Recent experiences have motivated me to address customer service over a few posts. It never ceases to amaze me how companies will claim that customers are the most important aspect of their business and that they'll do anything to ensure their satisfaction. Some actually do this while most do not.
For example, take Deltacom - a large provider of communication and technology solutions. On the Deltacom web site, they state "Deltacom has earned a strong reputation built on customer satisfaction." That's nice, but there isn't any proof. In fact, my experience and that of several others I know is the exact opposite.
About a year ago, some slick sales guys came by the business claiming Deltacom was THE answer to our telecom issues. No more high prices, low services and poor quality for us. And, no need to worry about customer service issues. No, sir, Deltacom takes care of their customers.
Um. No. The short part of the story is that customer service appears to be the biggest gap in their company. Countless times we've experienced downtime due to disconnections, service drops, etc. When it happens, we go through the same routine - call them, give them our account number and then listen as a customer service rep reads off the party line statement about services being restored as soon as possible, you may hear from us, etc. That's it.
Guess what happens? Nothing. Sometimes service is immediately restored while most of the time it seems to take forever. We never hear from them on status, updates, when it is actually back up and running, etc. Never. Never. Never.
They are the absolute worst customer service organization I've ever encountered (with Charter a close second). And, it's pointless. How hard is it to ensure you have satisfied customers and those that sing your praises? It isn't - hear me loud and clear Deltacom - "It's not that hard!"
Obviously I'll never recommend them; instead, I'm doing the opposite. Oh, the power of word of mouth. And, the power of negative PR. Shame on Deltacom. Bad Deltacom.
Stay tuned for better customer service news - - an experience of how it should be courtesy of my friends at Island Realty on the Isle of Palms in South Carolina. They get it and they definitely understand the power that well-serviced customers can be for their business.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
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