My wife had a pretty major car accident yesterday (which she escaped practically unscathed, thankfully), and it prompted a series of brief and utterly pointless customer experiences.
I learned about the accident while on a business trip; it was about 4 pm on the day before the July 4th holiday here in the U.S. Never having had an accident before, I really didn't know what to do, and my wife was still at the scene awaiting the ambulance.
So I pulled the insurance card out of my car glovebox and called our 'independent agent' (an agency called Koenig & Strey). A voicemail recording answered, and informed me that the office was 'closed for the holiday' and would reopen on Monday, July 7...at which time calls would be returned.
The other number on the card was for MetLife, the company for which the agent had sold the policy to me (actually policies, as they cover my autos and home), so I called that one. I got a woman on the phone who sounded all of 14 years-old, and asked her what I was supposed to do.
She said "you can file a claim with us or, if the other driver was in the wrong, you can file with their insurance company."
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," I replied. "What's the right thing?"
"I can't tell you that," she said. "It's your choice."
I paused. "Can you tell me the difference?"
"They're different companies," she said in a deadpan.
I won't bore you with the rest of the conversation, but it went on -- and went nowhere -- for about 10 minutes before I gave up.
Then my phone rang. My wife was ready to go to the hospital.
"Did you get the insurance info from the woman who hit you?" I asked quickly.
"I'll take care of it," a man's voice replied, as I was on speaker. "That's the policeman," my wife added.
Fast-forward to our home, a few hours later. My wife is still in semi-shock, and has no information from the event. No insurance info. No policeman name, or business card. No idea where her totaled car has been taken.
I look up the police department that I assume would have responded to the accident, and get a gruff officer on the phone. Now it's 7 pm.
"We're still writing the report, since so many cars were involved," the cop says.
"I understand, but what am I supposed to do regarding the insurance claim?" I ask. "Shouldn't I contact the person who hit my wife?"
"You need to take that up with your insurance provider" he replies.
"I can't do that because I don't know who it is," I add.
"Sir, I don't understand what you're asking me to do," he grunts. "You'll have the report by mid-week."
"So I wait until then before I have the information to contact anybody?"
Silence.
"OK then, thanks," I add.
I am shocked by how these three customer experiences were so unfriendly.
I was asking for nothing special, and my tone was calm, and I spoke sincerely and slowly. But you know what? It shouldn't matter if I called sounding like a raving lunatic...these service providers should have provided me service.
Instead, I got the equivalent of a dial tone, a cold shoulder, and a wrong number.
I wonder how much time and money each of these entities has spent on 'customer-centricity' training and tools? There are likely those irritating signs and posters in their offices that declare "we put customers first," or some other PC nonsense. There are consultants somewhere who have successfully delivered branding blather about customers to these insurance providers, and sensitivity training to the cops.
But when push came to shove, or an accident occurred, there was no customer service or sensitivity to be found.
There's something wrong about it, and shame on me for being such a dim bulb and waiting until there was a crisis to find out.
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