencies (!!) and numbers to treat people like robotic cattle?? 

No amount of marketing or advertising is going to make me feel any better now........

Posted via email from oliversrussell's posterous