I have had a number of bad customer service experiences as of late. I will never understand why companies seemingly place little importance on customer service. Having worked both in customer service and in sales, I have had an opportunity to see how both are integral part of a company and why they should not be treated as mutually exclusive. In my mind, providing good customer service contributes greatly to a company’s marketing and sales effort. The two most difficult obstacles for me in previous sales positions was to convey my company’s value to the prospect and explaining to an existing customer why they should continue to do business with the company I represented. Many times, I had customers stay with our solution or product because they were forced to and they were also the ones that typically told whoever would listen, their experience with my company.
My most recent experience was with Express Scripts. The offer a great program for prescription medication that my health insurance provider participates in, I can order three months worth of medication for a single co-payment. It is a great deal and saves me a lot over the course of a year. You can set it up so that they directly bill your credit card when you order prescription and refills. They also have an easy to use website that offers you the ability to see FAQs and request customer service. A problem recently arose where my credit card was not being billed for recent orders. I do not really know if the problem is due to my error or Express Scripts. However, I tried to contact them through their website explaining my situation and I get a response back days later thanking me for contacting them and to please call them to resolve the issue. I am thinking to myself, why do you have a form on your website that allows me to explain my issue if you do not intend to use that medium to assist me? If certain types of issues usually require a phone call, why not tell me that on the website so I do not waste my time typing in my issue and waiting days for you to get back to me?
With these questions in mind, I try emailing the VP of Client Services and the Director of Customer Support to express my frustration. I never received any sort of communication back from either of them. If I did not need the money savings they provide, I would quickly drop their service. Why would they think that avoiding answering my direct questions would encourage me to continue to do business with them and persuade others to do the same?
My other recent experience was at the Newport Jazz Festival, which I have attended every year for the last 9 years. Attending the festival has been a tradition of my wife and I for the last 9 years. It is something we look forward every year and each time I purchase a t-shirt. This year I purchased a t-shirt and brought it home without looking at it beforehand. Unfortunately, I discovered that the back of it was sliced up, presumably when they opened the box of shirts at the festival. I then proceeded to try to reach the promoter, Festival Productions, via telephone and the email addresses they provided on the site. The telephone number was just an automated message about the festival. My emails to the address on the website were never received a response. I then went online, found email addresses of executives in Festival Productions, and sent them the same emails asking for assistance in replacing the t-shirt. All but two emails bounced, but someone or something must have received the others. Again, I ask, why would I want to continue the behavior of making a purchase from a company that ignores me when I have a problem?
Having worked in customer service, I am also aware that customers can be very difficult to help at times. Nevertheless, if your company provides a channel for your customers to communicate and attempt to resolve their issues - why would you not make sure you have that channel adequately covered. If I try to contact you (the company), it is not only for my benefit.
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