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The Customer Ain't Always Right
Blogs for Bush ^ | July 11, 2007 | Mark Noonan

Posted on 07/11/2007 9:45:02 AM PDT by Kaslin

Interesting:

Hundreds of cell phone customers are being given the boot, accused of being too high maintenance.

Sprint-Nextel is disconnecting more than 1,000 subscribers on grounds the clients call customer service too often and make "unreasonable requests."

The 1,200 people getting dropped will have to find a new carrier by the end of the month.

A Sprint representative said the average customer calls customer service less than once a month, but the 1,200 clients getting the boot call 40-50 times as often.

Sprint said whatever the complaint, it has worked to resolve it but due to the volume of calls it's obvious customers involved are not happy.

In a statement, the company said: "Rather than continue to operate in a situation that was unsatisfactory for Sprint and our subscribers, we chose to terminate our relationship with those customers to allow them to pursue other options."

In my work, I do get plenty of time to deal with customers who, to say the least, have unrealistic expectations - people who want things which are impossible and/or who get amazingly rude when not instantly given what they demand. More than once I've wished I could just say, "ok, I've had it; I've closed your account, we don't want your business, please go annoy some other company".

On the flip side, companies can also be more reasonable - I've often wished I could just forgive something in an account because it was a one-time thing, or the customer was in a jam and just needed a kindness...I guess my plea is for everyone to just remember that we're all people on each end of the line, and all of us can use a break from time to time.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; News/Current Events; Technical
KEYWORDS: nextel; sprint
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To: Kaslin

When Sprint took over my old carrier, they screwed up the billing conversion so bad that they sent me a refund check while they were sending me to collections.

I wouldn’t use Sprint if they were the last cellular company on earth.


21 posted on 07/11/2007 10:15:07 AM PDT by notpoliticallycorewrecked (California : home of the fruits, nuts and flakes.)
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To: Kaslin
A Sprint representative said the average customer calls customer service less than once a month, but the 1,200 clients getting the boot call 40-50 times as often.

We're not just talking about someone complaining about the bill or some other problem. Apparently we're talking about people who have so much time to waste they call customer service on a daily basis, or even a couple of times a day.

I can't imagine what kind of person would want to go through the agony of calling customer service, with all the recorded voices and push 2 for Spanish, and enter your ten digit phone number and push the pound key, and enter your zip code and push the pound key, and then listen to elevator music, and then give the person who answers your name, address, and phone number, every single day. Obviously they have too much timem on their hands.

22 posted on 07/11/2007 10:15:51 AM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Kaslin

so they would rather fire the customer than fix the problems


23 posted on 07/11/2007 10:16:46 AM PDT by JWinNC (www.anailinhisplace.net)
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To: Badeye

Net 60? And you let a valuable customer like that go? j/k

These were more like net 90+, c level business volume, and wanted basically free advice and service all the time.


24 posted on 07/11/2007 10:16:48 AM PDT by doodad
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To: thackney

Yep, that pretty much says it.


25 posted on 07/11/2007 10:17:05 AM PDT by HitmanLV ("Lord, give me chastity and temperance, but not now." - St. Augustine)
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To: doodad

Works for me!


26 posted on 07/11/2007 10:17:41 AM PDT by HitmanLV ("Lord, give me chastity and temperance, but not now." - St. Augustine)
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To: Red_Devil 232

I’vr had to call Sprint customer service about once a year, and some of those times have been to change plans and stuff.


27 posted on 07/11/2007 10:18:37 AM PDT by HitmanLV ("Lord, give me chastity and temperance, but not now." - St. Augustine)
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To: HitmanLV

I do consulting work as well. But I keep my copy of that picture in the desk rather than up on the wall. Not all customers have a sense of humor.


28 posted on 07/11/2007 10:19:02 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: doodad

‘Net 60? And you let a valuable customer like that go? j/k

These were more like net 90+, c level business volume, and wanted basically free advice and service all the time.’

Yep.

And I’ve noted repeatedly a coorelation between high maintenance clients and slow payments.

Its just not worth it.


29 posted on 07/11/2007 10:19:07 AM PDT by Badeye (You know its a kook site when they ban the word 'kook')
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To: Badeye

I had one guy want me in his office weekly and when he got his invoice he exploded.

I explained to him that he is paying me for my experience, knowledge, opinion and time. It is all I have to exchange for money; I am not here to fix the plumbing or change the oil in your car.


30 posted on 07/11/2007 10:23:28 AM PDT by doodad
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To: Kaslin
The Customer Ain't Always Right

Damned straight, and sorry for long reply. Once when working retail I sold a customer a computer package (before they came all in one box) which had computer, monitor, and printer. The special was that the monitor and printer were free and no not free after rebate, as in free. Rang up the computer, monitor and printer, then directly discounted the price of the monitor and printer off the total.

A few days later the customer brought in the printer to return it. We said you can return it, but you didn't pay for it so it will be $0 refund.

She went over and looked to see how much the printer was if you bought it separately ($99) and demanded the $99 refund for the printer.

I said no. She calls the department manager over. He looks at the receipt and asks me about it then tells the customer no. She says call the store manager.

Store manager comes over and she complains that she didn't want the printer and wants to return it, and that she spends so many (complete BS) dollars in the store every month. Store manager returns the printer and gives her the $99 back (that she didn't pay) AND gives her an additional gift card of $50 for the hassle that we gave her.

Customer left and we asked what in the heck the store manager was doing. He said it was better to keep the customer then lose the customer.

The aftermath was that the store manager ended up giving this same customer about $50 a week in gift cards in order to keep her business every time she found things to complain about that she shouldn't be getting anyways.

We figured that the customer the store manager insisted on keeping amounted to a continuing net less for the store overall. But the store manager never figured that out.

The customer ain't always right.

31 posted on 07/11/2007 10:26:08 AM PDT by Domandred (Eagles soar, but weasels never get sucked into jet engines)
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To: Just another Joe
It seems to work for me. I am rarely refused and even in my e-mails I am concise, consistent, and polite.

My strategy as well.

I'd also add: be reasonable, be persistent, and (most importantly) keep notes. Get their name, record the date, time, and summary of your phone call. It's amazing how fast you can cut through the B.S. on the other end when you say to them: "I called on June 5th around noon and spoke with Nancy in regards to this issue..." Gives them very little wiggle room as they know that your records match theirs and they can't try to brush you off.

32 posted on 07/11/2007 10:28:55 AM PDT by whd23
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To: thackney

33 posted on 07/11/2007 10:32:49 AM PDT by andy58-in-nh
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To: All
I regularly patronize a few places around here that offer opportunities for feedback on line and by phone.

The Target is great, fantastic service, friendly staff but a horrible return policy. I say that every time but I don’t really expect it to change. Their employees know this so I don’t give them a hard time.
The local Home Depot is awful and I tell them that every time I get something from there because they offer a feedback opp with every purchase. The store is filthy, the employees are surly and the aisles are blocked with hand trucks ALL THE TIME.. To top that off they canceled the military discount program. I use every opportunity to provide them with the countdown to the grand opening of Lowe’s and the address of the local Ace.

Our Walmart is the same way. Dirty store, filthy floors, no cashiers, surly employees, Soviet era styled inventory (half empty shelves and “our truck comes in on Thursday or Friday” excuses).. Here, I use their request for feedback to tell them how bad this store is and how much I like the Walmart in the next city over which is smaller but clean, filled with nice employees and shelves that actually have inventory. If I need a bulb, I can get a bulb not an excuse.

Being on both ends of the customer/supplier relationship I feel a responsibility to shop and patronize at places that make the effort, even if I drive a little longer to get there. I would gladly pay a little more in every aspect of my purchasing life to get better service. I practically have to force my wife to drive with me to the market 10 miles away because they have better service than the local Shaws.

34 posted on 07/11/2007 10:42:22 AM PDT by newnhdad
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To: Kaslin

I agree that this is a good thing.

Here’s a question: Could this be a precedence that insurance companies could follow? For example, if a customer is receiving too many benefits for the money they put into the system, could they be dropped?


35 posted on 07/11/2007 10:48:05 AM PDT by Theo (Global warming "scientists." Pro-evolution "scientists." They're both wrong.)
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To: Domandred
We figured that the customer the store manager insisted on keeping amounted to a continuing net less for the store overall. But the store manager never figured that out.

Yeah, that's why he's in management.

36 posted on 07/11/2007 10:57:33 AM PDT by Lurking in Kansas (Nothing witty here...)
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To: Theo
Could this be a precedence that insurance companies could follow? For example, if a customer is receiving too many benefits for the money they put into the system, could they be dropped?

Are you joking? This has been the practice for a long time with many insurance companies.

37 posted on 07/11/2007 11:00:34 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: Kaslin
I can sympathize with these people. Our former cell phone provider (starts with a V)gave us fits. First we had hundreds of hours of bogus calls appear on our bill all from one location (where we knew no one) each lasting less than two minutes at all hours of the day and night and sometimes only minutes apart. We of course never received any of these calls. We surmised that our phone minutes were being used by a drug dealer with inside help from the phone company as the calls stopped once we complained. However the phone company refused to delete these minutes from our bill. It took months and intervention by the consumer affairs division of the state Attorney General's office to get this resolved.

Little more than a year later we were billed a $100 disconnect fee after we canceled our son's phone when he moved out of state. The cancellation was after the contract period had ended and we were repeatedly assured that this fee would be waived. It took us nearly a year and again with intervention by the consumer affairs division of the state Attorney General's office to get this problem resolved. Needless to say we are now with another company.

38 posted on 07/11/2007 11:09:24 AM PDT by The Great RJ ("Mir we bleiwen wat mir sin" or "We want to remain what we are." ..Luxembourg motto)
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To: davidlachnicht
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!!!

39 posted on 07/11/2007 11:15:36 AM PDT by Lonesome in Massachussets (I never consented to live in the Camp of the Saints.)
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To: Kaslin
I have 14 of the Nextel phones for my company and I’m trying to get out of the contract without paying the $200.00 fee to break the contract. Too many areas of no service and too many dropped calls. Maybe all I have to do is *itch too much and they will fire me.
40 posted on 07/11/2007 11:26:32 AM PDT by newbolt
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