Over 50 in an IT World: Is Temper the Issue?
My Blackberry has been on its last legs for some time and finally gave up the ghost this past week. I toddled off to my local Best Buy and looked around for the same type of phone (a smart phone), but a less expensive version than the BlackBerry. After choosing a phone the clerk tried to sign me up for a new plan (I’ve had my phone for 4 years so I am “out of contract”) and was told that my service started in April 2009 and I couldn’t upgrade for 2 more years. It turns out when I moved to North Carolina and changed my phone number the woman who switched my service signed me up for a new plan without telling me. She (the AT&T person on the other end of the phone) also said my bill was 3 days overdue and if I paid the bill everything would be fine (incompetent AT&T person number one).
I went home, paid the bill online, waited a few days and went back to the store. When the clerk tried to sign me up he hit the same brick wall that knocked out the previous Best Buy clerk. He phoned AT&T and the woman on the other end said that I was “out-of-contract,” but that when I moved and changed phone numbers my contract was updated and there was nothing that could be done, I had to wait 2 years to buy a new phone (incompetent AT&T person number two).
My New Phone - Now I have to learn how to use it!
Needless to say, I became frustrated. I went home, phoned customer service and explained – in detail and calmly – the issue. The gentleman on the other end of the phone spent an hour on the phone with me explaining what happened, how it happened, how it could be fixed, how fixing it could go wrong and making suggestions to make everything right. Not only did he clear everything up, but he sold me the phone I wanted, overnighted it to me and discounted it $100 for my trouble.
My rather long-winded point is that I dealt with 3 people at AT&T. Two were thoughtless and, short-sighted and gave lousy service, one was the Rock Star of Service.
I have no gripes with AT&T. I have had mobile phone service with them for 7 years and have been as happy or happier then the people I hear bemoaning their mobile phone carrier. I believe good service is less about the company you go with for your mobile phone service and more about the person you speak to at the company you have chosen. Good service can be given by person at any company and is the difference between a great experience that keeps you coming back and a bad one that has you swearing to never use Company XYZ again.
Do the mobile phone companies take into account that after a certain age running back and forth to the store to deal with their issues is tiring? When the Rock Star asked if I’d like to buy my phone through him over the phone or go back to Best Buy, I was just too tired to go back to back to the mall for a third time. Do the mobile phone companies realize that sometimes someone under 50 may have the energy to get up and go over and over and over again and someone over 50 may not be so inclined and so they lose a sale or lose a client because their service person has not gone out of their way to make sure my problem is solved.
Do the mobile phone companies take into account that when I’m listening to you speak at the end of that magic mobile service my hearing may not be what it once was (I have a 40% hearing loss in both ears) and my frustration may have less to do with what you’re saying and more to do with the fact that there are few devices today to help people with hearing loss and so I just can’t hear what you’re saying?
The title of this post is “Is Temper the Issue?” This time I didn’t lose my temper. I
When a phone was just a phone
wanted to, but the Rock Star was just too good, too thorough and just too darn nice (by the way, I wrote AT&T and told them what a star they had). Had I lost my temper and not bought the phone would I have been like so many people over 50 who feel like they have had just about enough? I told the Rock Start that 30 years ago we could buy a phone for $5, put it on the wall and it was good for 20 years. Do the mobile phone companies realize that some of the people buying their products remember buying a phone once and then not buying another for 20 years?
I loved this blog. It made me realize that I just do not have the time or inclination to try more than once to get “good service”. If it is bad, I just take it. My mother today had a story about excellent customer service. She was “glowing” (over the phone) as she described how this person listened, asked her which option worked for her and got her the books she ordered sent Next Day Air. It is interesting that we are so thrilled to receive good customer service…when the name “customer service” should mean “good” shouldn’t it?
Question: Are people over 50 more inclined to take a bad customer service experience with them and/or is someone under 50 more inclined to just blow off the experience and move on?
We get lousy service in the UK anyway so we are more likely to roll over and take it.