What would be your ideal customer service experience?

[Martin-O2]

Hey everyone, 

This week is Customer Service Week, which is an international celebration of the importance of customer service and of the people who serve and support customers on a daily basis. Anyone who's every worked in customer service knows it's not the easiest job as you're usually dealing with customers who have a problem and are frustrated. Rather then just use this post to give a shout out to all the hardworking customer service staff across the world we thought we'd do something a little different...

We'd love to hear what you would consider the ideal customer service experience! This doesn't have to be specific to O2 but it can be if you wish. If at any point you have problem with a product or service and need some help from the company providing that product or service would would you consider the ideal experience getting your issue or complaint resolved? 

This will obviously differ from person to person so please share your personal ideal customer service experience, even if it's something not currently offered by any business. 

[pgn]

Front-line support people are the unsung heroes of every business.

My ideal Customer Service (CS) Experience is one where the issue is raised to the CS team, and one of the team takes ownership of that ticket and contacts me back to ensure the nature of the problem has been fully understood, and reassures me that I will be contacted again within a reasonable time frame to report progress, check if resolved, or ask for more info as the solution to my problem is sought.

American Express Gold used to be one company who did CS well - no question too stoopid, and always a kind word to make the customer feel valued.

Today, the customer, the person with the problem, is left to push, cajole and, betimes, threaten, to get to the root cause of their problem - and hopefully, the fix.

The "management" of CS teams are often too preoccupied with metrics that work against this need: number of tickets worked per rep, time to resolution per ticket within agreed service level time window, escalation, de-escalation... the simple confirmation of salient facts needed to understand the problem is often completely lost in the rush to get the rep off the current ticket and onto the next burning issue.

The CS Rep should have access to a network of back-end support personnel who understand and can check and test based upon the symptoms being experienced by the customer - as gathered by the front-line CS Rep.  These support personnel should also be imbued with the concept that "the customer has a problem that needs to be fixed", not "what do you want, I'm busy, go away!".

And who suffers if this is not done correctly? The poor customer, frustrated that whatever is broken from their perspective is not important. 

To maintain quality and ensure a smooth process, only front-line CS Reps should be allowed to close support tickets, and the ticket owner should check with the Customer who reported the issue to confirm that the resolution is satisfactory and the ticket can, in fact, be closed.  Is that too hard to ask?

[TallTrees]

Hi @Martin-O2 

Too true @pgn 

There are some really great Companies out there who truly try and succeed with help and support.  

It really comes from THE TOP MANAGEMENT 

filters down, if good, customer will be happy and stay with them. It needs to be monitored though.

Unfortunately some middle management don't truly share top management views so failure.   

I  have this situation presently where there has been a change in manager at depot and this one hates the world 😁

[Projectionist]

Personally, I'd be happy if when I called a company, someone answered the phone, instead of telling me how important my call was and playing me elevator music. Then, I'd want the answerer to be trained to a level that might actually be of some use to me.

Back in the 80's and 90's, this was usually the case - even if they might be lacking in politeness, customer service people did usually know their job -  this no longer seems to be required for a customer facing role.

@pgn is right to mention American Express, but aside from them, it's pot luck whether you get a rep with the skills to deal with your issue - sometimes it's easier to hang up, dial again, and hope for someone capable.

[madasaf1sh]

A good customer services experience is that the issue is resolved on one call, and if need be is escalated on the call, and response is provided in a timely manner. 

I see it a lot where people in a lot of roles don't understand the front line staff and what they have to deal with, and we used to make sure that on very busy days that all staff from the CEO down where on the phones or in the stores working to achieve a good customer experience. 

I also think as well in order to recruit the best staff and retain them then companies like Vmo2 should be making the likes of Capita pay way above minimum wage, and not just be seen as a cost centre.... o2 / Capita should also be supporting the staff as I have seen staff abused and threatened on the phone and just literally walk out there and no action taken against the customer (this wasnt in o2)

[Diggedydawg]

Being able to get through to an adviser in a reasonable time and for the rep to be able to help is what i would want to see.

I remember being able to get through well within 10 minutes and having my issue resolved first time.  Nowadays it's 30 minutes+ and often being unable to resolve the issue and the line "unexpectedly" dropping whilst on hold as my issue is being looked into.

Even having a chat service that works, the one in the app just takes me to a load of faq posts with nowhere else to go

[gmarkj]

So I used to work in a call centre so depending on what the issue is we would do 1 of two things - try and solve it ourselves, or pass it on to a colleague in the correct area.

In about 6 cases out of 10 we would solve it for the customer, but on those occasions when we couldn't we always made sure we handed over to the person taking the call - meaning we would give them the details of the person on the call and why they were calling.

This is one of the worst things I see or experience now - being passed to someone else but cold, ie no details handed over to the new person. Understandably it means a longer wait on hold but if you have already introduced yourself and what the issue is and now you have to do it all over again is a little frustrating.

This is the second most annoying thing - people not calling back as promised, or you having to chase for something.

We would also make sure that if we told someone we would call them back then it happens. If we are unable to do it when convenient then we would get a colleague to do it.

I had this recently with getting new tyres fitted to my car. I asked for them to be fitted at home, but on the day the mobile fitter had a fault with their vehicle. OK, it happens.

But when I asked to get a call once the issue was fixed I shouldn't have to chase 4 days later to find out all is now fixed...

[Martin-O2]

Thanks @pgn, @TallTrees, @Projectionist, @madasaf1sh, @Diggedydawg, @gmarkj for sharing your thoughts on what a good customer service experience would entail! It's been a really interesting read and I'm seeing some common themes coming from this discussion. 

I'll be sharing this thread with the CS guys over at O2 HQ so please do share any further thoughts or insights you have. 😊