Note: Today's entry is a guest post from Bridgz employee Nick Nelson.
A recent post from Elizabeth Glagowski on The 1to1 Blog noted that Sprint is banking its future on enhanced customer engagement. As a longtime Sprint customer, the entry resonated with me.
Glagowski wrote:
From 2008 to 2010, the company was in crisis mode. It focused on customer satisfaction as the key to getting back on track. [VP of Customer Experience Jerry] Adriano says the company dug in to stabilize the customer care organization by meeting expectations, addressing discrete pain points, improving first call resolution and satisfaction within channels, and encouraging employees to consider the importance of the customer experience.
The company wants to go even further for 2011-2013. "For us it's about a shift," Adriano told the audience. "It was about satisfaction and now we want to drive loyalty and advocacy. We want interactions to be one of the reasons you stay with us and recommend us. We want to exceed expectations."
In the world of wireless telecommunications, competition is stiff. More than most, this is an industry where customers are in control, with Sprint vying for business alongside such hulking entities as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile and Virgin. If you anger your subscribers, they won't hesitate drop you and head elsewhere (at least once their current plan is up).
I've been with Sprint for many years, and I've been frustrated on many occasions by the underwhelming device offerings and their coverage.
Let's face it, no matter which provider you use, cell phones can cause a lot of annoyances. Interactions stemming from these experiences can shape our image of a brand, and I will say I have never come away frustrated from an interaction with one of their employees, be it on the phone or in person.
It sounds like I'm not alone. A Consumer Reports study late last year found that Sprint had "pulled even in overall satisfaction with Verizon" and "even scored better than Verizon in some aspects of customer service," which was deemed a "remarkable turnaround" in light of the fact that Verizon had dominated the ratings over the past seven years.
Despite their drawbacks, I've stuck with Sprint and will continue to do so, largely because of their reliably good customer service. For me, and apparently for many others, this trumps other important concerns.
All businesses, not just those in the wireless telecommunications industry, should take this lesson to heart.