Revelation? Disconnect in Support Organizations?
July 8, 2010
I received a snail mail promotion from T Mobile about the company’s HSPA and 3G mobile broadband service. I called the T Mobile 800 number three times. Each time, the person did not know about the service described on my flier. The third time I was disconnected and someone called me back and left the T Mobile 800 number and urged me to call and ask for a specific number. Nope. I drove to the local T Mobile store on July 3, 2010, and learned that no one in the store, including the manager, knew about the HSPA 3G service or the promotion. I showed my T Mobile snail mail card and the manager called T Mobile. No one knew about the HSPA 3 G service.
I read “Chasing the Wrong Carrot: The Big Disconnect in Support Organizations.” I hoped to find some information about why companies like T Mobile cannot inform its various units that a new product is available and that customers like the addled goose will be asked to sign up. The write up did not do much for the goose. I don’t think it is http://www.inquira.comInQuira’s fault. I think that the financial pressure and the wacky belief that firing people will make a company stronger.
For me, the most interesting point in the write up by “inquiring minds” was:
Companies continue to spend approximately 80% of their support budgets and focus all of their support metrics on agent-assisted support. However, the growing reality is 90% of their inquiries are being initiated online today without any agent intervention—and that figure is only increasing as Gen Y makes up a bigger percentage of the buying population.
Well, I looked for the information I wanted about the HSPA 3G service. I was able via Google to locate a coverage map. It was illegible and there was no single list of areas or zip codes in which the service was available. Then I looked for information about the modem’s surcharges when the modem is used in another country like Germany, allegedly where the T Mobile brain trust resides. Nope. At least I couldn’t find what I wanted.
The notion that the Web and clueless humans in a telephone holding pen will provide useful information is baloney.
The larger issue is the focus of executives on cutting costs and doing whatever is required to deflect inquiries. Within the organizations, many executives are too busy running from Outlook scheduled meeting to Outlook scheduled meeting to take responsibility for getting information where it is needed.
T Mobile is not alone in its seemingly clueless thrashing. Same problem in many businesses. Search is not going to fix the problem of flawed management. When each customer support avenue fails, what’s that tell me?
Stephen E Arnold, July 8, 2010
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