By B.L. Ochman
Within five minutes of me Tweeting this during an endless customer service call with UPS, it was re-Tweeted dozens of times, as was my next Tweet “We don’t give out our last names” – only hookers and customer service reps & people who don’t want to be held accountable say that.”
What prompted both Tweets was a phone call that took an hour and 15 minutes, and involved 10 different people, none of whom could solve all parts of a $34.32 problem.
Like so many companies, each department in UPS customer service is in its own silo. Not all of them can forward a call to another department. They don’t give out last names, or phone numbers – at least not until you finally get a supervisor – and even when one department can call another, they still have to wait on hold just like their hapless customers.
Hourly employees make your reputation
Even if those 10 people make minimum wage, that call cost UPS more than $34.32. And it sure cost me a couple hundred dollars worth of my billable time.
When you come right down to it, it’s almost always the hourly employees who have actual contact with actual customers who create your bottom line results. It makes great economic sense to empower them to solve a problem with one phone call.
Yet day after day, poorly paid employees, who are not empowered to make even their own simple decisions, handle the most important thing any company has – customers. It’s really time for that policy to change.
In case some companies haven’t noticed, we are in the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Customers count. Treat us like you know that. We’ll all be a lot happier. And more prosperous.
It remains one of the great challenges. Lots of companies still “measure” their support desks by how FAST they get people off the phone, not by how well the resolve the matter. Even great companies have the issue. I ordered an Apple XServe direct from Apple because I needed it for today…only to find it won’t ship until today. C’est la vie. Of course, next time I go to buy, a reseller who I know can get the box out the door same day may be my more likely supplier. Empowering the front line is a complicated problem, but I agree, the implications of getting it wrong are signicant.
While I agree in the most part, having worked seen teh rise of the easy with which people can be found on teh internetz, I am understandable with the policy against giving out last names. However, there should be a replacement unique identifier for that person internal to that job that they can give out instead for accountability.
But I would never want for someone who had a bad day, gave poor service, got the wrong creep on the phone, and then got stalked, harassed, or worse. I think it’s possible also that it’s a corporate policy from a liability aspect.
Customer service is one of the most important things in all businesses – if you treat your customers well they’ll be more likely to return and buy again – and they will be less likely to spread their dissatisfaction across the internet.
Amazing isn’t it? We still have to deal with the complexities and idiosyncrasies of companies who totally screw the pooch in customer service.
Why would you ever buy from Comcast again if you knew you had a choice? I get an aneurysm just thinking about my time on their help-line.
My name is Debbie Curtis-Magley and I work with UPS Public Relations.
I want to apologize for the frustrating experience you had. I hope this is the only bad encounter you’ve had (or will have) with UPS.
I was glad to see on your Twitter page that the issues with your shipment were finally resolved. Without knowing the specifics of your service issue, I can’t offer any insight into the reasons for the time it took to solve your problem. But you are correct, regardless. Customers should expect a timely solution to their concerns.
And so, we look forward to another opportunity to provide you with the kind of service you should expect from UPS.
I couldn’t agree more, BL. Take care of the employees and customers and provide great products and you don’t need to drop millions (or billions) on advertising – just ask Costco, Chick-fil-A, etc.
Nice post. I referenced it in my own post today:
http://yourcustomerseyes.typepad.com/your_customers_eyes/2009/08/yeah-what-she-said.html
Wow. I have to deal with UPS quite often, and I can’t say I’ve ever had this problem: when I call, the UPS rep has always given a last name. I can certainly understand why someone wouldn’t, though, with the state of the world today. In my call center, our reps do not give their last names, but they do give their extension numbers on request. It’s not because they don’t want to do their job or because they don’t want to help.
However, I will let you know that I have printed out a copy of your tweet above and put it on my desk. As a QA rep, I take my job very seriously: and this was an inspiration to me to make sure my reps give the best customer service they can give.
And I must say, I’m very impressed with someone from UPS posting above.
Customer service is a very important aspect of any business. Companies either small or big must realize this issue. And I agree with what you said “customers count” as without any customers, a certain company will surely down.
Very impressive post.
I most definitely agree and too many companies have this problem because too much time is
being focused on advertising and marketing and not what is important. You can spend all the
money you want on eye catching advertisements and marketing strategies, but the power of word
of mouth will overcome all of that, especially if it’s negative. In my opinion, companies need to
spend more time implementing activities that boost staff morale because employee satisfaction
equals customer satisfaction.