Alex-Ann Green
Here’s the scene: you decide to put your nerves on the line to call the business to get your issues resolved. By some miracle, the phone is answered by a human. You exhale because you have just overcome what are normally insurmountable hurdles. You explain the details of your issue as best as you know how then the representative lets you know they can’t help. You try to keep calm and ask who you need to speak with. The representative cannot give you a name or a number.
At this point I am sure I am not the only one who wants to burst into tears, stomp my feet and scream. Frustration and helplessness start to set in and you do not know what else to do. You consider going to the office in person where you will wait all day with a high possibility of hearing the person you need is not there and they do not know when they will be. Another real possibility is that you will need to go to Kingston or some other office/branch.
The sad part in all of this is that you are contacting these businesses about services they provide and you purchased or are trying to purchase. Now, is it not a reasonable assumption that said company would have the appropriate channels in place to assist with what you have purchased or are trying to purchase? Is it not also reasonable that everything necessary not be limited to one human being? The world can’t continue to pause when that person is indisposed.
The representatives also must have a difficult time carrying out their tasks when they really can’t do anything. It seems companies are just hiring bodies but don’t trust their employees to use their brains so they are not allowed to do anything outside of the script. Moreover, when did it become policy to disallow customer’s information regarding who managers are? No reasonable customer is asking for personal contact details. What is the harm in providing the work number and email address? Especially since there are no other avenues to get issues resolved. Increasingly this information cannot be found on the websites either. Only numbers to the general customer service lines with people who are ill equipped to offer the needed assistance.
I refuse to believe that companies are intentionally frustrating their source of funds aka customers. Hopefully, they will take the necessary steps to look into rectifying these issues. It is quite unlikely that it will be a simple fix but the longer it takes to begin looking into the gaps in processes and human capital needs, the greater the chances that customers will find alternative solutions and continue to sully your brand everywhere.
Alex-Ann Green MBA, MS Customer Experience Strategist | hello@getthespike.com
