Bad Businesses Beware

I would like to start an organization that helps get people financially reimbursed for having to spend time dealing with companies that make mistakes in their billing, ordering and/or services that they deliver to their customers. I estimate that this year alone, my wife and I have spent well over 70 hours on the phone or driving back and forth to places that have made such mistakes. Unfortunately, this is 70+ hours of our personal time that we will not get back and basically have nothing to show for except tons of frustration and a growing anxiety when having to deal with modern day businesses.

From fast food... to utility companies... to health care etc... It would seem that businesses are caring less and less about quality customer service. The recent advances in voice technology and voice recognition have only added to the problem. They are seeming to give businesses the belief that customer service can be hands off. It cannot work that way. Providing great customer service is not a robotic trait, it is a human trait. Suprisingly, it's getting to where being able to speak to a real person about an issue you are facing is becoming a special privilege and also sadly, a competitive marketing point. And when I do find good customer service lately, why do I feel compelled to make a point of it and say 'Thanks' on social media? Good customer serviced has become such an unexpected part of my interactions with most businesses as of late.

It honestly feels to me like 8 out of 10 times that I go through a drive through, (certain food chains, not necessarily all food chains), that I have to double check my order or else something WILL be missing. It also feels like every interaction I have with my Health or Dental insurance results in some type of overcharge that I did not plan for or was not consulted about in advance. It feels like every time I make a change to my cable service that I get up-charged with miscellaneous fees that I was not warned about in advance. And every time I get some type of miscellaneous other service from a company, I find out that they've oversold me. What I purchased ends up looking much different than what I thought I was purchasing. Of course, to make matters worse, when I call to voice my complaint- I get swept into a cascade of computer voiced operators and senseless prompts that lead to nowhere. Having endured the montage of computerized voices and at the precipice of engaging in human-human conversation, I'll inevitably get disconnected... having to start all... over... again! Usually it'll be a day or two later because I had just enough time to squeeze in a conversation before going about my other business.

Trying to keep frustrations in check after all of this is tough. And when you do finally get to talk to someone who should be able to help you, someone that should have some caring or compassion for you as a person... they don't. Instead of sensitivity and a "Customer comes first" attitude... they'll be the ones to bring up some abstract condition that the salesperson wasn't even aware of and then tell you that its established policy. A lot of times, this leaves you with no argument for rebuttal and have to resign yourself to your fate. You try to feebly argue the fact that you were sold something else but since you have not recorded the conversation, you have no way of proving this to them. Inevitably your claim falls on deaf ears. You're left with an empty feeling of being played and betrayed. "Hey, I'm not lying... I just want to get what I was sold and at the price it was sold to me please... sigh"

I know there are those that sometimes will get through and will find someone to help them. And the responsible representative will make promises that this or that will be reflected on their future billing statement. That does happen and when it does, it fills us hope and good thoughts. It makes us say that we're all human and we all make mistakes, we say we shouldn't have been so hard on that guy/gal.... We'll get off the phone feeling good about our success overall and proud that we stood our ground. The sweet spoils of success. We were able to get that particular establishment to see our line of thinking. They were wrong, I was right all along- Vindication! Then, one month, two months, three months goes by and you notice that what was promised- was never delivered. You will not be receiving free HBO, you will not be receiving that courtesy gift card, you will not be receiving your complimentary copy of such and such... they aren't going to show up without more phone calls more computerized non-empathetic voices to manuever through. So then, you begin the vicious cycle again hoping to not have to repeat this horrible affair over and over like a certain Stephen King series. Sometimes you will find success, sometimes you will not. There are no guarantees anymore. And the unfortunate norm for my wife and I lately, has been that businesses will get it wrong many more times than they will get it right.

Even when it does work out, you cannot dismiss the fact that all of this hopping around takes time. My time. Our time. Your time. Far too much time... doing other people's jobs for them. Far too much time reading company rules to people who work for the company but do not care enough about their customers to try to understand the intricacies of their own positions. Why should it be up to the customer to spot the error? Why should it be up to the customer to spot the mismatch or to find the proper code for them? I do not think that I am off base by suggesting that these businesses be held responsible for their mistakes. Especially, when its not to my favor and I have had to invest my own valuable personal time resolving their myriad of simple, easily avoidable mistakes.

My personal time is very valuable to me as I'm sure it is to you as well. I have two young children, I have hobbies and activities I engage in regularly and sometimes I just like to chill out and watch some TV. Having to deal with problems caused by businesses that are not concerned with delivering a quality product/service is ridiculous and would be tough to conceive of in other Countries. Customers make your business for crying out loud. Why would you bite the very hands that are collectively feeding you?! Countries like Japan pride themselves on being able to provide quality customer service to their customers. They find honor in even the most menial lines of work because they understand that customer service is a very important responsibility. And that customers are paramount to the success of any business. This quality they seem to naturally possess, and it expresses itself in the way that they interact with their customers. Authentic smiles and gestures- true gratitude for YOUR business. "Thank You for being MY customer". Having lived in Japan for two years, I can tell you this was my experience- first hand. And having witnessed this ever present quality in all different types of interactions, it makes the absence of this quality much more profoundly glaring and sad.

Bad customer service seems to be more and more routine lately and it needs to stop. Holding those businesses accountable seems like a good place to start. I am well aware of sites like Angie's List and Yelp that are helping to direct people away from such businesses... and those are great services that are doing a great job. But, my suggestion goes a few steps further and tries to incentivize a resolution by holding businesses financially responsible for wasting peoples' time and energy. My idea would force those businesses to provide better training, support and products or else...

What are your thoughts on this subject?
Do I have a valid point?
Do you have similar experiences?
Are those experiences frequent or not so frequent?