DETROIT – The complaints ring a bell with anyone whose called customer service for help.
"Even though you've been a long time customer, they don't seem to want to go that extra mile for you, so that's frustrating," said Lisa Smith, of Van Buren Township.
"You get so frustrated when you press all these different buttons as you go along," said Tom Carron-Smith, of Clawson.
We'd all like customer service to suddenly be perfect everywhere, but what can you do to turn things around?
What can we learn from Comcast
Comcast is one of those companies that's seen its share of consumer complaints. This year, the company scored 54 out of 100 in the American Customer Satisfaction Index.
"We are investing millions of dollars in training. We're going to be hiring 5,500 call center employees over the next few years within the United States," said Michelle Gilbert, Vice President Public Relations, Comcast Cable Heartland Region.
Gilbert said the company is working to turn that reputation around.
Ruth to the Rescue wondered what we could learn from talking to a company that's been the subject of so much criticism. We found the customer service game is changing thanks to technology.
"Having the ability to allow technology to let you do things from the convenience of your home, let you do it on your time frame makes a lot of sense for a lot of different people," Gilbert said.
Comcast has an app that allows you to skip a phone call and do trouble shooting on your own.
"The app actually takes you through a series of very basic questions and depending on how you answer that questions it will tell you what to do," Gilbert said.
If that doesn't work, there's another option.
"It allows you to schedule a time you would like the representative to call you back and that's been a real win-win for our customers," she said.
"I prefer the person to be able to walk me through it step by step," said Tom Carron-Smith of Clawson, when Ruth to the Rescue asked him about this move to tech-based customer service.
If you're a person who prefers dealing with a person, Comcast said that option isn't going away. However, you might be able to take more control of how those interactions will go.
Preparing to win the customer service game
"I'm not making excuses for any kind of negative customer services experience, but as consumers do have some power to ensure the experience goes the way we want it to," Gilbert said.
Ruth to the Rescue has come up with a list of steps that can help you prepare to maximize the results of any customer service interaction:
- Be prepared
- Have your account number and any passwords ready. It may seem irritating, but those passwords protect your private information
- Have a pen and paper to write down key information, like who you speak with, when you call, and any key points of the conversation
- Start any conversation with customer service on a positive note, remember there's another person at the end of the line.
Gilbert suggests saying something like, "I'm a loyal customer. I love your brand. Take a look at my billing history. Here's why I'm calling I hope you can help me."
If you resort to yelling or cursing, your chances of success will diminish.
"It does put people on the defense, so stay calm," Gilbert said.
Consumer Reports offers these other tricks to get better results:
- Try live chat. Chat reps tend to be more senior than phone reps with more decision-making authority
- Try to bypass long voice-prompts by pressing "0", or repeating the word "Operator"
- In some cases, skip customer service and go to customer retention, where agents are more empowered to keep your business
- Escalate to a supervisor, if you're not getting the results you want
- Try writing the CEO. Consumer Reports says only 2 percent of people take that extra step, so executives are likely to listen.
However, Gilbert said consider that step carefully.
"Someone in customer retention isn't necessarily the right person who's going to be able to tell you why your Wi-Fi might not be working," Gilbert said.
The newest weapon in your arsenal is to publish your concerns on social media. Many companies monitor social media sites to intercept problems before they go viral.
"We've made tremendous headway from a social media perspective with our local Facebook and Twitter pages," said Gilbert.
As for Comcast's reputation for poor customer service, Gilbert admits changing that will take time.
"When someone had a great customer service experience, they don't go on to Facebook and Twitter and talk about it. They only talk about the negative times."
For more research and advice on customer service, follow this link to Consumer Reports.