Recently there was a study that rated the customer service skills of many different types of businesses. To nobody’s surprise cable companies brought up the rear.
In fact, they were dead last. That’s not saying much for an industry that makes profits by the bucketful. In their greed to make more, they dis-satisfy many. It’s a shame.
I recently had the opportunity to see for myself just how bad the cable industry as a whole conducts itself when dealing with customers. I’m in the process of trying to get the best deal on service to my area. I’ve called several companies and been AMAZED at how poorly I’ve been treated.
The best analogy I can come up with is this… When talking on the phone, or in a chat window online with a representative, I feel like I’m dealing with a bunch of SHARKS and I am the CHUM. I am nothing more than a SALE to these people. They see dollar signs when they interact with me and will do and say nearly anything to get me to sign up on the spot.
In one conversation via chat I asked for pricing details on one product that I was very interested in. But instead of giving me details on that product the rep said that option was not available to me. It “wasn’t available at this location” was the exact quote. So they then proceeded to steer me to another product.
I replied by explaining to the rep that I have been told that this product was in fact available to me. When I did that the whole conversation changed (the rep realized that I had done my homework beforehand was NOT an uneducated buyer). This lead the rep to “change course”. They quickly replied “Oh Yea, we can offer that service there”.
This person went on to explain to me all the details that I had requested in the very beginning of the conversation. But THE DAMAGE HAD BEEN DONE. They lost my TRUST the moment they tried to “steer me” to what THEY wanted to sell me. They basically lied outright by saying something was not available THEN changed their tune once they got “caught”.
This situation probably occurred because there was more commission to the rep in the one product they pushed on me versus the other one I wanted. And in that short story I just shared with you is a lesson to all those who sell something. Give the customer WHAT THEY WANT and NOT WHAT BENEFITS YOU THE MOST.
You have to place “the customers interests” ABOVE “yours”. In doing so you will gain their TRUST, which is the first step that leads to a SALE. This type situation can (and does) happen in all industries. Sadly some salespeople just don’t get it, and they lose more sales than they will ever know in the process. If anyone out there would like to share a similar story, feel free to add it to the comments below.
I called Comcast the other day for a “balance due”, see my payment was a few days late last month, so this months bill was twice the normal amount so I used “live chat”. I was chatting to complain. It took 15 plus minutes for the rep to tell me the amount I owed, in the time they screwed around, I was chatting live, so they made it so I could read a couple of commercials, then was asked questions that had nothing to do with my balance. At the end of the call, I finally got a balance. Total crap, should have taken less then a minute, major runaround, sales bs. Like car salesmen, run!!!
Hi Gary! Totally agree. It’s a DISASTER when you call them, chat them or use the online portal.