Lessons in customer service
I was recently invited to speak at the Telstra Wholesale hosted Market Connections Forums in Melbourne and Sydney.
The key point of my presentation was that bad service costs more than good but we (those engaged in service industries) are very good at measuring the Cost of Bad Service.
It is an undisputed fact that customers walk out the door if the customer experience isn’t up-to-scratch. We also know that organisations are being mandated to control or reduce operating costs. Too often customer service excellence initiatives struggle to get funding as the Return on Investment (ROI) is poorly understood and articulated and all too often customer service managers often have to rely on anecdotal ‘feel good’ benefits rather than hard numbers.
The CSIA has developed a Cost of Bad Service Methodology™ to measure the financial cost of bad service and the tangible and intangible savings and benefits of reaching Customer Service Excellence.
A breakthrough is needed in management thinking to resolve the so-called service/cost dilemma by better understanding the actual Cost of Bad Service and the effect ‘bad service’ has on cost, revenue, reputation and customer experience across all key interactions.
Many organisations currently offer poor customer experiences and most find it challenging to eliminate the problems that traditionally roadblock success.
These include the service/cost dilemma, where costs increase in ratio with efforts to boost customer experience, while slashing costs often means slashing service. This mindset is not always correct as the cost of delivering poor service may not be properly accounted for and allocated. A clear correlation between the customer service improvement efforts and savings and profitability has been established in many Australian public and private sector organisations through work carried out by the CSIA. Long-term CSIA members are reporting significant revenue increases and cost savings in the order of 25% to 30% at the same time as customer satisfaction has increased.
There are two types of costs that can be attributed to ‘BAD SERVICE’:
VISIBLE costs; for example:
- cost of complaints handling
- ombudsman issues and compensation
- re-work
- cost of incorrect invoicing
- commission paid to sales people for services later cancelled or compensated
- absenteeism and staff attrition
- Poor ‘word of mouth’ requiring increased defensive advertising resulting in higher customer acquisition costs etc…
And, INVISIBLE costs, for example:
- multiple contacts and hand-offs to deal with a single issue or complaint driving increased Customer Service FTE
- hidden Activities to deal with poor service problems
- lost sales due to lack of confidence in company service standards and ability to meet requirements
- lost revenue based the lifetime value of the customer when ‘churn’ is caused by service issues,etc…
Understanding and addressing the real cost of bad service represents a tremendous opportunity for the industry so taking on the hard work will reap significant financial rewards.
TELSTRA DOES NOT OFFER ANY GOOD SERVICE – I NEED HELP TO GO THROUGH MY TELEPHONE ACCOUNT AS I FEEL THAT I AM BEING CHARGED WAY TOO MUCH AND CANNOT SEEM TO BE ABLE TO TALK TO AN OPERATOR (I HAVE TO PHONE FROM MY MOBILE, WHERE THERE IS POOR RECEPTION AND IT COSTS ME A FORTUNE WHEN I AM WAITING ON HOLD TOO LONG OR GET CUT OFF!)
This afternoon (22/12/2009) I tried to contact Telstra to enquire about an account I received today. I went through all the procedures offered and upon requesting to speak with an operator and recorded other enquiries, I was put on hold for 34 minutes. Finally I hung up and tried again, this time, after a few minutes, Telstra hung up on me.
How can anyone get through. I notice on the telephone account it states enquiries billing, services and moving Monday to Friday 8.00am to 5.30pm. I phoned at 3.00pm. so why would I have half and hour waiting period, having to hang up and try the number again, and finally to have Telstra hang up on me.
I really do hope that Telstra are reflecting on the session content at this conference. I find it incredulous that in trying to provide “unsolicted” help by contacting us frequently to offer service enhancements only causes increased time and frustration due to lack of consistent information. To have someone keep calling us offering account management is insulting as we saw ourselves as telecommunication customers not accounts. We have now got a family discussion time virtually every evening to share the comical conversations we are having with Telstra. We have decided to write up our personal experience as it will make great presentation material when I speak on lessons in customer engagement. It is unfortunate that at this time due to our address we are hostage and cannot leave. Not a great feeling as a customer.
Reflecting earlier comments, I do hope Telstra is taking the feedback seriously.
Just a week ago, I rang up Telstra to query a massive overcharge of some $400 on my single bill (2 lines, bigpond 100GB & foxtel platinum) and I was transferred to three different people (having to explain my situation three times) before the $400 was credited to the account.
The idiocy of the situation is compounded by the fact that I had spend more than 90 minutes on the phone in early December to ensure that this overcharge wouldn’t occur. Despite the consultants reassurances that I was to be charged correctly, I received an incorrect bill nonetheless.
It’s just not acceptable for a $40 billion company. Between the dozens of departments at Telstra, neither seems to know what the other is doing. You check to ensure that issues are recorded on file to make things easier for the next consultant, only to be confronted with a consultant who can’t find the notes or says they don’t exist.
Do something about it. I spend $350 per month at home and $1000 per month through my business with Telstra and the service is incompetent. Thankfully your products make the customer service headaches bearable.
I am a long term, long suffering fully paid up Telstra share holder (severasl thousand not just a few), Landline, Broadband and 6X mobile one-bill customer. My home bill is regularly over $400.00 per month. That’s nearly $5,000 per year. A new small car every 3-4 years. I am sure the local dealer would know me personally if we were such a good regular customer!!
My daugthter is travelling in Africa. She sends us messages and calls our Telstra mobiles every second day. We even get emails from cafes etc. Its great to keep in touch.
HOWEVER …. we can’t call or text her !! Why? Telstra doesn’t list Zambia, Botswana etc as countries with “arrangements” for its customers to call there.
How about you guys fix your products & sevice levels before trying to tell us how good we have it!
Telstra have NO ideas what goes on in RURAL NSW.Their product knowledge and customer service is negative,they give out wrong information about their competitors,we keep getting calls fro overseas offering us better services and we dont even get the service out here that we should get.It takes 14 days to get a line fixed,just because there are NO techs out here,the nearest one being 55 kilometers away and as far as knowledge about products,that is non existant.
Telsra should look at the BUSH,then ge rid of the overseas call centres,bring back Aussie employement,give their operators a leasson in prosuct knowledge,as well as customerservice and take us back to the days of a REAL person,who is NOT imitating an Aussie,BUT is an Aussie and can supply us with the information that we need,AND not what a computer tells them.
What happened before computers…….
Telstra called me last week to ask me about my brothers account the other day – they asked for him but called my number. I pointed out the error. The next day they cut my phone off. To be fair, I had part paid one of my Telstra accounts the day before and had some money outstanding and overdue on this account. I waded through 4 layers of “customer service” was quoted my brother’s number in Melbourne as my own (I live in Sydney) and eventually found out that my brother is an authorised representative on my account. Some where some how something has gone horribly wrong. I never made him access to my Telstra account. I finally got through to the change of address department where I was told I could have him (and various others) removed and I was cut off. To say I am pissed off is an understatement. I have very little confidence in Telstra sorting this out without causing me a lot of pain. I don’t have time to delve into the minutae of how this happended. I just want it fixed and for telstra to treat me like the lucrative customer I am
Telstra have the worst customer experience I have ever experienced in my entire life. Having dealt with Telecommunication companies in three separate countries in which I have live, including the UK.
Scenario – Need new Phone line installation and cable internet (existing infrastructure in place)
Key points:
1. So far 14 calls over a three week period (from a mobile $$)
2. On five occasions operators could not find my order
3. Made four bookings for Telephone engineer / Internet Cable Engineer – NOT ONE TURNED UP.
COST ME A FORTUNE IN UNPAID LEAVE WAITING FOR THESE PEOPLE TO TURN UP
4.No one cares at Telstra
Still not resolved – supposedly they are now coming on 30th for phone installation and 31st December 2009 for cable.
Do not suspect for one second they will acutally turn up. If they do the engineer will not be able to do the job and will have to send out a more senior engineer.
I will then be involved in numerous calls to Telstra over the next 6 months regarding billing issues.
Good one Telstra but why should you care, I can’t go anywhere else.
Telstra you are a total disgrace.
Telstra must be the most frustrating, complacent, useless organisation i have ever had the misfortune to deal with. They keep you hanging on for ages , then have no knowledge of prior calls regarding the same matter. Then you hear something completely different regarding the matter each time. Do they not train the staff ? should they not all be able to give the correct information to there customers ? They should be made to account for there mistakes and mis information. They obviously do not care. Hence why i am leaving them, if more people did the same they may take notice.
Great Sentiments Brett , Pity you cant get it through the heads of some of your employees overseas who are incompetent or poorly trained. They as you do express all the right sentiments . They then fail miserably to deliver I wonder if it is the same throughout the company
I really dont know if Telstra wants the truth I think it is too inconvenient for them. From my experience they dont seem to hear what is told to them. Their shared reality of what they do to people is not the same as the majority of the population.
My story is: 10th Aug 2009 I phone Telstra to change my billing address for my mobile phone and remove it from the home/foxtel/bigpond/wife’s mobile (all in one account). I am then informed that I am able to upgrade my mobile to a better and more economical plan. “Great let’s do it.” Ten days later I get my new phone and everything is going well. What good service Telstra give.
WRONG!!!! I receive my bill and Not only is my phone still on the one account, I now have a charge of $588. When I phone up to enquire what the charge is for, I’m informed by the first of many people I spoke to that it was for the handset. Sorry I was not informed of a $588 charge for my handset; besides every other 2 year contract I had I’ve received a free Handset. After speaking to numerous people I am finally told that it is an incorrect charge and it would be credited to my Account.
WRONG AGAIN!!! Next month they’ve fixed the billing address but I’ve still got the $588 charge. After another hour or so on the phone’ I’m assured it is an incorrect charge and has been rectified.
WRONG AGAIN!!! I now decide to go chat to the local Telstra shop. Sorry it has nothing to do with us, but we will put it in an email to our complaints department. Now we’re getting somewhere.
WRONG AGAIN!!! I get a call from a gentleman who tells me he is from the complaints department and he’ll help sort out the problem. He looks into the bill and says this charge is for your handset. But when asked what handset I had, he couldn’t tell me. Anyway I explain that every other person I’ve spoken to has told me that the phone comes free with the contract. He then tells me if I won’t pay the $588 then I should return the phone to my nearest Telstra shop and he’d cancel the contract at NO COST TO ME. He also told the Telstra shop manager the same thing. I hand the phone back and sure enough the $588 is credited to my account. BUT a $1045 cancellation charge is on my account.
After nearly 5 months, hours on the phone (losing work time) numerous visits to Telstra shop, I am now receiving Debt collector notices about the charge.
Well Telstra, why are you the second most complained about company in Australia???????
Mark, thats terrible mate. You try to do your best, but it all comes unstauck in the end. If Telstra cant fix this for you, then maybe the TIO is the next Port of Call. ?
Terrible service just bought a new pre paid and i cant even activate it. Goin to take it back and jump on a different service provider!
Lessons in Customer service…..
Cost of complaints handling – Congratulation Telstra on reducing the cost of handling customer complaints by locating the complaints call center in “Manila, Philippines”
Ombudsman issues and compensation – cost to increase in the event that no resolutions can be achieved by speaking to a call center in the Philippines.
Re-work – I am certain that you have people reworking the rework to find out why you had to rework it in the first place…… I think everyone who calls Telstra has this feeling.
Cost of incorrect invoicing – The reworkers must be working on this…. Your P&L must look great, overcharge, under service and declare a profit.
Commission paid to sales people for services later canceled or compensated – Your sales people (one hit wonders) do a fantastic job selling a service that is not there.
Absenteeism and staff attrition – One hit wonders looking for a quick sale and your own staff being fed up with the reworkers.
Poor ‘word of mouth’ requiring increased defensive advertising resulting in higher customer acquisition costs etc… – I love this….. When will Telstra ever learn the basics, it is cheaper to maintain a happy customer than look for a new one.
I, and many others could go on and on of our experiences, and yes, surprise, surprise I have just logged another issue in writing this time overcharging.
It is with some surprise, and concern, that Telstra does not have a suitably qualified person to speedily answer all critical Posts on the Exchange. It is a probability that some complaints are without foundation, and these should be quickly exposed. Those complaints with genuine content should be speedily addressed on Exchange and a solution reported. Customer satisfaction has been identified by Mr Thodey for early implementation and a good start would be to address all complaints with fast and intense explanation.
Just got off the phone, again, from a person who,again, couldnt tell me what is going on with our broadband. We pay for a 1500kbps service and for TWO MONTHS we have only been reaching a maximum of 224kbps. Here are a list of ‘excuses’ that I have gotten over the last two months.
“Its your router that is the problem”. (its a bigpond 2-wire!)
“Your duet line knocked out your speed to 256″ (well how am I still getting billed for 1500?)
“You must have too many computers on the net at the same time” at that time we had ONE.)
“we are looking into it and you will be up and running by 5pm today” That was two days ago
Those are good, but this one is an absolute cracker…
“I’m terribly sorry Sir, but your exchange has been suffering some congestion and we don’t have any idea when it will be fixed.”
If it wasn’t for the fact that telstra/bigpond are the only provider in our little town that can give us the services (said with toungue in cheek) that we need then we would have moved our services long ago.
Like I said, I have just gotten off the phone, and after I have a cuppa to calm down a bit, I’m getting back on to call the TIO. I have used them before to sort them out, looks like I have to do it again. And I encourage anyone who has problems with telstra/bigpond to do the same. If they cant regulate their own services then its about time someone went in with a big pair of boots and did it for them.
I had very bad experience with Telstra service, everytime when we try to call or speak to the consultant or the operator, there’s always DIFFERENT resolution or result from different people. the operator/consultant is not professional or well-trained. Also, when they call for the promotion, they would said ok to everything, but when the bills come, we’ve got charge with anything, and yet, everything.
[Similar case to Mark]
Everytime I call Telstra i’m really struggle myself because I need to go through with the whole process by repeating the reason i call, and when we’ve got transfer to some other department, I have to REPEAT again, [providing that there's note on the account.]
Time wasted, patience wasted, EQ used and problem wasn’t solve.
For some reason I realise that most of the time the consultant/operator who works in Australia would able to help or solve our problem, so probably Telstra would need to consider to apply a better training program for the workers who works in different station [oversea]
Try telecommunication Osmund for all your complaints against Telstra they listen to them better.
Mine was resolved in 3 months after over 6 hours of talking in phone with their so called customer service dept. And all because their marketing dept called me to offer a mobile plan too good to believe with came to be a very pricey sales pitch for me……….learn from your mistakes……. treat your staff better telstra not just your CEO’s. The way you treat your staff reflects to us very clearly time and again and again
Seems everyone is with the BPS as well .
It took them 10 days to fully connect my new Cable Elite service.
First day they brought around the wrong cable .
Day 2 they strung the line from the pit to the house but did not connect either end as the tech guy said he would be back later that day to finish off the installation .
12pm , tech guy rang and said he had finished for the day and would be back sometime before 12.00pm the next morning .
The day came and went without the guy turning up .
All the time this was happening I was ringing telstra and tearing my hair out with their yes sir no sir attitude and getting switched from one department to the next.
The following week came and it was wednesday when they finally hooked me up .
From day one , talking to the sales team and asking them what would be the best and quickest service for my 3 wireless pc’s they recommended the new Docsis 3.0modem. (BP sales have a problem as do the T-LITE shops)
To my annoyance it turned out to be a Netgear G series Cable network gateway . I told sales that pc’s are in different rooms
This modem does not have any port at all to add any other attachments (N-router etc)
Once again I rang BP and complained of the lack of speed I was getting which was falling on deaf ears .
Yesterday when I rang them and voiced my disapproval they said they would send me another modem which would rectify the problem after I told them I would ring the telco authority .
BTW , I was still getting charged for ADSL2 2weeks later even though the tech guy told them to disconnect.
Cheers ,
Once I lived up the bush and had to wait for Telstra to plough a cable 10klm out to my property. It took two years and I waited until one day I recieved a letter stating the bulldozers were comming. 10klm of cable layed right to my house $178.00 connection fee. Two tech’s in the town, only one word could describe the patriotism I felt being connected by Aussie’s big Telco \sensational\.
Unfortunately, this was the deamtime as today there are no tech’s you talk to. It’s the Phillipines or India and they don’t have a clue what to do and often give you stupid answers to querries or questions. Calls are often terminated before you have concluded. It is insulting the Australian Government still has some control of Telsta but allows call centres outside Australia. If nothing else Telstra has lost it’s identity with it’s consumers, it has become just another large company churning away not really doing anything special and charging stupid amounts of money for their services.
People don’t mind paying a premium but if they can’t see value in what they are paying for they feel ripped off. Poor service, (not the network) complicated dispute resolution, foreign call centres, high prices, no real competition for the services wanted. No wonder there is churn. What is the real cost to Telstra of these mistakes.
All I can say is Telstra is luck there are plenty of people like me who have been loyal customers for over 30 years never once going to the competion.
Telstra \wake up\ this is Australia, do something inovative to justify the charges for your services.
I am a Customer.
Hi everyone.
Just letting you know that Customer Service has been in touch with the people who have outlined their Telstra issues here. Whilst Telstra Exchange isn’t designed to be a customer service resolution platform, we take this issue seriously and will ensure customers are offered assistance. Thanks for taking the time to share your problems and I hope they are satisfactorily resolved.
Thanks Kristen
Kristen, Re: “Whilst Telstra Exchange isn’t designed to be a customer service resolution platform”,
Maybe you should use Telstra Exchange as Resolution Platform?
Its pretty obvious , the other platforms arent having a decent impact.
Hi Paul
I guess I was trying to say that our original intent wasn’t to make this site a resolution platform. It was to set up as a discussion forum for hot topics. Customer service is a hot topic, so we’ll have that discussion and help out too. In other words, I think the site has become a resolution platform by default – and that’s OK if that’s what people want to talk about.
Cheers
Kristen
Telstra does not care about its customers. After 10 years as a Telstra customer, I decided at Christmas that I had had enough of Telstra’s ‘yeah, whatever’ attitude and would use another provider.
Of all the people I spoke to in trying to find out how to go about ending my relationship with Telstra, nobody asked me why I was willing to pay the money to end my contract early. People paying to leave your service should set alarm bells ringing, at least if you are interested in running a profitable business.
I was attracted to my new provider by the friendly and helpful staff in their shop, which was a refreshing contrast to the surly service you get when you walk into a Telstra shop (where you always get the feeling that you are interrupting staff who would really prefer to be doing something else).
My parents, too, have ditched Telstra and taken up with someone else to provide their home, mobile and internet accounts, having been customers since the days of Telecom.
Bad service, confusing bills, and conflicting advice when you phone with a query (or when Telstra phones you with a new offer) are some of the reasons why my parents and I have left Telstra and will not be back.
Whenever someone complains about Telstra (which is pretty often, really) I take the opportunity to say how happy I am with my new provider.
Appalling
I have just found out that a default notice has been lodged against me by Telstra. Not for any monies I owe but due to the fact they cannot track the return of two Foxtel boxes returned to them. I lodged a dispute last year which has still no outcome and now find out this latest ‘tactic’, designed to effect maximium stress in order to create a positive outcome for them.
It is however not illegal for them to decide to put a default notice on an individual and I have heard they do it as way of ‘punishment’.
As I am not in the wrong it beggars belief that they are allowed to impact consumers in this way without being held more accountable.
With so many professionals heading up this organisation you would imagine that they would be able to put in place systems which enable them to manage their business fairly as well as effectively. They do neither.
Hi Kristen, thanks for taking the time to make a post.
My parents returned their Telstra rental phone in 2006 and elected to instead purchase their own cordless set of phones for the convenience factor.
Since then, they have been charged $3/mo for handset rental, which as I understand they should not have had to pay. My father assumed it was part of the line rental fee and as such did not pay any attention to this charge.
I contacted Telstra today on their behalf and was told we will only be backpaid for three months of phone rental despite not having a rental phone for in excess of three years.
After doing some research I notice several people have had the same issue, and there has been some success in getting these charges reversed by sending Telstra a Statutory Declaration stating we have not had the rental phone since then – it should show up in a log somewhere stating as much, as the phone was returned via the normal procedure.
Any help would be appreciated.
And now you’re deleting complaint comments without rectifying or addressing them, or even allowing people to voice their frustrations? Classic Telstra.
As I have no resolution here I’ll take my (deleted) complaint further.
My God Telstra is still not doing anything about customer service, over 103,000 complaints last year….???
I myself am at my wits end over promises which have not been kept or documented and face my phone being cut off, all over Telstras inability to even reply or do anything about my complaint. I hope that someone from telstra does contact me from my post on here, because that will be the first time in over 1 year that i have been trying to sort out my issues. I AM SO STRESSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hi Carol
I just heard from the customer service team that your complaint has been resolved. I hope you are feeling better now and thanks for commenting here. You can always contact Telstra online at: http://www.telstra.com.au/help/
Thanks
Kristen
Telstra
Do you want to loose all your customers.
I was asked to place all on the one bill.
I finished up with one bill but the other bill had a credit.
I was told this will come off the other bill.
Yesterday I got an email about online bill was ready.
I had a look and had two problems that I had to get fixed. They are credits to come on the next bill.
I took note of the amount to be paid and did preparation work for paying.
Late yesterday I got the paper bill and found it did not show the credit coming off.
I called Telstra today only to get told that they cannot do it. They can only send a cheque out.
WHY!!!!! One call say they can do it and then the next say they cannot.
It makes it worse with the online billing page to view current bill down.
It makes it worse when the consultant will not listen to you.
Grahame,
I have a similar issue. I just rang and when I spoke about the credit on one bill she said that I could either opt for a cheque or to transfer the funds.
The cheque would take about 3-4 weeks to come and the transfer would take two billing cycles.
Almost every single person I know has had some issue with telstra, majority have now moved on, after recent issues, very similar to Matt I am also paying out my contract and getting out, good riddance to a truley incompetant company.
Dear Kristen and Mike
I am a telstra shareholder. You know the ones who keep losing money because your bosses can’t organise a breakfast in the kennel club. I can understand why cable installations can be a pain for both telstra and customer but if most of these complaints are a representative sample then your billing department needs to be sacked. Immediately! If Telstra can do it then contract it out to a company that will!
Telstra,
I have a quick question…
Recently, I became aware of the face that my home is on a pair gain system, and therefore is incapable of receiving ADSL2+. This is no longer an issue, as I have bearable 3G Wireless.
However, I can’t fathom why myself and my neighbours, who effectively have halved phone lines with lesser capabilities, are still paying for full line rental, at the same rate as people not on pair gain.
How is it fair for you to sell the one phone line twice by cutting it in half, and screwing over both parties involved?