Hopefully no one here would ever doubt that I am Customer Service driven, but I am about to share some stories of the Customer Service darkside. As we further explore the social Customer, we should also talk about some of the other attributes related to Customer Service. Now let me be clear, these are the exceptions, and not the rule. Over the years in trying to service Customers, 99.9% of the Customers I have dealt with were really nice people, even when frustrated by company decisions. I have seen even the most angry people turn around and become a company's biggest fan. Even while striving to do this, I have encountered a select few that make the job much tougher. In this new social world, how do you deal with this type of Customer? Sometimes laws prevent a company from doing much. I remember one Customer who went on a smear campaign, when in reality they skipped out on 3 prior bills, which, as you know, adds costs to other Customers. But collections laws limit what a company, or an individual representing a company can say. It is extremely challenging when the smears are personal. I had another incident where a person bought the domain of my name and pointed it to a negative site. When he bought it he told me it was a gift for me! Although he owned the domain for two years, he eventually released it and I bought it when it was available.
Now sometimes incidents might not be within social, but as we strive to be transparent anyone can learn more about us. I had one experience that I have never spoken about publicly, but I think it can help this discussion. I did not meet this particular Customer in social media. He sent a number of emails, and against the advice of other who dealt with him, I called to hear his perspective. The emails seemed to have legitimate concerns, and I wanted to make it right for him. I called from my cell, which many can attest that I have done often. Without getting into specifics, the conversation was odd at times, but I promised to review his concerns. As I was out at the time, I immediately reviewed the situation upon returning home. No issue was identified. Over the next few weeks I was regularly harassed and threatened, including threats to find me and my children, He even went as far as call my grandfather in the middle of the night a number of times. He also threatened to contact all my relatives. It was a scary experience. Fortunately the company that I worked for was instrumental in handling this as we did need to follow the legal path. Unfortunately this is not as easy as it seems. Nothing can be done without a restraining order. Today one remains in place, and needless to say the company is not doing business with that Customer. We can label this good attrition.
Over the years I have seen many different types of incidents, some worse than others. I am not writing this to discourage people in service, or social media. We need to sometimes talk about the good and the bad. I am hoping this helps stir conversation. My opinion, and those who know me understand this, companies must have a zero tolerance policy for Customers who place their employees in bad positions. Beyond that, we all must be vigilant in social media, and sometimes understand there are deeper stories that companies may not be able to address in public spaces. I would also recommend to companies that as you build trust with your Customers, they will know the difference between what is real and what is not, they will then defend you. Trust I have seen this in action multiple times, including the first story above. What do you think?