Monday, November 13, 2006
Time
A customer came in to complain about our reminder notice today. He says it took him 10 minutes to get through it and get back online. This is certainly possible, dial-up isn't blisteringly fast, our customers aren't blisteringly smart, and it can take up to five minutes for our server to update. I can also understand why, if someone was particularly impatient, that that someone might not want a service that interrupts them for ten minutes, even if it was only once or twice a year.
What I can't understand is the mentality that says "I'm going to spend 5 minutes calling and complaining, then 10 more minutes on another call, then 10 more minutes on a third call, then some amount of travel time (this customer lives out-of-town) plus 5 more minutes on an in-person conversation", all on complaining about that 10 minute interruption. Especially since we clearly explained in the first call that we will not be changing that for next year.
Throw in a few hangup calls where he didn't say anything, and seven comments on his account complaining about this issue, and it just gets incomprehensible. Even if it's not just the 10 minutes that are the problem, and rather that they happen to occur at an inconvenient time, why complain so much? Why not just go with another company that does things the way you want them? They're out there. I ended up having to explain that there aren't many companies out there at our prices, largely because of this reminder notice, and suggested that he seek service elsewhere. He disagreed, and said there are lots. So why isn't he with one of them? My best guess is that he's either lying about the competition's prices, or he just likes fighting.
The sad part is I actually have his best interests in mind. I could be a dick and lie to him, and tell him whatever it takes to make him sign up for another year. I could take his money. But I don't. I suggest that someone else can better serve him if what he wants is to not waste 10 mins of his time every year. But for some reason that doesn't satisfy him. Ironic that all he ends up doing is wasting more of both of our time.
What I can't understand is the mentality that says "I'm going to spend 5 minutes calling and complaining, then 10 more minutes on another call, then 10 more minutes on a third call, then some amount of travel time (this customer lives out-of-town) plus 5 more minutes on an in-person conversation", all on complaining about that 10 minute interruption. Especially since we clearly explained in the first call that we will not be changing that for next year.
Throw in a few hangup calls where he didn't say anything, and seven comments on his account complaining about this issue, and it just gets incomprehensible. Even if it's not just the 10 minutes that are the problem, and rather that they happen to occur at an inconvenient time, why complain so much? Why not just go with another company that does things the way you want them? They're out there. I ended up having to explain that there aren't many companies out there at our prices, largely because of this reminder notice, and suggested that he seek service elsewhere. He disagreed, and said there are lots. So why isn't he with one of them? My best guess is that he's either lying about the competition's prices, or he just likes fighting.
The sad part is I actually have his best interests in mind. I could be a dick and lie to him, and tell him whatever it takes to make him sign up for another year. I could take his money. But I don't. I suggest that someone else can better serve him if what he wants is to not waste 10 mins of his time every year. But for some reason that doesn't satisfy him. Ironic that all he ends up doing is wasting more of both of our time.
# posted by Gideon Humphrey @ 10:57 AM 
