Here’s a lesson in how customer support can go so very wrong:
Got an email from a company I no longer do business with. Once again (it’s a recurring problem), I looked for the opt-out link. Once again, I didn’t find one.
Given that I had some time (not a lot), I decided to read their Privacy Policy. In it, the company states:
And as always, all of our customers that simply wish to unsubscribe from our communications may do so by following the unsubscribe link found either at the bottom of any of our marketing emails or within the footer of many of our Sites.
Ah, so simple.
Except it’s not there in any place mentioned.
I went to their website. Got on the chat session. I was told yes, you can delete your email. Just use the unsubscribe link.
Grrr.
I explained there wasn’t one.
Oh, you’re on the wrong list. And there were assurances that yes, I’d been removed, but maybe not from that monthly email.
Once off the chat session, I realized I really didn’t get an answer as to whether I was unsubscribed.
So I went back to their website, thinking if I just delete the account, it will all go away.
I can’t delete the account. There’s no option.
I bitched on Twitter. The company responded within 15 minutes (give them credit for speed). Sorry, but we can’t solve it online. Call us.
I called.
Nice man put me on hold to get the answer on how to do this.
He came back ten minutes later (and he was nice — apologized and checked in in five minutes to tell me how much longer it would be). Sorry, you’re not able to cancel your account, he said. The company needs to keep record of it for tax purposes.
That’s right –my personal info is being held against my wishes.
I hung up, realizing customer support was not helping me. They didn’t even know what was going on.
Enter my husband, who wants to help.
He sifted through my emails and found the sales number. Called them. They put me on a “do not contact” list.
But no help with deleting my account.
Three separate contacts. No confirmed opt out or deletion of my account. I took to Twitter and told them I still wasn’t satisfied. They gave me an email to send them a note.
I did.
It bounced. Only it didn’t — that’s an automated message saying it wasn’t delivered, but they assure me it will be.
This is a tech company.
And my trying to do one, then another seemingly simple action sucked up my entire day yesterday.
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For writers, client satisfaction is what keeps us earning. Imagine this scenario:
Client: I’d like to make changes on this document. I’ve made the corrections already — could you read it over to make sure it’s correct?
Writer: Sorry, but our policy is to be paid after we deliver the draft. I’m afraid I can’t make the changes.
Client: But I’m paying you for a completed project! In my view, it’s not completed yet.
Writer: Gee, I’d love to help you, but company policy says I have to stop now. But you’re welcome to write to us at Nohelp@IwishIcared.com. Perhaps our auditing department can review our policy with you.
Yea, you’d be out of work. And out of money, I’d bet.
For smaller entities like freelance writers, we’re able to pay much more attention to how our own work habits impact clients. And if we’re smart about it, we make changes to reflect that we put our clients’ needs first.
We don’t bitch. We don’t argue.
We fix it. And we make sure that there are no repeats of the issue.
Or we close up shop, because a business that won’t go out of its way to satisfy its customers doesn’t deserve to be in business.
Writers, what customer service fails or near-misses have you experienced?