I recently got of the phone with AT&T “customer care”. It was an unusually frustrating experience, even by the standard of dealing with a multi-billion dollar corporation which has roots as a regulated utility. I had been transferred among 6 different departments over the period of a couple of days. As I write this, I’ve […]
The Return of Customer Service?
Bad Customer Service is one of my hot buttons and what I feel is an undervalued area for many consumer and B2B tech company CEOs. As a result it’s not considered a “core” area of the business and receives far too little attention from senior management. I’ve said in the past that not only is […]
The End of Customer Service
No one answers the telephone anymore. What does this signal about the importance of customer service? At least, technology companies in the US surely don’t answer the phone. With big companies, you are either presented with an endless phone tree–“press 1 for a company directory”–or the newest innovation in communications technology: the cheerful “automated voice […]
Software and Hardware Customer Service
An underrated competency in software and hardware companies–which should be considered MUCH more important– is the customer service function. I suppose that’s only natural; tech companies are very focused on gaining strategic advantage via technological advances and product differentiation. Once the product is in good shape, companies tend to shift their primary focus from product […]
