A few weeks ago, I wanted to renew my DSTV subscription but mistakenly quoted the wrong smartcard number. When my service was not restored the following day, I called the DSTV customer service and quoted the same wrong smartcard number with confidence. The payment was confirmed but my service was not restored after the 5 minutes promised.
I made several calls and kept getting the same response- my account name was different, but the payment reflected and service would be restored in 5 minutes. In the evening, I called again, and because I work in the same environment, was able to control my frustration. Bisi, the customer care personnel who attended to me, probed further and that was when I realized my mistake. It took humility on my part to realize my folly, because when she asked me to check my smartcard number again, I would have ranted that my intelligence was questioned- a lot of customers do that.
Upon realization that I was responsible for the mistake, I requested that the amount paid be transferred to my account, and Bisi gave me a 2- week turnaround time. In the meantime, she restored my service with the remaining balance in my account. Exactly two weeks later, I called the customer care helpdesk to confirm the transfer, and it was confirmed. For me, that is the perfect definition of integrity.
Every organization thrives on integrity, and expects the Customer Service division to enhance this value. When customers call in to complain about issues, the end story is usually “when will the issue be resolved?”. That’s when integrity comes into play. We must never make empty promises to customers. Where we are not sure of what to tell customers, let’s endeavour to make enquiries so that we don’t give out the wrong information. When customers talk to us, they don’t see us as individuals, they see us as the organization we represent and believe that whatever we say or promise is authoritative.
When Bisi gave me a 2-week turnaround time, I did not feel too good because it seemed so far away. In the long run, I was glad she told me the truth because she could have said 2 days just to delight me at that time, but eventually frustrate me. We don’t have to make promises before we want to get customers off our back. No matter how bitter it is, the truth will always be appreciated- and there’s no better channel to tell the truth and enhance the organization’s integrity than customer service.
Integrity is isn’t just a value, it’s a value every human must have.
No comments:
Post a Comment