Ok, today I had a very interesting chat with a customer service representative from AT&T about my wireless account. I really don’t think the company is a bad company. Heck, I worked for them for around ten years a very long time ago. However, the customer service just isn’t the same anymore. Anyway, today got me thinking about other not-so-good customer service experiences from other companies. I mean, how do you deal with them in a professional way? Especially, when you seem to get the run around for legitimate issues you might have.
So, I decided to give you three of the steps that I’ve dealt with poor customer service. I’ll just keep it to my top three on the list for now and list them below.
- This may sound obvious, but the first thing to do is try calling and talking to someone. I know this can be a pain sometimes, but you just have to do it. In this initial conversation, you must document everything, including the date, time, who you spoke with, and any information they provide to you. If you talk to more than one person, document that as well. This definitely includes any lead or manager you talk with. Unfortunately, the manager may be out of the question. If you are reading this then most likely you received poor customer service and did not get a resolution or what you needed.
- So, you didn’t get a resolution after calling customer service? The second step I take is to try contacting the company through social media. This includes Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. I personally like Twitter myself and skip the private message if no response initially from their social media team. Trust me, larger companies do not like their poor service publicized across social media channels. You shouldn’t have to take this step, however, there is some poor customer service out there. I’ve personally received good results at this step, but not 100%. Also, keep in mind that some smaller companies may not have a social media team and you will not get a response. Document this step as well.
- At this point, you are probably exhausted, disappointed, angry, etc. In this third step, I open up a BBB or Better Business Bureau case. This is when all of the documentation comes in handy because you will add this to your BBB case. Usually, the companies will respond and the BBB is like a mediator, although they are not representing you in any way. This can go back and forward for weeks, but make sure to respond each time. Now, by no means am I saying you will always get a resolution, however, your chances are greater than doing nothing.
So, I hope this can help someone. If you still need help, maybe legal advice is necessary because I’m definitely not an attorney. 🙂