Letters to the Editor

Customer Inter@ction Solutions, Jun 2004

The following letters are in response to Rich Tehrani's May High Priority! column entitled, "Oil And Water: Verizon And Customer Service," (http://www,tmcnet. com/cis/0504/hipriority.htm).

Dear Rich:

Service costs money! Many companies are not interested in providing service. They skirt around what service means to them and publish warm and fuzzy Corporate Mission Statements. Verizon owes you a new battery for your BlackBerry, I don't have an answer on how to fix the Verizon problem, other than what we already KNOW is the answer.

Similar issue: I've had SkyTel pager service for several years now. Every year, they automatically bill my American Express card for the annual service. Then, some bozo dials my SkyTel pager number (which is a toll-free number and I don't know what it is...but my answering service does) from a payphone. Then, SkyTel sends me a bill for 45 cents for that call, but the bill states clearly on it:"DO NOT PAY."

Okay, so I don't pay. Next month, the bill comes again for 45 cents and it states "DO NOT PAY." Then, the following month, another bill arrives, this time for 46 cents! There is a 1 cent late charge, and the bill clearly states "DO NOT PAY."

Amused, I called SkyTel. They say,"Our system cannot bill your credit card for amounts less than a dollar." I ask, "So why don't you remove from the bill the verbiage that states"DO NOT PAY"?

The fix? I issued a payment for $5.00.

1. Maybe it will screw up their system.

2. Maybe I'll end up with a $4.54 credit.

3. Maybe they can't cash checks for amounts under $10.00.

Customer service costs money, training, time and more than lip service, which is what most provide.

Sincerely,

Matt Brunk

telecomworx

Rich Tehrani Responds:

Thanks for the story. Imagine if Skytel has a million customers sending in checks for an extra five dollars. Sounds like a nice way to generate ancillary interest income.

Rich:

I found your comments most intriguing. Undoubtedly, you'll end up with a lot of stories. Certainly I can share a few. Rather than go there, allow me this observation: When you create a system that is so good, even an idiot could use it, is it a surprise that you end up with an organization that is populated by idiots?

I have a suggestion that may work for ISO registered companies. Report the problem to their Registrar. The last I checked, ISO required an executive commitment to quality and, among other things, a process in place for corrective action and dealing with customers. I can't imagine that Registrars get many complaints about the companies they register as compliant. On the other hand, ISO registration is fairly expensive and time-consuming, and it is supposed to document that there is an effective system for product/service delivery.

Sincerely,

Steven Silkunas

silkunas@snip.net

Thank you, Steven. I sent an e-mail to Verizon public relations to ask if they were ISO certified and did not receive an answer by press time. Based on 10 minutes of Googling, it doesn't appear that they are.

- Rich Tehrani

Dear Rich:

I just read your "High Priority!" article on Verizon yesterday, and found this today. I thought you'd enjoy this read.

Unhappy Wireless Customer Lays Waste To Verizon Store

FARGO, N.D. - Unhappy with his Verizon wireless service, a Fargo, North Dakota man entered a Verizon store in the West Acres mall in Fargo and began throwing merchandise. Stating that he had only intended to yell at Verizon Wireless employees, the man, 22-year old Jason Perala, told police that he subsequently "lost it," which led to him striking a Verizon employee with a piece of hurled merchandise and causing approximately $2,000 worth of property damage.

After the incident, Perala stated, "I just started grabbing computers and phones and throwing them, I just destroyed the place. I kind of regret that I did it, but I hope my message got across."

Store employees retreated into the office and locked the door before calling police. Other mall businesses lowered their security gates during the incident. Perala was arrested by police and charged with felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor simple assault.

Sincerely,

Cori Garrod

Cori: This is exactly why more of us need columns in magazines and Letters to the Editor to let off some steam.

- Rich Tehrani

Dear Rich:

My name is Dan Wachs, and I founded a telecom cost consultancy that specializes in telecom audits and other cost control services.

I very much enjoyed your article/Oil and Water: Verizon and Customer Service," and would like to publish it on my Web site, www.refundsystems.com, as examples of poor customer service. (Go to "reality tele- com" in the lower left-hand corner and click through.)

Dan Wachs

Refund$ystems

Telecom Cost Control

Dan: Thanks for the nice comments. We always encourage links to TMCnet. There is copyright information on the bottom of every page of the site,

- Rich Tehrani

Rich,

Hello, my name is Matthew Davis, and I am responsible for Technical Support at TMobile USA. I just finished reading your article, and owe you an apology. Speaking for my department, its very obvious that we did not provide you a world-class experience.