| Last week I upgraded from an iPhone 3GS to an iPhone 4. Another family member had dropped and broken their iPhone that was not eligible for an upgrade. Thus I was able to cash in on my upgrade and give them my old phone. This necessitated transferring pictures and calendar from my 3GS to the new phone. On my last upgrade from the 3G to the 3GS the store did this for me and all was great. The representative told me that all she could transfer was pictures and calendar and that I would have to re-download the apps. I agreed since I had done this on my previous upgrade with no problem and asked her to wipe the contents of the old phone after she was done so I could give it to the other family member 'clean'. |  |
The first customer service failure came on the promise of time. I was told it would take no more than 45 minutes. When I returned after an hour with a car full of groceries in 100 degree heat, it was still not done. I waited in my car with the air on for another 10 minutes.
The second customer service failure was much more serious. That night I went to transfer some videos from my phone to my computer. They were gone... ALL my videos from the last two years taken on the 3GS now only evident by a jpg of the first frame of the video. When I called the store the next morning to find out if these were hidden somewhere the response was, "Oh no - we don't transfer your videos" "WHAAAT ?!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that?" "Maam, I told you we would only be transferring your pictures and calendar."
If you don't have an iPhone, let me clarify by noting that the pictures and videos are intermixed in you photo viewer. I think it was a fair thing to assume that these were all going to be transferred. But that is not the point. The service representative should have questioned why I would not want to transfer my videos. Instead she kept repeating their policy which I frankly did not care about at that point. What I did want was an apology and some assurance that they would use my nightmare scenario to improve service to another customer.
How ironic that I had just read ATT's web posted retail customer mission:
The 5 Key Behaviors sound great on paper but what about that EDUCATION part?
Here is ATT's summary of Education:
Set up and demonstrate the device so the customer is confident and ready to go.
Be sure to set up email, voicemail, social networks and transfer contacts.
Show the customer how to navigate their device, access applications and use preferred features.
Direct customers to online tutorials for more information.
Review the Customer Service Summary to set expectations and avoid unpleasant surprises.
Confirm the customer understands and is satisfied with the transaction.
I would suggest that they include an item on answering unasked questions. This is a tough one because you don't know what the customer doesn't know at any given time. Training is thus key to this customer education experience.
In my case, the service representative could not have been NICER. Unfortunately for me and for my relationship with ATT, I needed more than NICE.
What questions do you need to ask your customer to uncover their unknowns? What your customer doesn't ask may be more important to your continued relationship as what they do ask!
The second customer service failure was much more serious. That night I went to transfer some videos from my phone to my computer. They were gone... ALL my videos from the last two years taken on the 3GS now only evident by a jpg of the first frame of the video. When I called the store the next morning to find out if these were hidden somewhere the response was, "Oh no - we don't transfer your videos" "WHAAAT ?!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me that?" "Maam, I told you we would only be transferring your pictures and calendar."
If you don't have an iPhone, let me clarify by noting that the pictures and videos are intermixed in you photo viewer. I think it was a fair thing to assume that these were all going to be transferred. But that is not the point. The service representative should have questioned why I would not want to transfer my videos. Instead she kept repeating their policy which I frankly did not care about at that point. What I did want was an apology and some assurance that they would use my nightmare scenario to improve service to another customer.
How ironic that I had just read ATT's web posted retail customer mission:
The 5 Key Behaviors sound great on paper but what about that EDUCATION part?
Here is ATT's summary of Education:
Set up and demonstrate the device so the customer is confident and ready to go.
Be sure to set up email, voicemail, social networks and transfer contacts.
Show the customer how to navigate their device, access applications and use preferred features.
Direct customers to online tutorials for more information.
Review the Customer Service Summary to set expectations and avoid unpleasant surprises.
Confirm the customer understands and is satisfied with the transaction.
I would suggest that they include an item on answering unasked questions. This is a tough one because you don't know what the customer doesn't know at any given time. Training is thus key to this customer education experience.
In my case, the service representative could not have been NICER. Unfortunately for me and for my relationship with ATT, I needed more than NICE.
What questions do you need to ask your customer to uncover their unknowns? What your customer doesn't ask may be more important to your continued relationship as what they do ask!
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