Serendipity
Web of lies
I had skirmishes with two internet service providers last week. One has been resolved and the other is still an ongoing "battle" that I refuse to just let go and forget. I don't understand why complaints can't be handled properly and why inept employees are hired by companies to deal with irate customers.
Last week my husband and I went to PLDT in La Paz to complain about something pertaining to our DSL account (I don't want to elaborate anymore on what the complaint was all about; the mere thought of it makes me want to go ballistic). Predictably, I went home fuming mad with the way this certain woman in the PLDT-DSL office (you know who you are) handled our complaint.
Are stupidity and smugness two major prerequisites to be able to sit in the frontlines of customer service? Instead of appeasing the customer (us) and offering sound solutions to problems (our complaint), this woman made everything worse by inciting our anger with her insinuations (that she was right and we were wrong, and that we were, in effect, liars because there was no way in the world she could have made a mistake). I admit that I could test the patience of even the saintliest of customer service representatives, but as what I always say in this column, there is always a better way to handle difficult customers like me. This woman should be given a crash course in personality development and should be made to write, "The customer is always right even if she's wrong" 999 times before she can sit behind that desk.
As for the other internet service provider, at least this one knew how to handle complaints. The woman I talked to on the phone apologized and explained to me why it took them ages to repair my Broadband internet connection. Even if I had to listen to a recording of Josh Groban for more than 30 minutes just to be able to talk to a customer service rep somewhere in Cebu or Manila, at least my complaint was handled properly. The same goes for Globe's repair contractor based in Jibao-an in Mandurriao. This woman I complained to named Frishan even went to my house to check on the problem herself. And Custer, the guy who repaired my internet was also quick and helpful. Now that's what I call genuine customer service.
Here are a few reminders to companies who are in the service industry: Do train and teach your customer service employees some manners as well as the right way to handle customers. Do remind your frontliners: It's not what you say, it's how you say it -- the tone of voice when handling irate customers should be apologetic and calm not smug and irritating like our Ms. DSL over there in La Paz. Be truthful in your service advertising. If you put a hotline number, be sure that that number works. (A friend had to scream expletives over the phone before her PLDT-DSL was repaired. Why wait for the customer to freak out and hit the ceiling before acting on a complaint?) And the most important of all are your customers -- Do take care of them and do treat them well. That's the least you can do for people who believe in your business and who pay good money for your services (even if they suck -- and they always do).