I’m a little miffed right now. So take that into account as you read this…
I’ve said this hundreds of times before and yet I’m still amazed at the craptacular level of service out there in business today!
Especially if you’re providing a recurring service. You can’t wonder what happened when your retention rates are in the toilet but you treat your clients like they’re the enemy.
Just signed up for a new monthly software service. They were REALLY good at taking my money. But once I’ve signed up I’ve become the “problem.” Or at least that’s my perception.
Here are the issues I’ve found in the first 30 minutes of being a customer…
- No support docs to tell me how to use the software. Nothing! I’m not a mind-reader. It’s not complicated software, but it would still be nice to teach me the lingo. I don’t know what they’re talking about.
- You’re not allowed to submit a ticket for using the software – only for billing issues! Are you f’n kidding me?! What kind of service is that? I can’t ask a question? What if your software isn’t working? Do I continue to pay? Wait, I don’t know if it’s not working because there are no support docs (see complaint #1) to tell me how it’s supposed to work.
- Received no onboarding or welcome of any type. Just an email that said “Hey, you opened an account. Now don’t bother us again.” Well, not word for word, but that was the tone.
This is why software engineers need a Steve Jobs! If Wozniak had built Apple by himself this is exactly how it would have gone.
Now this is a fairly extreme example of poor customer service. But have you tried to be your own customer lately? Walk through your initial process. I bet you’ll find some areas you could improve.
BTW, if they don’t respond to my “not allowed” support ticket, I’ll be cancelling the service and hitting them with a chargeback. And I won’t feel bad about it. (How sad is it that I feel this way only 30 minutes in?)
