Normally, I try to avoid personal rants on this blog, but I’m so dumbfounded by this, I had to share …
As I was getting off the phone with a local utility company, I requested documentation of the service changes we’d just made. I was thinking they could fire off an email confirmation. No big deal, right? Not so fast. When I asked for the email, I was told, “We don’t email.”
Huh?
At first, I thought maybe she meant she couldn’t email, so I politely asked if someone there could email me the confirmation so I’d have it for my records. Again, I got the exact same, “We don’t email.”
To that, I had to respond with an incredulous “What do you mean you don’t email? It’s 2011. How does a major company like yours not email?”
The rest of the conversation isn’t really important. My point is, what kind of customer service are you offering if you are unable to communicate with customers via email? I’m not even asking this company to hear and respond to me on Twitter or create a Facebook page where I can ask questions. Nothing that advanced … just looking for some email.
Two lessons from this situation:
- If you’re a company that provides itself on customer service, yet you’re unable to communicate with your customers in the way they want to be interact with you, that’s a problem. Nowadays, I think it’s pretty common to expect email confirmations to be available. And, if your customers are the tech-savvy set that flocks to Twitter or Facebook, a niche forum or some other online site, why aren’t you there, standing by ready to assist? (Even if you aren’t “there” all the time, don’t you think if someone sends you at “at reply” on Twitter, you should at least respond?)
- Not everyone is as far along the technology spectrum as we’d like to believe. I wasn’t on the phone with a mom-and-pop bakery. This is a multi-million dollar company with 1.4 million customers (according to their website). If that kind of company hasn’t even figured out how to work email into customer service, perhaps we all need to take a collective step back and realize that the whole world isn’t quite on board with things like “social CRM” or even monitoring company mentions on blogs or Twitter.
Anyone else *shocked* that the customer service department in a large company like that still can’t email?!
Ok, that’s the end of my rant for today … what’s going on in your world?
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
@prtini Considering email is almost too basic in this day and age, I’m equally as surprised by it as well.
@prtini, you are fabulous! Love the last post!
I thought it was strange when I wanted to get another copy of my car insurance that instead of emailing me a copy they sent it via snail mail. I didn’t understand if it was just a printed copy why they couldn’t just scan it and email it. So I don’t think this company is alone at the avoidance of email.
Similar situation in reverse – One of our larger customers, a national multi-line insurance company, does not email. This has caused numerous extra steps for our customer service staff because there are several automated processes that depend on email technology for delivery. To their credit, though, the customer acknowedges and appreciates the extra steps we have to take in order to provide excellent service to them.
Interesting. I had the same experience today but not with a large company. Mine was a family-owned business and I was paying a deposit for work being done. They suggested I could look at my online banking to see the deposit was there. I mean…that’s okay but as you said not what I wanted. What’s unfortunate is that it doesn’t sound as though you received much of an explanation; just a flat no.
@RoyAtkinson Please name the company, so that others can avoid them, thanks!
@CEOemail I did not write the post.
But I’m dying to know hoow it ended!
@RoyAtkinson Worlds collide, Roy! @prtini is my daughter
@elbiddulph Well, it must be in the genes! @prtini
I think it’s a rather misguided attempt by the organization to trying to avoid accountability.
For example, the CSR sends you an email, you forward it to the world, and suddenly, the company has a PR problem. So to avoid it, “we don’t send email.”
It’s not a good response, it’s blind to the facts of the current world, that’s corporate thinking among some.
Of course, its a failed approach, as we’re now seeing. But we need the name of the company to publicly shame them into getting their act together.
You hit a nerve with this one! Most recently, I ran into a similar situation with a very large banking company. I closed a credit card account, and asked for a confirmation letter in PDF format for my files. The CS rep had to snail mail it, because they aren’t allowed to have email. What is the company afraid of? Delighting customers?
Sadly, I believe this. I ran into a similar situation awhile ago with a very well known online site. Except instead of email, they actually asked me to fax them a doc. It’s 2011- who still has a fax machine in their houe more or less faxes anything?
@jessicamalnik A little piece of the world dies each time someone requests a fax. I’m with you. Who still faxes?!
@JuliaStewartPR Julia, you raise an interesting point. The idea of “delighting customers” isn’t a hard thing to do. Sometimes, it’s the little things (like being able to communicate with us via email!) that makes all the difference. As PR people, how can we help brands improve communication with stakeholders and understand that seemingly small gestures go a long way?
@cptnrandy Interesting theory. So, what is a company afraid of? If they don’t trust their customer service reps enough to give them access to email, doesn’t that speak to larger issues?
@cptnrandy Interesting theory. So, what is a company afraid of? If they don’t trust their customer service reps enough to give them access to email, doesn’t that speak to larger issues?
@JamieFavreau Now, that’s bizarre Jamie! They already have the document saved somewhere … assuming it’s not a hand-written policy.
Why not just email it? Seems like a theme here. Customer communication hasn’t quite caught up with the way the rest of the world expects to interact.
@JamieFavreau Now, that’s bizarre Jamie! They already have the document saved somewhere … assuming it’s not a hand-written policy.
Why not just email it? Seems like a theme here. Customer communication hasn’t quite caught up with the way the rest of the world expects to interact.
We obviously have an organization that does not care about real customer service or the customer experience. I bet that the customer service rep doesn’t get measured for taking care of the customer, but gets measured on getting rid of customers (off of the phone).
I can see “no email” for either the security risk of unauthorized information being sent
or the costs associated with running email service for very large companies. I’ve known of companies that don’t encourage email but are in favor or phone calls because of the personal touch.
But to not have ANYONE that could email something to you is absurd. I’m sure SOMEONE there can email, but the rep doesn’t get paid to get take care of the customer. Just to answer and end phone calls as fast as possible.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complicated and very broad for me. I’m looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it! @ http://tinyurl.com/6py5ql6