The Value of Customer Service
A couple of months ago, there was a little bit of discussion on the web about customer service. Ryan Carson (of Carson Systems) related his experience from the business owner’s perspective that didn’t go very well.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t take an abusive customer to get the brush off from a company. My wife’s cell phone got wet one day. Not soaking wet, but wet enough that within a week or so it started turning itself off at random times.
She went shopping on eBay, found the same model (used) for $30 and bought it. It is locked to the Cingular network. We’re Cingular customers, though the merger with AT&T Wireless, but the phone doesn’t know about the merger. We hadn’t considered this, and her old SIM card didn’t work in the new phone.
Calling Cingular doesn’t help. They’re willing to sell us a new, Cingular SIM card for $30 or sign us up to a new contract and give her a new, free phone.
A quick Google search later and we’re reading instructions for how to unlock the phone ourselves, for free. Now her SIM card works fine in the phone. She’s moved over her contacts, wallpaper and wants her old ringtone back, too.
Next problem: the used phone from eBay isn’t set up quite the same and is having trouble getting to the ringtone she’s purchased. Another call to tech support is equally as fruitless. They won’t help us at all and outright lie about the phone not having the same features since it’s a Cingular phone and we’re AT&T customers. Or maybe it’s because it’s an unlocked phone. It’s so bad, they can’t keep their lies straight. She got it working herself by comparing the settings of the two phones side-by-side.
The moral of the story is this: we’re long-time customers, past the end of our contract, and nothing but momentum is keeping us with Cingular. They should realize this, and make an effort to keep us happy. Instead, they attempt to squeeze more money out of us and lie. All they have accomplished is to give us another reason to leave.
On a different note, how much fun is Ohio weather? Last week, it was 80. Today, 28 and:
