Nobody’s perfect, but “I’m sorry” goes a long way
Last Friday night, my boyfriend was at the bank and, while he was filling out a deposit slip, he left his Blackberry on the counter. Within seconds, it was stolen. Upon his return home, I immediately called Sprint to put a freeze on his phone. The only problem? I couldn’t make any calls. Could this dastardly PDA robber somehow have sabotaged both phones on the account?? What should we do?
Then I remembered that Sprint has a live chat option with their customer service reps on their site. I quickly sign on, and, after some verification, I was chatting with Danielle, who was understanding and quickly shut down the stolen phone. She provided me with info on setting up a claim to receive a new phone and started troubleshooting the reason my phone wouldn’t make calls.
Turns out there were “voice outages” in my area. (For the record, I have never had an outage with Sprint before, and this one only lasted 20 minutes.)
I started to get really angry. “I am dealing with a traumatic situation here,” I thought. “How could Sprint do this to me?” Then Danielle stepped in. She handled it so brilliantly that I will just include that portion of our conversation verbatim:
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6:36:41PM |
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Heidi S |
It says “Available Networks *None due to radio off*” |
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6:37:11PM |
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Danielle F |
Heidi, I am so sorry, however coincidentally there are “voice outages” in the Chicago Illinois area, that may be affecting your phone as well. |
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6:37:25PM |
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Heidi S |
Not really my day, is it? |
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6:37:57PM |
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Heidi S |
If it is just “voice outages” – would I still be able to receive emails to my blackberry? Should I test that? |
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6:38:01PM |
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Danielle F |
I am very sorry. |
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6:38:26PM |
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Danielle F |
I am also showing EVDO outages which means that Internet may be slow or completely not available at this time. |
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6:38:56PM |
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Danielle F |
Please be aware that there is a ticket in the system for this issue, however I do not have an exact time that this issue will be resolved. |
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6:39:03PM |
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Heidi S |
Okay, so we can pretty safely assume that the problem with my phone is just the outages? |
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6:39:26PM |
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Heidi S |
And then also, just to confirm, the [123-456-7890] number has been suspended? |
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6:41:11PM |
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Danielle F |
Yes, the line [7890] I have put a suspension block on that line. |
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6:41:18PM |
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Danielle F |
You will have to call or chat back in to have that block removed. |
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6:41:36PM |
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Heidi S llivan |
Okay, we’ll have to reactivate when we get a new phone |
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6:41:41PM |
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Danielle F |
I really truly apologize for the unfortunate events Heidi. |
How could I be mad? The weather in Chicago was terrible and no company is ever perfect. Danielle talked to me as a real person, with real needs and real feelings. Shortly after our conversation, service was restored and after one three-minute phone call, a replacement phone would be arriving in 1-2 business days.
In today’s age of social media, customers and critics will base their opinions of your company not on your performance as a whole, but on the brief, individual transactions that directly impact each of them. People are going to talk about your company online – it is your choice whether or not to join in and be represented in that conversation. Each one of your employees is representing your company during those short transactions – are they providing the best customer service they can by treating your customers like real people?
Everyone has critics or a customer who is dissatisfied. But the majority of people you will respond to will be appeased through a little empathy. In Paul Gillin‘s new book, The Secrets of Social Media Marketing, he says, “Most dissatisfied customers can be mollified with a receptive ear and a constructive approach to problem-solving. In fact, your harshest critics can quickly become your biggest fans if they believe you are really listening.”
Thanks for listening, Sprint.
-Your Fan Heidi
