Poor Customer Service

Why is it that companies think they can get away with poor customer service?

Last week I reported a fixed line telephone fault to Talk Talk and had to spend 40 minutes on what should have been a 2 minute telephone call. Surely it does not cost 20 times more to employ someone who can speak english and who has some knowledge of the product / industry that they work in. It was a joy to speak to BT Openreach a couple of days later, when I had the 2 minute conversation I should have had previously. At least someone knows what they are doing.

Several days later, and after arranging a ridiculous appointment date in the distant future for someone to come to the house and look at the fault, I have still heard nothing. The phone has been working for 2-3 days, and I have received a text messsage telling be that the fault has been escalated. Do Talk Talk know what they are doing?

The problem is, how do I tell them? I do not have the time to phone them, with the struggle that entails. If the fault has been fixed, it still took 4 days, and who knows what important calls we have lost. Equally the fault may not have been fixed, as the line started working when the weather dried up. They are going to have fun trying to find it again unless it rains.

What we have here is a text book example of how not to do customer service.

A well trained person could have reacted to the fault report with a logical elimination process and passed on the correct information to BT Openreach. This should have taken no more than 2 minutes of the customers time, and would result in lower employment costs and greater customer satisfaction. A quick reaction would also allow the fault to be found promptly, before changes in the weather or other variables make the fault temporarily go away. It is no accident that spending a little extra on well trained employees reduces staffing costs and increases customer satisfaction. The problem is, when will companies learn this simple lesson.