Comments
Experience
I guess this only makes sense -- and perhaps I'd expect to find that number to be even higher. Entertainment (which is all TV -- whatever the model or platform -- is, after all) is quintessentially about experience. Bad experience = bad entertainment = no good reason to pay for it.
Ariella
1/26/2017 11:55:05 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
This fits very well with a comment I made recently. Companies have to adjust their attitude about customer service. They have to see it as an investment with proven ROI rather than an expense to skimp on.
Re: Experience
@Ariella: One of the most brilliant marketers (if not the very most brilliant marketer) I know has a saying: "Customer service is an amenity."
And that's very true. A lot of companies, regardless if B2B or B2C, regardless of vertical, treat customer service as something to put the bare minimum of investment into and leave it at that. Treat customers well and treat them as special, particularly if you can tie that into your brand experience in a relevant and value-added way, and that is truly an amenity that your competitors won't be able to offer.
Ariella
1/26/2017 12:31:18 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@Joe absolutely! You're not just selling a product or service but your own business, and every customer service issue is an opportunity to either strengthen loyalty or lose it. I have a number of experiences I can think of which made me either love or hate a compnay. The latter is why I will never purchase T-Mobile service, no matter how cheap the offer may be.
Re: Experience
@Ariella: Yeah, there's that whole "Well, I'm inside or near an office building, so I guess I don't have cell service anymore" thing.
Ariella
1/26/2017 1:11:12 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@Joe it was even worse than that in point of fact. I had called to end one contract to begin another, and the rep was livid that I would dare do such a thing, so she just cancelled my service without telling me. I only discovered what she did when I was away from home without a working phone.
Re: Experience
@Ariella: Might be worth a complaint to your state AG's office, depending upon other details.
There are also non-profits that specialize in helping consumers who are in or have faced such pickles. Call to Action is one of them, and I have found them very helpful.
Ariella
1/26/2017 4:03:06 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@Joe this happened many years ago. Ever since, I stick with AT&T, which has much nicer people on the phone and fairly reliable service. I couldn't believe that an employee would do something like that with impunity, though. I wasn't ever told that the company wished to make it up to me and that they considered such behavior unacceptable.
elizabethv
1/27/2017 9:22:00 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@Ariella - I ended up having to get rid of T-Mobile too for service. It came to the point where I could never get any customer service unless I was getting angry and threatening to leave them. I finally decided it just wasn't worth it to have to get upset every single time I called them. I see their rates and I keep thinking I should go back, I would save money and I could definitely use more of that. But the service the last time was just so horrible I don't have the guts to see if they've fixed it at all. I have a few companies on my "never again" list.
Ariella
1/27/2017 9:29:42 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@elizabethv I'm about as thrifty as they come, but even so, I understand that saving major stress and aggravation matters more than saving a few dollars a month.
faryl
1/27/2017 6:21:42 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
That seems sad to me that customer service is considered something special to offer.
I think the economy plays into that as well - people taking jobs that are their last resort and companies not really paying them enough to make them feel motivated to go above and beyond.
(As I type this, I'm realizing I'd be a terrible customer service representative. I can't imagine dealing with customer complaints all day!)
dcawrey
1/28/2017 12:38:03 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
Can you imagine what it might be like to work in one of those call centers? I'm sure the atmosphere is not fun.
Although I would totally get being upbeat and positive at work, I think the culture of places like that would make things really hard.
elizabethv
1/30/2017 6:57:53 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@dcawrey - as someone who has worked in that kind of environment (though at the time they would have flatly denied it) it can be tough. And I didn't have a matrix I had to keep up with to keep my job. I'm sure the turnover is pretty similar to that of Food Service, no one wants to be yelled at continually. Or forced to try to convince people to do something they don't want to do (not cancel when that was the purpose of the call) over and over and over. I know it starts to wear on you. But then a lot of jobs do.
faryl
1/30/2017 7:39:31 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
I don't even like talking to my friends on the phone!
I think I'd get too distracted by the other representatives' conversations too.
elizabethv
1/31/2017 3:36:06 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@faryl - I'm not a big phone fan either. Lol. And there were a few times where I was definitely distracted by other conversations. Particularly one of my very animated co-workers who tended to lose his cool a lot, and say things he probably shouldn't have. What amazes me is that he's actually still in the job, probably coming up on ten years now. And there's no telling how many customers he's offended.
faryl
1/31/2017 6:27:33 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@elizabethtv I guess the ones he did offend just never complained about it! :-P
Ariella
1/28/2017 6:27:07 PM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@faryl Certainly that feeds into it. but there's also the culture of the company itself. I know that AT&T trains its employees more carefully than that other telecom I've dealt with. Sometimes it sounds like they're just reading a script, but that's still better than having them arbitrarily decide to cancel your service when they feel like it because you are planning to end one contract after its expiration and begin another at the same company.
elizabethv
1/30/2017 7:02:16 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@Ariella - company culture is definitely key. I would imagine that's why Comcast has the problem they do. Never having worked there I can't swear to it, but I know the complaints of their customer service are loud and miles long. While I've never personally had a horrible experience with them, I've never actually had anything resembling great service either. I lost a lot of faith with Cox after I had my service accidently disconnected (it was supposed to have been the person next door, or so I was told) Then they tried to charge me for the days I was without service, on their error. So that caused a problem. And even my eventual leaving of the company. But you know company culture plays a huge role, because there are other, similar companies that don't have any where near the same issues. I know Zappo's had a great culture, and it was so great that other companies started asking the CEO what he was doing differently.
faryl
1/31/2017 6:24:22 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@ariella I've never had a bad experience with an AT&T rep, now that I think about it. It's just AT&T's practices & policies make for a poor customer experience (IMHO)
elizabethv
1/31/2017 7:34:24 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@faryl - it's so funny that you say you never had a bad experience with an AT&T rep. I remember when I was a kid (maybe like 12-14) my Mom had a TERRIBLE experience with an AT&T rep. I actually remember the phone call it was that bad, and she was THAT mad. To this day (dare I say decades - later) she still won't use AT&T. And she brings up that phone call any time they're mentioned.
Ariella
2/1/2017 8:52:52 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@faryl The question is if other services in the area actually do better. Having a good rep, though, can make the difference between pushing an annoyed customer off your services altogether or reinforcing loyalty. For example, I use a pay-as-you-go phone, an inexpensive service that is not even offered to the public any more. But becaues I'm already a customer, I asked to get it put on another phone for somoene in my family, and the rep arranged it. Also one time, when I had to refill because the time allotted for the last refill was about to expire even though I still had a lot of money left on the account, the rep arranged to extend the time another 3 months without requiring a payment. I didn't ask for that; it was offered. It's really not a large amount of money involved, but it's a nice gesture on the telecom's part.
faryl
1/27/2017 6:15:15 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
It's kind of sad that that mindset isn't more obvious.
I feel like "too tough to cancel" is the prevailing philosophy.
Michelle
1/28/2017 7:27:57 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@faryl It's funny you mention that. I'm pretty sure this was AOL's retention strategy! They weren't a pay-tv provider, but cancelling was a lot of trouble (nearly impossible for some folks).
Ariella
1/29/2017 11:14:17 AM
User Rank Author
Re: Experience
@Michelle sounds like the way some gym memberships work. You commit to a year but then find out that they still require 30 days' notice or they would automatically renew and likely at a higher rate than you originally signed on for. If you need to terminate while in the middle of the year, there is absolutely no way out other than getting someone else to take over your memebership.
srufolo1
1/29/2017 6:05:01 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@faryl I don't see what the point of a "contract" is anyway. The consumer very rarely knows when they begin and end, and neither does the provider inform them of sucn. I've never really thought about cancelling my cellphone services, even when calls kept dropping, etc ... because personally I didn't feel like dealing with another lame service.
elizabethv
1/30/2017 6:55:12 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@faryl - "Too tough to cancel" is definitely a mindset. Which I am sure is at least a few companies purpose for making it so. Though I think a lot of places that were once difficult are getting easier, because of the bad "press" they've receiveid for being so. Which makes sense, why get into business with a company if you've heard getting away from them can be nothing shy of a massive hassle. It makes you at least hesitate in putting forth the commitment. Kind of like marriage, it isn't something you really should enter, without realizing that getting out of it is quite the ordeal. And then most people tend to do so with the idea that they won't ever be getting out of it.
dcawrey
1/26/2017 6:52:46 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
It's simple: Pay TV just isn't very good. Streaming options are better these days. And with devices that allow consumers to connect television displays with streaming services, the tide is changing. TV has competition.
elizabethv
1/27/2017 9:18:02 AM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
@dcawrey - TV is definitely changing. Which is why nonetheless I am always a little baffled that the numbers of people leaving Pay-TV aren't higher. Maybe some people are just worried about actually cutting the cord and getting rid of it, afraid to make the commitment. My cousin said when they tried to cut the cord he didn't like it very much, because he couldn't watch the shows he liked. I'm not exactly sure what those shows are, but I wonder if it would be better if he tried it now. (He had tried about 5 years ago.) Streaming services have come along way and they only continue to get more and more content. We cut the cord about 2 years ago now, and we've never looked back.
JohnBarnes
1/30/2017 9:20:27 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Experience
Joe,
I'd say more even than that; the paradigm of entertainment is of being able to switch off everything except the entertainment stream you are consuming. (We tend to forget that that's really only an idea that has developed in the last couple of centuries, as people became "entitled" to get the advertised entertainment (and only that) for the price of their ticket. (Past ages saw things differently; until almost 1800 it was common and not necessarily regarded as ill-mannered for people to converse at (unamplified, remember) concerts, heckle actors at plays, etc.).
So "customer experience" now includes "not experiencing anything else while you're experiencing the entertainment," and customer service means one way or another being as invisible as a perfect ninja waiter.
clrmoney
1/26/2017 2:33:13 PM
User Rank Platinum
Poor Pay TV
Of course they will have poor service when customers pay for channels that they don't use or want. If they don't have something different or better thetn you will have a decline in some way.
Re: Poor Pay TV
@clrmoney: I think it depends how you present that.
For many, it's a benefit to have so many channels, even if many or even most of them you never watch or want to watch -- because of the level of variety. Sort of a "something for everybody."
It's a workable business model -- the same way VOD services like Netflix involve you paying for EVERY movie and TV show on Netflix even though you couldn't watch half of everything NFLX has to offer if you tried.
elizabethv
1/27/2017 9:15:23 AM
User Rank Platinum
Experience
Customer service was ultimately why I left Pay-TV. It's not like you don't pay for streaming services, but with control more in my court with streaming services than they are Pay-TV my expectations of the services are lower. Also, since they tend to come without contracts, if I'm not happy, I can walk away without issue. When I cancelled DirecTv, it was complete with a 20 minute phone call where I repeatedly let them know I was sure I wanted to cancel my subscription, and I did in fact understand that the price I was currently receiving may not be available should I come back. If I want to cancel Netflix it can be done in a few clicks and less than a minute. Not to mention I pay Netflix significantly less than I ever did any Pay-TV service.
srufolo1
1/27/2017 5:36:51 PM
User Rank Platinum
Pay-TV Churn
All I can say, is "God bless millennials." Flexibility and personalization, rather then service and viewing quality, are key to them, and that's smart. Their demands have made it such that contracts, should they even exist, are easy to get into and out of. Millennials have been the trailblazers of change on many fronts, even in the workplace.
faryl
1/27/2017 6:13:03 PM
User Rank Platinum
Re: Pay-TV Churn
Good point! (I don't think millenials get the credit they deserve for some of the changes they've brought about -usually all I see is whining about their whining!)
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