Comments on: Economising on Customer Service http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/ Andy Hayler, founder of Kalido and The Information Difference, gives his views on the enterprise software market. Issues covered include data warehousing, master data management, business intelligence and data quality. Fri, 12 Aug 2011 09:22:13 +0200 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mervyn thomas http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/comment-page-1/#comment-150023 Mervyn thomas Tue, 28 Jul 2009 06:07:41 +0000 http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/#comment-150023 We had a very similar problem upgrading server memory. They charged mycard, failed to deliver for more than 3 weeks, ignored phone calls and email requests for information then delivered the wrong memory ( it doesn't fit my server). Despite numerous phone calls and a week after delivery I still have 16gig of useless memory, they still have my money and their customer service people are still promising to phone me back in 24 hours. I have reported this as fraud to my credit card company. I will never buy Dell kit again. We had a very similar problem upgrading server memory. They charged mycard, failed to deliver for more than 3 weeks, ignored phone calls and email requests for information then delivered the wrong memory ( it doesn’t fit my server).

Despite numerous phone calls and a week after delivery I still have 16gig of useless memory, they still have my money and their customer service people are still promising to phone me back in 24 hours. I have reported this as fraud to my credit card company. I will never buy Dell kit again.

]]> By: Madan Sheina http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/comment-page-1/#comment-148036 Madan Sheina Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:50:25 +0000 http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/#comment-148036 This is a breeze. Have you ever tried returning a faulty power cord to Dell. After the number of hoops I had to jump through I changed my name to Fido! The problem is not necessarily people -- I'm pretty sure 90% of call center staff don't consciously go out to of thwir way to annoy people. Rather its robotic processes governed by incompatile systems into which call center agents are hard wired...leaving no room for common sense. I always said the failure of IT-enabled CRM is most evident when users' eyes remain glued to a screen rather than to the customer they are serving. This is a breeze. Have you ever tried returning a faulty power cord to Dell. After the number of hoops I had to jump through I changed my name to Fido!

The problem is not necessarily people — I’m pretty sure 90% of call center staff don’t consciously go out to of thwir way to annoy people. Rather its robotic processes governed by incompatile systems into which call center agents are hard wired…leaving no room for common sense.

I always said the failure of IT-enabled CRM is most evident when users’ eyes remain glued to a screen rather than to the customer they are serving.

]]> By: Stephen Pace http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/comment-page-1/#comment-146981 Stephen Pace Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:03:16 +0000 http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/#comment-146981 Can you just decline the second charge via the credit card company? Let Dell prove you received two. If you still have the delivery tracking numbers, you may be able to get a printout of the declined shipment for additional proof on your side. Can you just decline the second charge via the credit card company? Let Dell prove you received two. If you still have the delivery tracking numbers, you may be able to get a printout of the declined shipment for additional proof on your side.

]]> By: Mahboob Hussain http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/comment-page-1/#comment-144480 Mahboob Hussain Mon, 22 Dec 2008 04:38:01 +0000 http://andyonsoftware.com/2008/12/economising-on-customer-service/#comment-144480 Isn't your experience symptomatic of "business by the numbers" rather than the service? People in service industries are now perceived as commodities on the global market, for example 3 East-europeans for 1 UK employee. So for 1 UK worker you get 3 workers of roughly equivalent skill/ability equating to 150% extra productivity (+50% to account for language/cultural issues) and hey tesco everybody's happy, or are they? Apparently not. Isn’t your experience symptomatic of “business by the numbers” rather than the service?

People in service industries are now perceived as commodities on the global market, for example 3 East-europeans for 1 UK employee. So for 1 UK worker you get 3 workers of roughly equivalent skill/ability equating to 150% extra productivity (+50% to account for language/cultural issues) and hey tesco everybody’s happy, or are they?

Apparently not.

]]>