Solutions-oriented customer support

Customers do not complain for the sake of complaining. Of course, there are those who really whine a lot and can be overly demanding, but point is, no problem is too trivial even if the customer complains that he or she is too dumbed to use the product.

That's right. The fact that the product has fallen into the hands of dumbed customers could mean that marketing is too dumbed to sell its products to the right users. But I don't want to take up the witlessness of marketing today. There are enough articles that talk about why most of us buy things we don't need and that's because of silly marketing not effective marketing.

Now comes marketing support, er, customer support -- the guys who tend to customers after the failed promises of marketing. They are the after-sales frontlines and come under many titles - customer care, customer service, customer representative and etc. They are not as talky as marketing but they do talk nevertheless like your marriage counselor. "I understand your concern." "We apologize for the inconvenience" "Will try our best to address your problem." seem to be the oft-quoted lines taken from the gospel according to their customer service manual.          

As frontlines, they want to look their best. They know how to feign a sincere smile to put every complaining customer at ease. They are extra polite and use well-thought-out words to conciliate and reassure every customer with their concerns. For the untrained eye, they can come tenderhearted and assisting. But beneath the veneers of conviviality are trained specialists purposed almost mechanically to please and appease a customer in need of help.

Lately I've spent my free hours talking and facing to different customer support people. From my internet provider to an airline company to my computer supplier. The experience was a learning one having been able to compare how customer support services are handled.

Let's talk about my ISP. Aside a lot of downtimes, technical support doesn't come as promised. After like calling four times, I ended giving up doing the calls after hearing the same script over again -- "I'm sorry for the inconvenience Sir but your request has already been forwarded to our tech support." Feeling disgusted, I had to visit their customer service center to air my complaint personally only to hear the same muttering "I'm sorry for the inconvenience Sir but your request has already been forwarded to our tech support." What a service indeed!

As for the airline, I was particularly impressed Philippine Airlines for its earnestness to assist the elderly with its senior citizen's desk. A relative who's sixty would have not saved P1,200 for the cost of his ticket had it not for her advice. By the way, if you have a relative who is sixty years old and above they are entitled to a 20% discount in airfares or in any public transport. And every time you reserve a ticket for them be sure to inform the ticketing person as most airlines do not disclose this legal privilege to senor citizens in order to make more money.

When my desktop PC went bonkers weeks ago, my laptop also seemed to have wanted join the long dayoff with my desktop. I went immediately to my computer shop to ask for a replacement of my laptop's charger. But since my warranty just expired, they could only suggest to buy a generic charger for P2,000 or P5,000 if I choose to buy a branded one. Another problem was that, if I had to buy any of them, it would take a week to get my order. In an effort to help me with my predicament, the owner himself negotiated with their supplier to reconsider the warranty. And successfully enough, I got a replacement without spending a cent on my part! Now that's real customer service. Thanks to Asia Pacific Computers and HP Service Center in Cebu. It also was my first time to receive a customer support where a supplier calls you to apprise you of the progress of your request.

One thing to learn from the experience is that customer support goes beyond than just entrusting customer complaints in the support system. It is about being able to find solutions that the system cannot accommodate. Good customer support is also about bringing customers back. And about sending them away satisfied – satisfied enough to pass the good things you did for them about your business along to other people.

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