What Happened To Customer Service?

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I received this 20 minutes after I wrote my second letter and will write another one tomorrow afternoon if the silence continues. Maybe I am expecting too much in this day and age.

The latest update with AVIVA regarding my outstanding policy payment is that I have now written two letters and made 3 phone calls since last Wednesday evening. The phone calls are not cheap phoning from a cell phone in South Africa and being placed on hold due to their queueing system with an average length of call being 25 minutes.

The only news I now know after todays call is that the problem (me) has been taken over by a specialist team on the 30th May. This is the day after I wrote the letter to their CEO demanding answers and her involvement. All this means for now is the people answering the phone have little or no information to aid me in this frustrating period.

Todays letter got an immediate response now I know it is with the "specialist team" and have to press buttons elsewhere. I am allowing them a short period of time like this week to make thing right which I deem as a fair time frame before it goes to legal.

Every person I have spoken to thus far has stated that on their system everything is in order and it is a matter of just processing the payment. I am certain there are delays put in place as a company directive to a certain few that will keep the money tied up in their accounts a little longer. How much longer is the question I have been asking as we are well over the processing time and is morally wrong what has transpired.

If you are in customer services you go over and above to make sure the customer is happy and the most important part is communication. When did this stop becoming so important because this is the most important part and buys you the time to fix whatever has gone wrong.

Over the last 10 years I can count the fingers on one hand when I have been impressed with a company with how they handle their business and the rest have no clue or just don't care. Cost cutting measures to create more profits has the opposite effect mainly down to the fact the person who is getting short changed is the customer. For every customer you are gaining the chances are you are losing two out the back door.

Growing a business is about keeping your current clientele list happy whilst adding adding new ones regularly. When you are in the selling game you need people who not only understand the selling game, but are also what we would term people people. Someone who can converse with anyone and can solve problems as they arise without having to ask for help every 5 minutes. You can tell what type of person you are dealing with within the first few seconds by just listening to the tone of their voice.

Surely an update was the priority after I had reached out and not a letter stating a certain manager has been tasked with the job. The CEO should have followed up already asking for the facts so they can proceed and clear up whatever is going wrong. Maybe I think differently, but this is common sense by not letting things slide especially when your name is now involved.

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