Tweet
http://consumerist.com/2012/10/22/sp...-fix-my-phone/
Summary: Guy has a Sprint phone that's having battery charge issues. Phone based tech support couldn't get anywhere with it so they told him to go to a store for further assistance. He went to his local store but left because he didn't want to wait a long time to be helped. He later called the store back to express his frustration with waiting for so long and got nowhere.
So he called phone support again and they told him there's nothing they could do for him as they have no power over the stores and the issue needs to be addressed at store level. They suggested if the store he went to didn't work out, he should try a different one.
-----
Now, a few other notes here:
- The customers complaint letter is LONG (7 paragraphs, nearly 1400 words)
- He apparently works in sales management and his letter uses jargon like "sales and support platform", "client retention", "front line fulfillment" along with a closing mention that he would be happy with a:"top down driven solution"
- He comes off as a bit conceited. He does have a legitimate problem, but there's no need to highlight his technical savvy or use fancy words and phrasing.
- I think it's funny the guy makes a big deal of how professional he is but apparently he doesn't know much about complaint letters because the number ONE rule of a good complaint letter is: keep it SHORT and SIMPLE. This guy fails on both counts.
- He apparently has an inflated idea of how much power the call center AND the stores have. These employees aren't salaried professionals who make four and five figure commissions on their sales. They are younger people, many with no more than a high school education making a paltry wage in a job in which their main directive is to "follow policy". Not help the customer, but follow policy.
-----------------------
I understand he has certain ideas how about a successful sales team should be run but you can tell by the fact that he uses the word "client" instead of "customer" that he's approaching this situation from the wrong perspective. "Client" is typically used in corporate settings where multiple meetings are involved before a deal is made and so forth.
The call centers do not have any power over the stores whatsoever. I once took a call from a customer who, not unlike this guy, was fighting with a store and wanted me to basically order the manager to give him a free phone.
I told the caller that even though I could technically make such a demand of the manager, he or she is under no obligation to obey it. They can do what they want. Stores are indeed a separate beast which, yes, can be frustrating.
Maybe the guy gets under my skin a bit much, but to me this letter just carries overtones of "I'm smarter and better than you'll ever be" and I don't really like that.
How would you respond to this letter?
Summary: Guy has a Sprint phone that's having battery charge issues. Phone based tech support couldn't get anywhere with it so they told him to go to a store for further assistance. He went to his local store but left because he didn't want to wait a long time to be helped. He later called the store back to express his frustration with waiting for so long and got nowhere.
So he called phone support again and they told him there's nothing they could do for him as they have no power over the stores and the issue needs to be addressed at store level. They suggested if the store he went to didn't work out, he should try a different one.
-----
Now, a few other notes here:
- The customers complaint letter is LONG (7 paragraphs, nearly 1400 words)
- He apparently works in sales management and his letter uses jargon like "sales and support platform", "client retention", "front line fulfillment" along with a closing mention that he would be happy with a:"top down driven solution"
- He comes off as a bit conceited. He does have a legitimate problem, but there's no need to highlight his technical savvy or use fancy words and phrasing.
- I think it's funny the guy makes a big deal of how professional he is but apparently he doesn't know much about complaint letters because the number ONE rule of a good complaint letter is: keep it SHORT and SIMPLE. This guy fails on both counts.
- He apparently has an inflated idea of how much power the call center AND the stores have. These employees aren't salaried professionals who make four and five figure commissions on their sales. They are younger people, many with no more than a high school education making a paltry wage in a job in which their main directive is to "follow policy". Not help the customer, but follow policy.
-----------------------
I understand he has certain ideas how about a successful sales team should be run but you can tell by the fact that he uses the word "client" instead of "customer" that he's approaching this situation from the wrong perspective. "Client" is typically used in corporate settings where multiple meetings are involved before a deal is made and so forth.
The call centers do not have any power over the stores whatsoever. I once took a call from a customer who, not unlike this guy, was fighting with a store and wanted me to basically order the manager to give him a free phone.
I told the caller that even though I could technically make such a demand of the manager, he or she is under no obligation to obey it. They can do what they want. Stores are indeed a separate beast which, yes, can be frustrating.
Maybe the guy gets under my skin a bit much, but to me this letter just carries overtones of "I'm smarter and better than you'll ever be" and I don't really like that.
How would you respond to this letter?
Comment