How (not) to treat customers

I take it for granted that most business use technology such as e-mail to interact with their customers and (hopefully) make their lives easier. Even my local Plumber has an e-mail address that he checks once every few days.

I was only today discussing, with a fairly technological inexperienced customer I might add, the benefits of e-mail and other technologies such as Instant Messaging and SMS. They agreed with me that unlike a telephone call which interrupts what you are doing, an e-mail, IM or SMS is really “non-intrusive”. If you are disciplined (and wow, I see so many people who’s e-mail and SMS rules them!) then such a message doesn’t scream out “DEAL WITH ME NOW!” like the telephone. In other words, ideal for non-urgent queries.

Most of my larger customers use e-mail, IM and SMS as a matter of course. They e-mail, Instant Message or text me when they want something looked at, “whenever you have time”. It’s convenient for them, it doesn’t interrupt me – we’re both happy.

The Solicitor

So I’ve been considering recently during my trials and tribulations with buying a new house, and the fact that my Solicitor, the Vendors Solicitor and everyone in between seem unable to embrace modern culture (why send an e-mail or make a telephone call for an almost immediate response when sending a letter with a wax seal can achieve the same results in almost 3 weeks as slow a time?) just how e-mail can make our lives easier… or more frustrating.

The Credit Card Company

The Solicitor thing is a blog for another time, but I submit the following e-mail conversation between myself and a huge HUGE credit card company who I e-mailed to ask a very simple question “When are you going to make my credit cards more secure”…

“Hi,

I’m a <insert company name> Mastercard Platinum card holder.

I was wondering when your company were going to join the “Mastercard SecureCode” scheme to make on-line shopping more secure for me.

Other Mastercard companies have already joined. Is there a schedule for your company?

Regards,

Richard Tubb.

—

Dear Mr Tubb,

Thank you for your recent email regarding your account.

So that we can deal with your query as quickly as possible, please provide us with the following:

Name:
Address:
Telephone number:

For security purposes, please do not include your Account number or any other personal or Account information in your email.

—-

Dear Customer Services,

My details – as requested.

Name: Richard Tubb
Address: <address>
Telephone number: <tel no>

Regards,

Richard Tubb

—

Dear Mr Tubb,

Thank you for your recent email regarding your account.

In order for us to assist you please call one of our Customer Service Advisers, on 08xxx. Our lines are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.   If you are calling from overseas, please call us on 00xxx.

Yours sincerely,

<company name> Customer Service Team

<company name> Services Limited, Registered in England and Wales.
Registration Number xxx. Registered Office: xxx, London, xxx xxx“

My reaction

Now if this was a query regarding anything financial, I’d realise why they wanted me to ‘phone. Security Security Security.

But it’s not. It’s a query asking them a question about their services.

What’s more, they could have replied the first time around and told me to telephone – but they didn’t, they asked me for more details.

So my response was:-

“Hi Arlene,

Thankyou for your response – but is it not possible to answer a non-urgent query such as this via e-mail rather than asking me to make a ‘phone call to state the same request?

Regards,

Richard Tubb. “

Can you imagine the response if you strolled into your local Greengrocers and asked if they had any lemons in stock and being told to submit your request in writing to get an answer?

If this was one company – I’d just move my custom away from them. But I’ve had this same sort of response from at least 2 other companies I’ve dealt with recently – both huge corporations.

Lessons to be learned

What’s the point of having an e-mail address if it’s just a way of auto-responding to tell people to call a telephone line? And isn’t responding to e-mail queries cheaper for the company than me and every other customer ‘phoning a call centre, all at the same time and queueing in a line to get what is essentially a “get back to me when you can” query answered?

Are you putting barriers in the way to your customers contacting you, and in the process, alienating them?