I have spent several hours in the past few days apologizing to any number of customer service agents. Every time I am directed to speak to another agent (apparently going up the food chain in escalating problems), I have restated the same words, “I’m so sorry that I’m frustrated and angry! It’s not your fault, but it’s your company and it’s complete inability to address my issues, that is making me angry! You are just doing your job, and time after time, your company is failing both you and me.”
And they always apologize, politely and sincerely, stating their goal is to fix the problem. And every time (7 times over the past several weeks), they have failed.
It started several weeks ago. I had a very special need for a standard product from this supplier. We had done business before. While I could go to other suppliers, because of the special request and the criticality of addressing it by a certain date, I went to the sales person who serviced our account.
When I described what I needed, he responded, “We can certainly to this, we’ve done this with other customers, but I need to put you in touch with a special group at headquarters. They can solve your problem.”
I reached out to the group. It was one of the “normal” calls. I dial a number, the call is picked up by an auto attendant directing me which key to hit next and to enter some information. I was then switched to another auto attendant, then cascaded through one more until I got a human being (this process took me about 10 minutes).
I spoke with an individual, described what I needed, and he said, “We can easily do this and get it to you by the date required. I will need to get some approvals from others in the company, and will have to have you sign some documents.” He agreed he could get the approvals within a day, he sent me an agreement. He also sent me a special app, so we could keep updated on the status of the approvals and order.
I completed the documents, sign them, and returned them. The app showed this step completed. I wait 36 hours, haven’t heard a thing, see no update on the app. So I call back. You guessed it I had to go through the same 3 levels of auto attendant, and waiting to get to a human being.
I explained the situation, he could see the prior conversation and the documents I had completed and signed. He apologized, saying, “I will have to start things all over and get the approvals. I also have to send you a new set of forms to complete and sign.”
I asked, “Why can’t you use the forms I completed before?” He patiently explained, this would be a new order number and all the forms had to be updated to reflect this new order number. I asked why he couldn’t just update the forms I had already sent, he replied, “It’s our policy to do it this way…” Frustrated, I agreed to complete the forms, I went through the same process and, he said he would get the approvals on his side. Before disconnecting, he said what the previous person said, “We will inform you of status and scheduled via text, voicemail, email, and through the app….” It seemed overkill to me, but I agreed.
The order was scheduled for delivery on 12/19. I had arranged a number of meetings, based on the expectation of receiving the order yesterday. Other than the initial acknowledgment and confirmation texts, voicemails, emails, and app messages, I heard nothing.
Yesterday, on the 19th, I kept checking delivery status. I needed to be in the office to accept delivery. The app continued to say, “This order will be delivered on the 19th.” At 9 pm, I figured I wouldn’t get it. Before going home, I cancelled the meetings I had scheduled, apologizing for the delay.
This morning, December 20, the app still confirmed delivery on the 19th.
I called the main number again. Went through the auto attendants, stayed on hold until I got the first agent. “What happened to my order?” She replied, “It looks like we were unable to ship it. We sent notifications on the 17th and 18th and we didn’t hear from you.”
“I never received those notifications! And if you look at the app, it has never been updated, it is still saying the 19th! This delay is causing me major problems!”
The agent apologized for the misunderstanding. I apologized for my anger and frustration. She said, “Let me get you to a specialist to address your issue…”
You guessed it, we were disconnected. I went through the same routine again, went through the same explanations with another agent, and he said, “Let me get you to a specialist to address your issue….”
I did get connected to the agent. “How can I help you,” the agent said. I replied, “Don’t you have notes, from the previous discussions with the other agents?” She replied, “Yes I do, how can I help you?”
I could feel the anger boiling in me, but I restrained myself. I recognized the people were just doing their jobs. The company and their systems were failing both them and me. I reexplained the situation, saying I needed the product urgently. I asked when I could get it. Understandably, that was not an easy question because of holiday shutdowns.
She said, “I’ll have to get back to you to confirm when we can deliver this. As you know, we are having holiday shutdowns, so it may be a couple of weeks before we can commit to that delivery.”
OK, at this point I lost it. I managed not to raise my voice, not to swear. I was firm, but frustrated. I explained, this was causing me major problems, that I had made a number of commitments, based on the commitments they had made to me. And that this was costing me a huge amount of money.
I did happen to let it slip, “Later in January, I will happen to see, Greg [xxx] the CEO of your parent company. He and I sit on the same board. I would hate to take his time solving my problem.” (OK, when I get pissed, I can be an asshole. I did know the CEO, I probably never would have said a thing, but….)
The response was immediate, “You don’t have to do that. Let me get someone to look into this for you, we will be right back to you within the hour.”
About 30 minutes later, I get a call from an “800” number. You know, we never pick up calls from numbers we don’t recognize, particularly “800” numbers. The caller identified herself as calling from “Executive Customer Relations.” She asked that I call back as soon as possible, giving me the extension to enter, bypassing the auto attendant, to get to her directly.
I call the number. When the auto attendant started, I entered the extension. The auto attendant ignored it. I waited until the end of it’s introduction (Press 1 for…, Press 2 for….,) I entered the extension again, the auto attendant recycled, “Press 1 for…..” I pressed 1, then cascaded through the next 2 levels of auto attendants, and got a human being. I’m barely holding it together, I patiently, if a little tersely, asked, “Can you connect me with this extension, I’m returning Elisabeth’s call?” The agent asked for more context, I gave it and asked to be transferred.
After a few minutes on hold, Elisabeth came on, very politely saying, “We owe you an apology…” I replied that I didn’t want an apology, I just wanted my problem solved. She replied confirming the delivery date. Frustrated, I said, “Why am I to believe this? Your company has failed in every interaction and commitment it’s made since I started this process. Why am I to believe you will make this new date?”
She was very polite, and seemed genuinely empathetic. She said she would personally be tracking the progress and would keep me informed. I thanked her stating, it shouldn’t be this way. I should never have had to go through any of this process in the first place. I expressed my appreciation and apology to her and her colleagues. “I know you are doing your job and you have to deal with upset people like me. But everything your company is doing, all it’s systems are failing you and they are failing me. As much as I want to do business with you, after we complete this transaction, I am shifting all my business to your competitors. “
She handled the objection well and asked for a little more background about how they systems had failed. I replied, “I don’t have the time or desire to go through this yet one more time. But let me give you a little snapshot of the problem. You left me a message with a number to call and your extension. It didn’t work. Please put me on hold. Pull out your personal phone follow the directions you gave me, to see what happens.”
A few minutes later, she was back on the phone, “I’m so embarrassed, I understand.” I responded, “Every time you try to do your job this is what your customers experience! 100% of the interactions I have had with your company have failed in some way. I have had to invest a huge amount of time. The incompetence your company displays in meeting it’s commitments has made me fail to meet some of my commitments. I am in a situation where I have to get this done with your company, because I don’t have an alternative.”
She was very understanding and apologetic.
I responded, “You shouldn’t have to do this. You haven’t made these errors and mistakes. It’s the company, it’s systems and processes that have failed. And based on my experience they fail constantly. I am frustrated and angry, but not at you. You are just doing your job.”
I concluded, “I’ve spent way too much time on this issue. I have to run. I hope your company will make the new delivery date. Thank you for your help, I do, genuinely, wish you the best for the Holidays….” She reciprocated and we disconnected.
I’m struggling to provide a conclusion to this post. The title is a Mal-adaptation of a William Shakespeare play. Perhaps I’ll end with an adaptation from the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner:
Apologies, Apologies Everywhere, But Not A Commitment To Keep
Sadly, you just can’t make this stuff up…….
Afterword: I won’t bother Greg with mention of this at the board meeting. I don’t need to embarrass him. We are very small in the context of his business. And we will have a new supplier before the meeting, so there is nothing he could do, as much as he might want to.
Afterword: This is the AI generated discussion of my post. The discussion, as most of these are, is actually quite good.
But there is a major hallucination at about the 9:50 mark. The characters completely make up a story and outcome, which has no relationship to the post. I left it in, just because it’s curious how these happen. I tried, instructing the tool to change it. I got variants of the made up story, but could never eliminate the hallucination.
Enjoy!
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