And it's not about you. It's about them. Today's FC Expert blog post is about what happens when people in a company think it is not their job to help customers -- not much, it turns out. Many of you may have learned from me that until June of this year I blogged on a dial up connection.
Well, I have no TV cable as the set is never on unless I am watching a DVD so there was no need to make a fuss over fast Internet connections, I just lived with it.
One of the reasons why I procrastinated getting on broadband was that I did not have the time to research options and wait at home for the eventual hook up.
As you'll read in my Fast Company post, that was an adventure in and of itself. This is not about the Comcast technician sleeping on the couch, although I'm sure that is still fresh in everyone's mind.
It's about when people and companies think "it's not my job" to do something and proceed to carry on as if you never asked. How has my Comcast experience been so far? Sketchy at best.
What do I have to do to have my name and address corrected? This seems to be a special request. With 12.4 million high-speed Internet customers, I can see how I could be just a drop in the bucket.
Here are some simple suggestions to live up to the premier communications company brand Comcast is advertising:
- Be courteous and prompt on the phone, handling all data only once per customer -- I know that organizational systems may be still separate internally, make the effort for your customers' sake
- Do what you promised you'd do -- and follow up to make sure it is done properly
- Show up when you say you will -- it is quite difficult to estimate how long it will take to go through a list of visits that may involve more than just checking a box; how about a follow up phone call to alert a customer of delays?
- Use the monthly invoice as an opportunity to reinforce your brand -- if your slip says address service requested or something to that effect, do enter the change once it is communicated back to you
Let's cross fingers -- they are building a gigantic office building in center city Philadelphia that will tower over every other one in the vicinity. Clearly, the company plans more growth.