Let me tell you a story about a man named Jed.
Oooops.. that’s a whole other story. Actually tonight I am
writing about a communication with a major corporation.
I think at some point in all our lives we have some type
of problem with a company… we are all human and mistakes do happen. Unfortunately my negative experience was with
a major telephone/cable company.I had come home from work only to find out that the cable TV & internet was out (and of course I had online homework due). I proceeded to call the company and after a 30 minute conversation with an employee – they insinuated that it was my fault. It turned out that it was actually my cable box which was apparently out of date after only 3 years.
My choices to get it fixed were – to wait a week to have
one shipped or wait 2 days for a technician.
Did I mention that it was late Friday night and they don’t do
appointments on the weekend or ship anything out? So I took time off and waited for the appointed
time with the technician – only to have them not show up. Again, I made another phone call (reaching a
different rep)… and they proceeded to also tell me for 20 minutes that it was
my fault, while I made yet another appointment for a technician. On the new appointment day – once again no
one showed up or called. When I made my
3rd call the company (I ended up speaking with 2 more reps) – I was
finally told that my new cable box would be shipped out ASAP and it should
arrive in a couple of days. Kinda sound
like I should have done that initially.
At this point I haven’t had TV/internet for over 3 days
(only thanks to Starbucks and their Wi-Fi was I able to finish my
homework). It was turning out to be a
real inconvenience.
Then of course – the new cable box didn’t show up through
the mail as promised either. So on my 4th phone call – this time I actually
talked to a manager who forwarded me to his manager; they proceeded to tell me
that the new box was never even ordered or shipped. Finally a week later – my new cable box
arrived… and I was re-connected to the world and school.
I do not think that any of this could have been resolved
through any social media outlet. By the
apparent chaos of the company’s operations and the employees I spoke to during
my phone call – a simple email would not have worked either. This was a situation that needed to be
handled immediately by a technician on the phone with me.
I know that there are blogs/websites where I could have
gone to recap this problem and grumbled to the world about my
dissatisfaction. But this wouldn’t have
solved the immediate problem for me.
I don’t really want to bash any company in public either –
so using social media wasn’t an option.
I would rather go directly to the source and have them resolve the
issues. I have since written to the corporate office stating my displeasure
about the experience. The company’s
response …… they gave me a $2.00 credit on my bill.
I really haven’t had any experience dealing with a
company thru social media. I have read many Yelp reviews – but don’t really
know if I would consider that a direct interaction with a company (positive or
negative).
Maybe I will learn to blend in all aspects of social
media into my life as I discover this new world of social media.
Was this Cox?
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Sharin. As the book states, social media cannot make up for a bad product, company, or organization. If anything, it will only make things worse. Word of a bad experience can spread like wildfire. The fact that you went through this ordeal means that there are internal issues that social media cannot fix. Bad customer service will not be mended by a social media outlet. The people that would be behind the social media, more than likely, are the same people in charge now. To quote the book again, it's all about listening. If the company is not listening to you in person, they are likely to have the same demeanor on social media. :-/
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't think you need to bash a company publicly in order to get a suitable response. I guess it all depends on the wording you use. Although in this case, maybe social media wasn't the answer, it could be a useful tool to consider with another company in the future (see my blog post about Carnival).
As a consumer, I believe it's your responsibility to let others know when things are amiss in the company. You can't just talk about a consumer-driven market without consumer driven feedback. The beautiful part of social media is that it is a two-way street and the conversation isn't simply the company telling you what's up. It's you telling the company what's up as well. If you are displeased with your service tell the world about it. That's not bashing, that's being truthful. But if you are going to do it, give the good and the bad of the situation. Companies are always paying through the nose for marketing research on how their consumers act and think and here they have a ready made tool at their disposal where people can freely share their opinions and stories. So be the person who helps them fix the problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Robert that it would be beneficial for other customers or potential customers to know what experience they may have with a certain company in today's consumer-driver world.... and it isn't bashing.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, "Bashing is a harsh, gratuitous, prejudicial attack on a person, group, or subject. Literally, bashing is a term meaning to hit or assault,"
Wait, I still want to hear about Jed...
ReplyDelete